Which way will it go? The key factors in Pinjarra's top-two clash against Rockingham

The two head into their clash at Sir Ross McLarty Oval touted as genuine flag chances, and they're also the only teams to remain undefeated.

So not only does the victor of this game become the hot favourite for the premiership, but they also take sole possession of top spot.

With all that being said, here's a few reasons as to why each team could pinch a win here.

Supremacy across half back

The old cliche of "it all starts in the midfield" doesn't exactly ring true for Pinjarra. I mean, they're midfield is still one of the competition's best, but they look their best when the half back line is peeling off and running the ball up the ground. Brock O'Brien leads the charge, while Stephen Martin and Jarrod Bowman do an exceptional job halting opposition attacks. It's somewhat surprisingly strong this year given the losses of premiership players like Brendon Coxon and Dean Beswick, and could be a huge factor in this clash given the prowess of Rockingham's forward line.

The Milward/Merritt combo

I've banged on about the play of Brett Milward and Nick Merritt a bit this week, but credit goes where it's due. These two, along with CJ Milward's development, have made a Pinjarra forward line that lost Leroy Jetta and Brennan Gillam not miss a beat. Deadly in the air, on the ground and around the goals, the Rams will need a stout defence to keep it out of their hands.

Big game experience

Probably not overly relevant in round four, but having performed well in must-win games in the past counts for something. Pinjarra has shown an ability to win important matches (tends to be the case when you're back-to-back premiers), while the young Rams are still trying to gain some experience in that area. Rockingham's biggest game last year came in the preliminary final, and while they challenged they were ultimately beaten by a tough Tigers outfit.

Speed and spread

No one runs quite like the Rams. The young ones, the old heads, the key position dudes; they all either run or help set someone else up to run and it goes a long way to them burning teams once they get out the back. This is probably where that Tigers half back line needs to chop off possessions, but it's easier said than done considering the personnel Rockingham have running with the footy. Guys like Brad Walsh, Fraser Millar, Luke Dowling and Noah Hura bring the dash that could punish the Tigers on Saturday.

Scoring on demand

Of the eight leading goal kickers in this league, three play for the Rams. That includes the top spot Luke Dowling who has booted a stunning 18 through three rounds, the second-placed Tyler Sutton on 11 and also Jakob Janzekovic in eighth with seven. But even outside of those three, the likes of Hura, Chris Oliver and Brody Dalgetty can all be dangerous around the forward 50m arch. Rockingham leads the league in points scored by a long way, 118 ahead of Pinjarra in second through three games.

Momentum/belief

Emotionally, you'd think the Rams would be more psyched for this game than the Tigers. This is a bit of a loose theory, but it's a matter of the old legends going against the up-and-comers trying to prove themselves. For Pinjarra, this is a matter of been there, done that. For the Rams, this is their chance to show they mean business and that a flag is well and truly on their radar. To be fair, Pinjarra come out to every game pumped up, but I just think a win here would mean more to Rockingham than it would to the Tigers.

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