1. Lakeside Lightning (1st place, 16-2 record) - Eight-straight wins - the last of them a 60-point victory against the defending champions - and the Lightning are looking close to unstoppable. Cockburn this weekend will be a tough test though.

2. Wanneroo Wolves (3rd, 14-5) - The Wolves continue to look like Lakeside's biggest challenger after maintaining their impressive form with victory against Geraldton. Should be too good for Willetton and Rockingham this week.

3. Cockburn Cougars (2nd, 14-5) - Cockburn gave Lakeside a good fight earlier in the season, but they'll need to go one better this weekend to hold onto their spot in the top two. They've only lost once at home all year, so there is every chance they do it.

4. Total Connections Perry Lakes Hawks (4th, 13-6) - Escaped a disappointing home loss to the Magic with an amazing play in the final seconds to maintain their winning streak. Will need to perform better to defeat Stirling on Saturday.

5. Australian Central East Perth Eagles (6th, 9-9) - Everything seems to be clicking for the Eagles, who are in tremendous form. But this weekend will be crucial. Victory against Cockburn and Mandurah will all but ensure a top eight spot, but a pair of defeats would be catastrophic to their top eight hopes.

6. Southlands Boulevarde Willetton Tigers (5th, 11-8) - A reality check? A crisis? Just a bad night? Call it what you will, but a 60-point loss to anyone would have been humiliating for such a proud club. Will be desperate to bounce back, but face a tough weekend with games against the in-form Suns and Wolves.

7. Perth Redbacks (8th, 9-10) - Desperately needed to beat the Giants in Kalgoorlie and they came through. That was enough for them to climb back into the eight, but they could drop out unless they can stun Lakeside on Friday before playing the Slammers on Saturday.

8. Kalamunda Eastern Suns (7th, 9-9) - The Suns are hot, having won their past three games, but they're far from safe in the top eight. Victory against the under-pressure Tigers on Friday would make it hard for them to miss though.

9. ATD Stirling Senators (9th, 9-10) - Already on a three-game losing streak, the Senators face a crucial round this weekend. Victory against the Giants would be huge for their finals hopes, while their game against Perry Lakes will be tough. They must win at least one of them.

10. SKILLED Goldfields Giants (10th, 9-10) - When does a slump become a crisis? They may be just outside the top eight, but after their home loss to Perth, it could be time for the Giants to panic. They really need to get their season back on track with wins against Stirling and the Buccs this weekend.

11. Mandurah Magic (11th, 7-12) - Thrashed the Slammers and gave the Hawks a serious fright before a bizarre final 10 seconds cost them the win. The Magic are a much better team than their record suggest and will be ruing all that has gone wrong for them this season.

12. Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers (12th, 7-12) - All season many pundits have thought the Buccs were underperforming and could turn it around, but perhaps it's time to accept that they're just not that good. Their struggles to overcome the Slammers last weekend would suggest that.

13. Rockingham Flames (13th, 6-14) - Losses to East Perth and Kalamunda mean the Flames only have pride left to play for, but they put up a good fight in both of those games and could cause a couple of upsets in their final six matches.

14. Southwest Slammers (14th, 0-20) - After getting thrashed by Mandurah and their second half fadeout against Geraldton, the chances of the Slammers breaking the doughnut are very slim. Five of their remaining opponents are in the top eight, while the other - Stirling - is ninth.

Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Grant Lauterbach

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