The sides have met four times this season and each encounter has been a close and hard-fought battle, with ladder-leader Epping victorious on three occasions.
North Heidelberg remains the only side to have beaten the Blues this season – that being a 20-point win at Epping Recreation Reserve in Round 18 – and will head into the premiership decider confident of replicating that result despite falling to a 29-point loss in the second semi final.
Not surprisingly, Shane Harvey looms as the big danger again for Epping given his red-hot form since returning to Shelley Street Reserve from Southport in Round 6. Harvey has 94 goals for the year following his match-winning seven-goal haul in last week’s 23-point preliminary final win over Fitzroy Stars and thrives on the big occasion.
Young Josh Stavely is sure to get first crack at the competition leading goal kicker after a stellar showing in the second semi final where he kept Harvey goalless in the second half after he threatened to tear the game open with four first-half goals.
Ruckmen Jason Dean and Dave Florance will also have huge roles to play against John Kreuzer and Daniel Moore, with the midfield battle sure to play a decisive role in the contest.
Florance destroyed the Blues in the Round 18 win, while North’s midfield surprisingly ran the Stars of their feet early in last week’s contest to race out to an eight-goal lead midway through the second quarter. If he and Dean can provide their rovers first-use from the middle, North Heidelberg will be capable of causing an upset on Saturday.
Epping has without doubt been the team to beat all season and will be out to atone for a 52-point loss to Lower Plenty in last year’s Grand Final. The club has certainly been setting itself for this game all season and will no doubt be ready to perform come the first bounce.
The recruitment of Kreuzer, Jarrod Tilley, Matt Dornauf and Daniel Santoro has strengthened the Blues across every line on the field in comparison to this time last year, while the dominance of Luke Lirosi this season has ensured Mario Bandera’s side wins its fair share of hard ball in the middle of the field.
The Blues’ backline has been a pillar of strength all season, conceding the fewest points of any team this season at an average of just 62 points a game and have not conceded 100 points in any matches this season.
The forwards have spread the load all year with Simon Kefalas the leading goal kicker with 45 for the season – less than half of Harvey’s total in six more matches. Their ability to find a wide spread of goal kickers makes them almost impossible for any defence to shut down.
The Blues deserving head into the game as favourite as they look for their senior premiership since 1990, but North won’t be hard to topple as it looks to return to the top flight after a one-year stint in the second division.
HEAD TO HEAD
Second Semi Final: Epping 14.13 (97) def North Heidelberg 10.8 (68)
Round 18: Epping 5.5 (35) def by North Heidelberg 8.7 (55)
Round 12: Epping 17.13 (115) def North Heidelberg 15.8 (98)
Round 5: North Heidelberg 12.10 (82) def by Epping 14.8 (92)
