A look at the Round 7 matches in A Plus Labour Solutions Division 2.
Round 7 of A Plus Labour Solutions Division 2 is headlined by a clash between two sides on five-game winning streaks.
Diamond Creek hosts the Fitzroy Stars at Coventry Oval in the game of the round. It looms as a massive battle in the fight for a top-two place, with the two sides and North Heidelberg all locked on five wins.
The Demons retained top spot after another impressive victory over Watsonia last week. A seven-goal to one opening term kick-started the Demons, who went on to win by 85 points despite key forward Jess Cosaitis missing the clash at Coventry Oval.
Six Demons kicked multiple goals, with the best being Tyler Barnes and Brad Perry, who both ended the game with four goals. It was a fine return for Perry who was playing his first game since Round 2.
The Stars avenged their Round 1 loss to Lower Plenty by beating the Bears in last week’s rematch at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval – although they did have to recover from a 16-point deficit at quarter-time.
Leading by one point at the last change, the Stars kicked four goals to two in the last to seal the victory. Vaasili Tuifao backed up his six-goal haul in Round 5 with three majors, with Max Maynard, Allan Norris, Malcolm Dow (three goals) and Hedley Smith all in the best.
Second-placed North Heidelberg will be gunning for another victory when it takes on old rival Lalor at Shelley Reserve.
The Bulldogs notched up their 11th-consecutive home victory in their 128-point win over Panton Hill. Brent Harvey sent the football world abuzz by booting nine goals and accumulating 54 disposals.
North Heidelberg coach Steve Saddington said Harvey readjusted to the level of the competition over the opening six weeks and warned the star man will only get better as the season progresses.
One downside for the Bulldogs was the exclusion of ruckman Michael Florance, who will miss a few weeks after cutting his index finger. The Bulldogs will hope Florance is not out for too long because at his best he is one of the most dominant ruckmen in the league.
Lalor let slip a golden opportunity to win its second game of the season in Round 6. The Bloods were leading by 38 points at three quarter time, but conceded eight goals in the final term as Thomastown pinched an unlikely victory.
Anthony Velicki was moved into the forward line and the tactic worked as the big defender kicked two goals. Mark Roumanos also kicked multiple goals in his first game of the season, while Jhye Baddeley-Kelly was once again the Bloods’ best player.
Lalor will be disappointed with the result but would be happy with its first three quarters. If it can recapture that form for four quarters against North Heidelberg, the match will be closer than expected.
Fourth-placed Lower Plenty makes the short trip to Watsonia in the hope of keeping hold of its position in the top-four.
Despite retaining a host of the team that played in Division 1 last season, the Bears have taken some time to adjust to life in second division, with last week’s defeat to the Fitzroy Stars their third loss of the season.
Tom Keys was the Bears’ best performer against the Stars, while Darcy Barden booted six goals to increase his tally to 20 majors for the season. Ben Paterson also continued his good form and now has eight goals in six matches.
Watsonia will be looking to regroup after a big loss against Diamond Creek. The Saints’ desire could not be faulted against the competition’s top-placed side but conceded 150 points or more for the second-straight week.
A positive for the Saints was the form of Jeremy Bennett, Allan Young and Adrian Alfonsi. The trio kicked eight of the Saints’ nine goals, while Ben Anderson and Anthony Cardamone both won plenty of the ball.
The final game of the weekend sees Panton Hill take on Thomastown in a game both sides would consider winnable.
The Redbacks suffered their second-consecutive 100-point defeat in Round 6. They took it up to the Bulldogs for the opening three quarters but ran out of gas in the last quarter on the back of limited rotations – conceding eight-unanswered goals.
Matthew Hunt and Matthew Fowler can be proud of their efforts, while Damian Noorman kicked three goals.
Thomastown had to show great character to beat Lalor in Round 6. At three quarter time the Bears trailed by 38 points and had kicked an inaccurate 2.13 (25). They were again wasteful in the final term, kicking nine behinds, but also kicked eight goals to secure the win.
Daniel Chadwick was best on ground, while James Rizzolio kicked three goals. These sides last met in the final round of last season, where Nick Horman booted five goals to give Thomastown a 17-point victory.
Photo courtesy of BlueStream Pictures
