The Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 ladder makes for remarkable viewing, with eight of the competition’s ten teams recording a win and a loss in the opening fortnight of the season.
After starting last year with five-successive losses, Greensborough remains the only unbeaten team after the opening two weeks, while Hurstbridge is the sole side without a win next to its name.
The even start to the campaign sets up a great platform for the season ahead and makes Round 3 an extremely important one for all ten sides as the early hustle and bustle for a place inside the top-five early intensifies.
Two of the competition’s oldest foes meet in the year’s first game at Warringal Park when ladder-leader Greensborough makes the trip to take on Heidelberg. The sides currently rank as the two best defensive sides in the competition.
The Tigers opened their account in thrilling circumstances last Saturday with a two-point win away to West Preston-Lakeside. It continued a nail-biting beginning to Frank Raso’s tenure as Heidelberg coach, following a two-point defeat at Whittlesea in the opening round.
The lead changed eight times during last week’s game at J.E. Moore Park, including at each change of ends, with Chaz Sargeant’s fifth goal at the 23-minute mark of the final term proving to be the winner. His earlier four goals all came in the second quarter.
Sargeant was the dominant forward on the ground, however there were also some late heroics from Sam Grimley, who took two towering marks early in the last quarter which he converted for goals, to help steal the momentum away from the Roosters.
Sam Gilmore enjoyed a dominant showing in the ruck and provided plenty of gold-service delivery to the likes of Lachlan Wilson, Michael Brunelli and Tom Sullivan, while Josh Gribben produced a strong showing in defence in his first game of the season.
Greensborough has enjoyed a far superior start to 2018 than last year, winning its opening two matches after starting the previous campaign with five-consecutive losses. The mixed bag of results elsewhere around the competition means the Boro enjoy a one-game advantage atop top the ladder already.
Making the Boro’s start even more commendable is the quality of opposition they have beaten across the opening two rounds. In Round 1 they out-hunted a star-studded Montmorency midfield to win by 27 points, before upsetting reigning premier Bundoora on the day the Bulls unfurled their 2017 premiership flag.
The Boro won all four quarters last week, after winning three of four in the opening round. They capped their strong performance at Yulong Reserve with a dominant final term – piling on five goals to two to run away with a 46-point victory.
Dylan Clancy played his best game at senior level in his 11th appearance in the Boro’s senior team, while 19-year-old Tynan Smith continued his impressive start to his career and finished with three goals in just his second match.
The Boro’s ability to find multiple avenues to goals makes them difficult to shut down and last week was no exception, with nine players sharing the 14 goals. In the win over Montmorency 11 players kicked the club’s 13 goals.
Hurstbridge is the only side yet to record a victory and this week hosts Macleod at Ben Frilay Oval.
The Bridges couldn’t have been any closer to getting on the winners’ list last week – falling to Northcote Park by a solitary point at Bill Lawry Oval with Travis and Cameron Cloke sidelined and Tom Simpson and Mitch Burton missing after being sent back to the reserves.
Despite sitting last on the ladder by a game, Trevor Little’s side showed some encouraging signs last week and can take plenty of positives out of the defeat, where they mounted a strong fightback after being jumped early by the home side.
Riley Reading and Joel Dale both impressed, while mature recruits Ryan Jackson (three goals) and Daniel Keenan helped to lead the way in the absence of several their star teammates.
Macleod scored its first win of the season in emphatic fashion – smashing Whittlesea by 78 points in the round’s biggest blowout. The Roos bounded out of the blocks with nine first-quarter goals and were untroubled after taking a 48-point lead into quarter time.
After competitive second and third quarters, the Roos finished strongly and booted seven goals to three in the last quarter to storm away with a percentage-boosting win, despite finishing the match with minimal rotations on the bench.
Ben Lennon marked his return to his junior club with six goals, Chris Long capped his 150th club match with a strong showing, while Lucas Hobbs and young recruit Rourke Turner were also among their side’s best players.
North Heidelberg and West Preston-Lakeside are both looking to respond to Round 2 losses when they meet at Shelley Reserve.
North Heidelberg made a promising start against Montmorency but was gradually overpowered by the home side in last week’s 43-point loss. While the Bulldogs were competitive, the margin was extended at every break.
Brent Harvey added another four goals, after kicking the identical haul in the opening-round win over Macleod. Only one player has kicked more goals than the 39-year-old superstar in the opening fortnight – that player being evergreen 42-year-old Gary Moorcroft. Who said football is a young man’s game?
Michael Florance continued his strong start to the year and was named the Bulldogs best player for the second-consecutive week, while Jesse Tardio found plenty of the footy and booted a goal.
West Preston-Lakeside suffered an agonising two-point loss, where a win would have kept the club atop the ladder after two rounds. The Roosters led entering red-time of the final quarter but were unable to hold out Heidelberg in a frantic final five minutes.
Adam Valeri was a ball magnet and was his side’s best player. Jackson Clarke, Patrick Karnezis and skipper Nathan Valladares all performed strongly, while Sam Glover displayed neat foot skills out of defence.
After not selecting a designated ruckman last week it will be interesting to see how the Roosters line-up this week, especially given the strong form of North Heidelberg ruckman Michael Florance early in the season.
Northcote Park makes the longest road trip in the top flight when it travels to the Whittlesea Showgrounds to take on a Whittlesea side on the rebound. The Cougars were big winners in both outings against the Eagles last year.
Northcote Park welcomed Ash Close, Bronik Davies and Brock McLennan back into their side last week, as well as blooding recruit James Svarc. The inclusions helped the Cougars open their account in a vital result to get their campaign off and running.
Close was the best key forward on the ground and finished with a game-high five goals, while also spending time in the ruck. Ricky Fandrich chimed in with three and was among the best performers in the one-point result.
In another positive for the Cougars, Nick Carter put in another strong showing and is beginning to return to the form that saw him claim back-to-back Molloy Medal wins.
After opening the season with a gripping win, Whittlesea was bitterly disappointing in its heavy defeat against Macleod last week and will be looking to respond this week.
Co-captain Riley Dyson was his side’s best in defeat and kicked two goals, while recruits Xavier Dimasi and Chris McCabe also acquitted themselves well, despite the lop-sided scoreline.
With two more home games to come before their first road trip, the Eagles will be desperate to make the most of their early fixture and will need to take one or two more scalps over the next fortnight to take full advantage.
Round 3 also concludes with a twilight game when Montmorency and Bundoora meet in a massive clash at Montmorency Park.
Montmorency will be looking to carry on its momentum from last week’s win over North Heidelberg, where the club’s star players all had a major impact on the final result, to propel their side up to fourth place on the ladder.
Leading by six points at quarter time, the Magpies set-up the win with a five-goal to two second quarter which opened a 24-point advantage at the main break.
Youngsters Jordan Steele and Sam Binion impressed, while Matt White (three goals) and Ben Kennedy also excelled.
If extra motivation is required this week, the Magpies need only look back to the last time they played Bundoora – where they were humbled in a 106-point demolition.
Bundoora unfurled its 2017 premiership flag prior to last week’s match against Greensborough, but that was where the celebrations ended. With only 12 of last year’s premiership team on the field, the Bulls managed just six goals in the 46-point loss.
The positives came in the form of Damo Aujla and Dale Marshall, who both won plenty of the football, while Nathan Thomas didn’t miss a beat in his first game of the season after missing the Round 1 win over Northcote Park.
