The final round of A Plus Solutions Division 2 is headlined by a battle between the two best teams in the competition.
Since Round 5, Diamond Creek and North Heidelberg have been the top two sides, battling for the minor premiership. Following last week’s 122-point victory over Thomastown, the Bulldogs have secured back-to-back top of the table finishes.
The Bulldogs only defeat this season came in Round 2, against the Fitzroy Stars. Since then, they have won 12 of 13 matches, with the only blemish a draw to the Stars in Round 12.
Mercurial forward Shane Harvey reached a century of goals in last week’s win over the Bears. It is the sixth time Harvey has kicked 100 goals in a season and third time he has achieved the milestone with the Bulldogs. Remarkably, he reached the feat in just 14 games this year.
Diamond Creek continued to finetune for finals with an entertaining 27-point victory over the Fitzroy Stars at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval. The sides combined for 41 goals, but it was the Demons that gained the upper hand, courtesy of five goals to Bryce Adams and strong showings from Tim Chapman and Oliver Parks.
Adams has now kicked 14 of his 28 goals for the season in the past five weeks and has become the main man up forward, replacing the injured Jess Cosaitis. His strong marking is providing a great target for his midfielders to kick to.
These teams will meet again in the opening week of the finals, so it will be interesting to see if the coaches hide some of their tactics for the following week.
Two weeks ago, the clash between Thomastown and Lower Plenty promised to be the perfect fixture to conclude the season, when both sides were level on points and vying for the final spot in the top-four.
But Lower Plenty’s victory in Round 17 and Thomastown’s defeat to North Heidelberg guaranteed Lower Plenty a spot in the finals.
Lower overcame strong resistance from Panton Hill to pull away for a 69-point win last week. Ciaran Porter put in one of his best performances for the season, booting three goals, while Darcy Barden was also influential.
Tom Keys’ four-goal haul also saw him named in the Bears best players for the eighth time this season.
Thomastown will finish fifth for the third-successive season but will look to finish the season with a home win to get to 10 victories for the season – doubling its effort from 2016.
With a top four-finish hanging in the balance, the Bears were handed their worst defeat of the season at North Heidelberg.
Joseph Vaccaro, Matthew Dirkx and Robert Chadwick impressed for the Bears, but they could do little to stop the Bulldogs barrage in the second half – with the ladder-leader piling on 15 goals to two after the main break.
The Fitzroy Stars kicked over 100 points for the 12th time this season in their defeat to Diamond Creek. The Stars will expect to improve their defensive record when they play Lalor in Round 18.
Like previous years, the Stars are an attacking threat and rank second in the division for points scored per match (111). But again it is the Stars inability to prevent scores being kicked against them that has become a concern. They have conceded 363 points more than any other top-four side.
Malcolm Dow and Clinton Benjamin were best against Diamond Creek last week, while Vassili Tuifao returned from injury and slotted five goals.
Lalor will be looking to end the season on a positive note after another difficult campaign that saw it battle to avoid relegation.
The Bloods missed a chance to add to their three wins for the season when beaten by Watsonia by 23 points last week. Beau Delcus and Jake Langborne performed admirably in defeat at A.K. Lines Reserve.
The Bloods are the league’s lowest scoring team and require 81 points to reach 1000 points for the season.
The regular season concludes with Panton Hill hosting Watsonia. The fixture will be the last Division 2 match at A.E. Cracknell Reserve for at least a year, with the Redbacks set to compete in Division 3 in 2018.
Panton Hill recorded its only win for 2017 in the Round 13 clash against the Saints and will hope for a repeat, particularly after last week’s competitive showing against Lower Plenty.
Watsonia will hope to give Corey McCall a winning send-off, with the premiership coach set to stand aside at season’s end after three years in the top job.
It has been a relatively successful return to second division for the Saints, whose five wins and numerous close losses have shows they are well equipped to compete in the grade going forward.
