Sharks set to meet Hawks on unknown territory

DODGES Ferry heads to a ground many of the side has never seen to clash with an in-form Central Hawks today.

The Sharks have only played the Hawks at Oatlands, but today venture to Bothwell looking to fine tune their finals preparation.

Having locked in third spot on the SFL ladder, Dodges has only the Hawks and second-placed Lindisfarne left before finals as it has a bye in the last round.

Last week the Central Hawks produced one of the upsets of the season in taking down the Two Blues and riding a four-game winning streak they will be packed with confidence.

``We have always been at Oatlands and to tell you the truth I've never even seen the Bothwell ground myself, and I'm not sure many of our players have either,'' coach Danny Ling said yesterday.

``I've spoken to a couple of people about the ground and how it is structured, so I've got a bit of knowledge on what it's like in that regard.

``It may well be depending on the ground and what I see once we get there how we set our side up.

``But we have been doing that consistently all year anyway depending on who we are playing and the size of the ground.''

The Sharks are in a purple-patch themselves, winning their past five games comfortably.

The side also receives a boost today with key defender Brad Curran returning from injury.

Curran has missed the past five weeks recovering from a hamstring tear suffered the representative game last month.

Despite having nearly a full-strength squad to pick from, Ling is not underestimating his opponent.

``They were really competitive when we played down home [in round seven].

``It was only after half time we got away from them a bit and that may well have been a bit of fitness but they have picked that up and had a good win against Lindisfarne last week.

``They have been sneaking along without people taking notice of them.''

In other round 17 matches Sorell will be looking to limit the damage against New Norfolk at Pembroke Park, Kingborough faces a danger road trip to Cygnet, Claremont hosts Brighton and Huonville should remain fourth by defeating Triabunna.