Reservoir returns from its second bye of the season, and following two consecutive wins prior to its week off, the club has certainly kept its top two hopes alive.
The Mustangs’ prospects of a double chance in this season’s finals series looked in jeopardy when they fell to three successive losses between rounds six and eight and slipped to fourth place on the Division 3 ladder.
But a thumping 67-point win over Heidelberg West and a 34-point victory over improving Watsonia in its past two starts have put an end to any form slump the side may have been going through.
With its season looking all but over just a fortnight ago, Parkside has returned from the Queen’s Birthday weekend reinvigorated and will return to the top four should it claim the points away at Reservoir this week.
A loss to St Mary’s in Round 10 would have seen the Devils fall three games behind the top four. But with so much at stake, Peter Dean’s men responded emphatically with a 24-point win at Binnak Park.
The Devils showed their intent from the outset, jumping to a 14-point lead at quarter time before restricting the Burras to just a solitary goal in the second half.
Since returning from its break over the long weekend, Parkside has lost just one quarter of football and has restricted its opposition to just 115 points in two games, a marked improvement from its opening seven games when it conceded an average of 102 points a game.
After a slow start to the season, Andy Bennett has returned to form in front of the big sticks and has booted 31 games from nine games, including 27 from his past five.
He kicked a season-high eight goals against Heidelberg West in Round 4, but it was his match-winning six-goal haul against St Mary’s a fortnight ago that was his most impressive performance to date.
With spearheads Dallas King and Darren Turner both leaving the cub in the opening month of the season, Bennett’s importance has only intensified and he was last week aided by Justin Ross who kicked seven, doubling his season’s tally in the process.
Thomas McKinlay was again superb last week and is a leading contender for the side’s best and fairest award, however the two-match suspension he received last week will keep him out of today’s crunch game.
Having easily accounted for Parkside when the sides met in Round 5, Reservoir will take plenty of confidence into this encounter as it searches for its seventh win of the season.
The goal kicking prowess of Toby O’Meara and Ashley Flavel has helped the Mustangs return to their best form in recent weeks, with the star forwards combining for 19 goals over the past two matches.
Jarrod Skinner and Cameron Rooney continue to star on a weekly basis, while the return of Ryan Docherty will further enhance Reservoir’s midfield stocks in the second half of the season.
The 2010 competition best and fairest winner missed six weeks of football after sustaining a hamstring injury in Round 1 and is now starting to find the form that he displayed two seasons ago.
Youngsters Kent Beaumont and Reece Miller have impressed in the start of their senior careers, and Beaumont – who booted 61 goals to claim the Division 1 under-19 goal kicking award last season – could well become a perfect foil for O’Meara and Flavel.
The Mustangs have won the past two encounters between the sides, including the aforementioned 56-point win over the Devils in Round 5 this year.
After leading by just six points following a tight first quarter, the Mustangs tore the game open with a five-goal to two second quarter, before slamming on a further six goals in the third term to take a match-winning 49-point buffer into the final break.
Given Parkside’s return to form over the past fortnight, a much closer contest can be expected on Saturday.
Past four meetings:
Reservoir 2, Parkside 2
Round 5, 2012: Parkside 7.7 (49) def by Reservoir 16.9 (105)
Round 16, 2011: Parkside 12.9 (81) def by Reservoir 14.8 (92)
Round 8, 2011: Parkside 12.10 (82) def Reservoir 8.10 (58)
Round 2, 2011: Reservoir 4.15 (39) def by Parkside 11.9 (75)
