The 2018 Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 campaign is set to be a fascinating campaign if the Round 1 results are anything to go by.
The wild weather on Saturday brought with it a host of upset results, which has created even more intrigue heading into this week’s Round 2 matches.
Bundoora will unfurl its 2017 premiership flag when it hosts Greensborough at Yulong Reserve. Both sides began the season with a win and will be looking to continue their perfect start to 2018.
With a host of premiership stars watching from the sidelines, Bundoora began its flag defence with a comfortable 41-point win over Northcote Park under lights at Bill Lawry Oval – setting up the result with a six-goal to two third quarter.
Gary Moorcroft was once again the catalyst for the victory, booting a game-high six goals – four more than any other player on the ground. The haul put him straight to the top of the goal kicking table after the opening round.
Andrew Sturgess made a strong start in his Bundoora return after spending recent years at Seymour and Coburg, while fellow newcomers Peter Hood, Jai Burns (two goals each) and Jarrod King also contributed well to the result.
After starting 2017 with five-consecutive losses, Greensborough made a much better start to the new campaign – downing arch-rival Montmorency by 27 points in front of a strong crowd at War Memorial Park.
The Boro kicked six of the game’s first seven goals to race to a 35-point advantage early in the second term, before a poor 20-minute patch saw them fall three-points behind at the main break.
The response after half-time was outstanding and proved that Robert Hyde’s side should again be firmly in finals calculations in 2018, having featured in the top-five for the past four years.
Jacob Ireland set the tone and managed two majors, while defensive trio Jack Johnston, Nick Riddle and Dan McLinden remained as solid as ever as their side finished with the last three goals to run away with a strong win.
Northcote Park and Hurstbridge will be looking to open their account when they meet at Bill Lawry Oval. Both sides were comfortably beaten on their home soil in Round 1 and will be looking to respond in quick fashion.
Already without key forwards Ash Close and Jackson Starcevich, the Cougars were dealt a major blow on the day of the opening round, after former skipper Bronik Davies was forced to withdraw from the selected side with illness.
The Cougars made a promising start and led for the majority of the opening 40 minutes. However, Bundoora eventually wore-down the undermanned side and eventually finished off with a seven-goal win.
Paul Dirago was his side’s best in his first game as skipper, after taking the reins from Bronik Davies during the off-season. Jayden Askew and Nik McNiece also showed promise after making the step up to senior football.
There has been great hype around Hurstbridge over the summer, however the start of the season didn’t go to script – with Trevor Little’s side falling to a 78-point defeat to West Preston-Lakeside in the season opener.
Travis and Cameron Cloke both kicked two goals in their first game for the Bridges, with Travis among the best players in what was an otherwise forgettable start to the new campaign for his side. Cameron played out the game despite taking an accidental big knock in a collision with a teammate.
Trailing by 15 points at the main break, the Bridges were put to the sword in the third quarter when they conceded seven goals to fall 46 points behind at the final change. The last term didn’t bring any respite, with the visitors piling on another seven goals to romp to victory.
With both sides harbouring finals ambitions in 2018, there is no doubt that both Northcote Park and Hurstbridge will be looking for a response in Round 2, to avoid staring down the barrel of a 0-2 start.
This week’s remaining three matches pit a Round 1 winner against a Round 1 loser, beginning with West Preston-Lakeside hosting Heidelberg at J.E. Moore Park. The sides have a knack of playing out classics, including two of the best games of the 2017 season.
The Roosters top the table after the opening round and will be hoping to carry the momentum from last week’s huge win at Hurstbridge into this intriguing Round 2 battle against the Tigers.
Fielding a considerably different side to the one that was beaten in last year’s elimination final, the Roosters produced a complete four-quarter performance at Ben Frilay Oval – with their final score of 21.13 (139) their highest in Rob Maiorana’s 20 games in charge.
The Roosters played one short for the majority of the game following an early injury to Matthew Harman, but ran out the four quarters with a full tank.
Luke Lirosi, James Tadd, Patrick Karnezis, Carl Adams and new recruit Sam Glover each featured among the best players in the victory, while Ahmed Saad and Liam McVeigh each jagged four majors.
Heidelberg was slow out of the gates against Whittlesea in Frank Raso’s first game in charge and trailed by 17 points at quarter-time. Ultimately, it was the decisive quarter in the match – with the Tigers losing by two points.
In bitter conditions at the Whittlesea Showgrounds, the Tigers managed just 1.3 in the first half, before opening up the game in the third term – where four of their six majors for the game were kicked.
It was Heidelberg’s leaders who willed their side back into the game, with skipper Michael Brunelli, Sam Gilmore, Ryan Stone and Tom Sullivan all among the best players. Jake Thomas kicked two in his club debut, while recruit Fletcher Carroll impressed.
The Whittlesea Showgrounds will host action again in Round 2 with Whittlesea set to host a Macleod side on the rebound following last week’s upset loss at North Heidelberg.
With four-straight home games to start the year, Whittlesea will be looking to set a solid platform to launch its 2018 campaign and last week’s nail-biting win was a great start to the year for Jim Atkins’ side.
The Eagles took their chances when presented and were able to hold out the Tigers in a desperate last quarter, despite not kicking a goal in the final 30 minutes.
Nathan Andrews, Jay Russell and Matthew Atta all played leading roles in the result, while Jaron Murphy kicked two goals to cap his week after being selected in the senior representative squad in the lead-up to the game.
Macleod lost its opening-round game for the first time in four years when it was stunned by newly-promoted North Heidelberg in a 19-point upset at Shelley Reserve. The Roos took a 12-point lead into quarter time, but managed just six goals after the first break.
The Roos often looked under siege from North Heidelberg’s relentless pressure and were never able to break clear, despite having a strong breeze in their backs during the third quarter.
One positive out of the match was the return of Hayden Seivers. After sitting out the 2017 season, Seivers was among his side’s best in his first game since the 2016 grand final. Lucas Hobbs and Hamish Paynter also played well in a disappointing day for their club.
The round concludes with a twilight match between Montmorency and North Heidelberg at Montmorency Park.
The Magpies were disappointing in Round 1, despite fielding a side that included gun recruits Ben Kennedy, Matthew White, Tyrone Leonardis and Danko Bzenic and will be looking for a response on their home turf.
After looking down and out early in the second term, the Magpies mounted a strong response to lead at half time. At that stage most at War Memorial Park would have expected the visitors to go on with the job, however they were outworked by a more desperate Boro outfit.
Leonardis and debutant Sam Binion were the Magpies best players in defeat, while Ben Fennell looked sharp in his first competitive game following an ACL injury and found plenty of the ball. Ben Walton and Pat Fitzgerald each kicked three goals and combined well.
North Heidelberg proved to be the story of the opening round. While most were anticipating the Bulldogs to be a competitive outfit in their return to the top flight, few would have given them hope of downing a Macleod side that has played off in the past three grand finals.
The result demonstrated just how close the Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 competition will be in 2018 and will give all sides confidence that they can win against any opponent on any given day this year.
Brent Harvey started the season in dominant form, booting four goals and providing inspiration for his side. He was joined in the Bulldogs’ best by ruckman Michael Florance, recruit Jhye Baddeley-Kelly and skipper Daniel Bramich.
Despite the strong individual performances of the quartet, North Heidelberg coach Jimmy House lauded the contribution of all 22 players in the victory, which ensured his side got its new campaign off to a perfect start.
