The opening week of the 2024 Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 finals series is upon us, as Preston City Oval will again be the scene of a huge two matches to begin the campaign.
The two main challengers to Heidelberg in Montmorency and North Heidelberg will look to book a date with the minor premiers when they meet Saturday’s qualifying final.
Both teams have been on similar trajectories throughout 2024, winning 12 games each, with only 15 percent separating the pair by the end of the home and away campaign.
Nick Rutley’s men come into this game off three big wins against Macleod, Greensborough and West Preston-Lakeside, and produced an average winning margin of 45 points in that run.
Marcus Lentini and Nash Holmes have stepped it up in midfield and were both in their side’s best in last week’s triumph over the Roosters. But Lentini will have to do the heavy lifting this weekend, with Holmes to miss due to suspension.
Up forward, while Ayhan Bajramov and Patrick Fitzgerald will be the main targets inside 50, Lachy Batchelor and Corey Sleep arguably come into this week’s match in better form, combining for eight majors in the recent win over West Preston-Lakeside.
But this weekend will see them go up against a North Heidelberg side who comfortably accounted for the Magpies in their most recent match a month ago.
Whilst they did go down to fellow finals outfit Hurstbridge in Round 17, the Bulldogs have still been irrepressible throughout the last month, highlighted in their victory over Banyule in Round 18.
Lachlan Smith and Brodie White continued their stellar seasons along with Brock Chircop, as the Bulldogs ended Banyule’s season with a 64-point victory at Beverley Road Oval.
But 19-year-old Parker Heatley looked to be the star of the show once again, sewing up the Division 1 leading goalkicker award with a six-goal haul. It was the same number of goals he booted against Montmorency in Round 15, and a replica performance will go a long way towards his side’s hopes of a second semi-final berth.
Not only did North Heidelberg have the answers against their Saturday opponents in early August, but they did so in their last finals meeting almost 12 months ago, when they produced a comfortable 57-point first semi-final triumph, to knock the Magpies out in straight sets.
But with the prize of taking on the benchmark of the top flight up for grabs, it could be a much closer game for these two sides than in previous meetings
It’s do or die for Hurstbridge and Greensborough in their elimination final clash this Sunday.
This weekend marks a second consecutive top flight finals series for Hurstbridge while the Boro make a return after missing out last year for the first time in more than a decade.
After a shaky middle third of the season Joel Cordwell’s men have started to find their form in the last month, winning three of their final four games of the year.
They’ve found a wide spread of contributors throughout that period, with players such as Nick Kent and Cameron Wild stepping up in the absence of Mitch Moschetti and Joel Naylor.
VFL-listed star Kye Declase has been impactful in the side’s great form over the last four weeks and was named as his side’s best once again in the Bridges’ 35-point loss to minor premiers Heidelberg last weekend.
With some big names on the verge of returning to the team this weekend, Hurstbridge could be well placed to win their first ever Division 1 final. They’ll also take confidence in the fact that they have defeated Greensborough in their last three matches, including by 16 points only three weeks ago.
The Boro meanwhile navigated a difficult final month opponent wise successfully. Despite defeats to the Bridges and the Magpies in recent weeks, their Round 15 upset triumph over Heidelberg has proven to be the game that has sent them back into the finals.
They did still have to defeat Macleod last week to ensure their fifth placed position, and produced their highest score since Round 9, to achieve the feat.
Brody Glenn kicked a bag of five in the victory and has now kicked nine goals in his last three matches, which included four majors against Hurstbridge earlier this month.
Whilst the Bridges host plenty of star names in midfield, they may have a tough time limiting the impact of young Boro star Kristian Ferronato. The Brent Harvey Medalist has been named in his side’s best in four of his previous five matches, and twice against Hurstbridge in 2024. His performance could be crucial in his side’s chances of victory.
The same can be said for Tom Brindley, who will be back from Richmond’s VFL side this weekend. His last game in Greensborough colours was a best on ground performance in their win over Heidelberg.
With his return and players around him in good form, the Boro are every chance of winning their first final since 2019.
