Katrina Fanning Shield 2022: Round 8 Preview

The Katrina Fanning Shield returns for another exciting round of matchups, headlined by Friday night's curtain raiser to the Women’s State Of Origin, with the Queanbeyan Blues taking on the Woden Valley Rams.

Queanbeyan Blues vs Woden Valley Rams, GIO Stadium, 5.30pm Friday 24th June

This week's match of the round will feature two top four sides battling it out at GIO Stadium ahead of the first ever State of Origin to be held in Canberra.

The fourth-placed Blues will take on the third-placed Rams, in hopes of leapfrogging them with a win in front of what is expected to be a packed crowd.

Queanbeyan have been strong so far this season especially in attack, amassing an impressive total of 162 points across five matches.

They are coming off the back of an outstanding performance against the Boomanulla Raiders on the weekend, demolishing them 72-nil. The victory ended a two game losing streak where they were defeated by four points or less.

Interestingly for the Blues, in their three wins this season they’ve managed to keep their opposition scoreless, although whenever they've conceded points they've gone onto lose the contest.

Queanbeyan’s Alanna Brooks spoke on Wednesday afternoon about the Blues’ start to the season and explained what they've learnt from those narrow losses.

“We’ve had two close losses which we've learnt that we need to just build on what we practice at training every week because we know we can beat both of those teams,” Brooks said.

Woden Valley on the other hand haven’t played a game since the 21st May due to back to back games of opposition forfeits and a bye-round.

The Rams started their inaugural season in style, with consecutive wins over Tuggeranong and Harden.

Their first loss came at the hands of the reigning minor premiers, the Goulburn City Bulldogs, where they went down 32-16 all the way back in round four.

Woden Valley’s Irene MacArthur explained that although they haven’t played much this year, they are ready to perform against the in-form Blues in front of the GIO Stadium crowd.

“We are super excited just to get out there and on top of that, icing on the cake, State Of Origin is just after our game,” MacArthur said.

"It will be interesting to see how we go against them (Queanbeyan) but look bring it on. We’re ready, we are fizzing. We're the new kids in town and we’re ready for it.”

Harden Worhawks vs Yass Magpies, McLean Oval, 12.15pm Saturday 25th June

The first KFS game on Saturday will be at McLean Oval, where the Worhawks will look to cause the upset of the round against the top of the table Magpies.

Harden are coming off the back of a hard fought loss at home against Goulburn City last weekend where they went down 14-6.

Although it was a disappointing result for the eighth-placed side, it showed a huge improvement in their performances considering the Bulldogs currently sit in second position on the ladder.

Their opponents, the Yass Magpies, remain undefeated in the 2022 season after seven rounds following their 86-0 win over the UC Stars.

The 86-point victory was their second 80-plus-point performance of the year which highlights how talented this Yass outfit is.

Not only is their attack unstoppable, but they have been equally as efficient in defence, only conceding 24 points this season. So Harden will need to bring their A-game if they want to bring an end to Yass’s undefeated start to the year.

Boomanulla Raiders vs Tuggeranong Bushrangers, Boomanulla Oval, 1pm Saturday 25th June

The Boomanulla Raiders host the Tuggeranong Bushrangers in a must win clash for the Raiders, as they are still yet to register a win this season.

To say it has been a disappointing start to the year for Boomanulla would be an understatement.

The Raiders have fought hard through the first half of the year but have struggled to put points on the board and been outplayed by some strong opposition.

For the visitors on Saturday, consistency has been a problem throughout the season, unable to record back to back wins yet. The Bushrangers will have their best shot yet against Boomanulla, after defeating South Coast last weekend 16-12 at Greenway Oval.

There is plenty of importance in this match for both clubs and a win for either side will get the ball rolling for their respective seasons.

Goulburn City Bulldogs vs South Coast United, Workers Arena, 10.40am Sunday 26th June

The final game of the round in the Katrina Fanning Shield features the second-placed Bulldogs host South Coast United at Workers Arena.

Goulburn have been one of the strongest teams so far this year, with the Bulldogs currently on a four-game winning streak.

Their only loss came at the hands of the Magpies back in round one where they went down 30-18.

For South Coast, it has been inconsistency that has held them out of the top four as they sit in fifth spot coming into this weekend’s matchup. They have a record of two wins and three losses with a respectable for and against of minus 12.

A win this weekend for the home side will solidify them as a serious premiership contender and for South Coast, if they can defeat the Bulldogs, finals footy will definitely be in the sights of the new expansion club.