Mostly useless stats: The bizarre streak HBL must overcome, Hawks’ impeccable record & more

Ahead of the second week of finals this week, journalist Jackson Barrett has taken a look at some of the stats that may (or may not) shape your team’s chances this weekend. Augusta-Margaret River These are uncharted waters for the Hawks, who have never before hosted a second semifinal. The last time they played in one, they beat Busselton in the qualifying final of 2011 and went on to beat South Bunbury twice on their way to their most recent premiership. While they have a 2-1 record from their three second semifinal appearances, they have gone on to win the premiership in all three years. So they’ve never slipped up once they’ve got to this stage. Bunbury They’ve played alongside each other for more than half a century in the South West Football League, but Bunbury have met AMR just once in a final. It came in the elimination final of 2005, when the Dogs recorded a comprehensive 15.11 (101) to 7.6 (48) victory. That game was burst open by soon-to-be Essendon Bomber Kyle Reimers, who kicked four goals, while current Bunbury league coach Jamie Nani also kicked a goal and was named among the best. More SWFL: The Dogs would go on to beat Carey Park the following week and Donnybrook in a preliminary final, before losing to the Collie Eagles on grand final day. Busselton They look just about the hottest team in the South West Football League at the moment, but the Busselton Magpies will have to turn around their own trend if they are to win the premiership. They’ve won the flag six times, but have never done so from outside the top three, finishing inside the top two for five of the six premierships and third once. The last team to win a premiership having finished fourth was Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault in 2010. Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault Looking to bounce back from a straight-sets exit last year, HBL would have to become the first team to back up a qualifying final defeat with a first semifinal win in seven years to keep themselves in the hunt. Not only have six losing qualifying finalists in a row been dumped out in straight sets, two of them are the Lions. They did the same thing in 2016, losing to Collie by just three points in the first week of the finals. They then lost to the Bulls in a Harvey derby in the second week by just two points to find themselves crashing out of the race.