National League Predictions, Week Ten

National League North

Clyde Valley Blackhawks vs DC Presidents

A reverse fixture of last week’s 31-7 DC victory sees the Presidents march North of the wall to take on the Blackhawks. Despite the fact that it may be a tougher game on away turf it’s highly doubtful that Clyde Valley will manage a 24 point turnaround in the space of seven days, leaving DC the clear favourites for this game.

Coach Ben Johnson has enjoyed a fine start to his DC tenure and will look to continue this on the field.

DC Presidents to win by three scores

Dundee Hurricanes vs Gateshead Senators

The Hurricanes are finding life tough in this division this year. Currently sitting at the bottom of the division without a win and it’s going to get worse as the division leading Senators march into town.

Gary Marshall’s Gateshead side has enjoyed a good start to their National Division campaign, with a 0-0 tie with Glasgow the only blemish on a fine record. They should notch another win up here.

Gateshead Senators to win by three scores

National League Central

Lincolnshire Bombers vs Leicester Falcons

Both of these teams are somewhat struggling to maintain footholds in the National Division. Injuries have hurt the Bombers badly and thus they’ve regressed from the impressive form they showed last year, whilst the Falcons continue to suffer after players departed in the Summer.

The Falcons do have two wins to their name as opposed to the Bombers having none, and they’ll more than likely be able to grab another win against Lincolnshire here.

Leicester Falcons to win by two scores

Merseyside Nighthawks vs Staffordshire Surge

The Nighthawks are sitting pretty atop the National Division Central right now, undefeated in their four games and having notched up a very impressive 197 points scored. The win over Chester was a good one, putting them firmly in the driving seat for the title.

Staffordshire on the other hand, whilst improved on last year, still languish near the bottom of the division, with just one win and four losses. This one should be a big win for Merseyside.

Merseyside Nighthawks to win by five scores or more

National League South

Farnham Knights vs. Oxford Saints

It’s been a good week for the Knights. A two score victory over the Bournemouth Bobcats moved the Knights to 2-3 before news reached the DC towers that Oli DeRuyter has transferred from the Sussex Thunder to Farnham. With a premiership calibre QB under centre, the Knights could end up going on a winning run to end the season on a high.

It’s been two weeks since the Saints were last in action, and after two one score victories over the winless Bobcats, the Saints will try and show their playoff potential when they go up against the Knights this weekend. With three teams with one loss to their name, the Saints will need to win games like this if they’re going to stay in the playoff hunt.

This one is going to be a close one and if Farnham have their new QB in the fold, we see them winning by a score. We can see this game going either way though.

Swindon Storm vs. Solent Thrashers

Following their early season victory, the Storm have been on the wrong side of a three game losing streak, and with the unbeaten Solent Thrashers coming to town, we don’t see the losing streak ending this week.

After a 19-0 victory over the Farnham Knights two weekends ago, the Thrashers remain undefeated and atop of the South Conference. With their next two games against Swindon, the Thrashers will most likely end the month undefeated.

Solent by three scores

Gloucester Centurions vs. Cornish Sharks

The Centurions kept their playoff pursuit up for another week following a two score victory over the Swindon Storm. No doubt the team are feeling confident this weekend given that the Sharks have lost to the Bristol Apache, twice (Gloucester beat Apache earlier in the season).

Last time the Sharks played on an away game, they were on the receiving end of a huge loss to the Bristol Apache (37-3), and with another away game this weekend, the team will be hoping for a better outing. If the team want to remain in the playoff hunt, this is a must win game.
Centurions to edge it by a score