THERE are still four undefeated teams following the Easter break, however two premiership fancies sit inside the bottom four without a win from their opening two games.
While the season is still young, both Montmorency and Northcote Park have given a handy head-start to their fellow top-three hopefuls, most notably Bundoora and Heidelberg who have taken the maximum eight points from the first two rounds.
Round 3 begins on ANZAC Day where Heidelberg and Northcote Park continue their healthy rivalry following the 2012 Grand Final. Both sides will honour our service men and women prior to the match, which kicks off at 1pm at Warringal Park.
Heidelberg held on in a second consecutive thriller when it outlasted Whittlesea by three points at the Whittlesea Showgrounds in Round 2. The Tigers were well led by Jarrod Hodgkin who booted five goals in a low-scoring affair, although a pectoral injury to Blair Harvey provided a sour note.
Northcote Park heads into the clash on the back of a loss to its bogey-side Macleod, with the Cougars now having lost to the Roos in each of the past five seasons. Six goals from recruit Tom Walliss weren’t enough to get Jason Heatley’s men across the line at De Winton Park.
On Saturday, West Preston-Lakeside and Greensborough will look to keep their impressive starts to the season going when they meet at J.E. Moore Park. The sides sit fourth and second respectively on the ladder heading into the encounter.
The Roosters smashed Lower Plenty last up as they continued their impressive form from their opening-round draw with Northcote Park. Glenn Robertson and first-gamer Alroy Gilligan combined for nine goals in the 76-point win, while Luke Lirosi was again a standout.
The Boro won all four quarters in their Good Friday clash at Eltham to run away with a 39-point win. Tim Bongetti led the way with four goals and a number of towering marks in the forward half. Some of the club’s lesser likes also stood up on the big stage, with Matthew Fowler, Brent Ryan and Sean Salmon all making a large impact.
Following the disappointment of its narrow loss to Heidelberg, Whittlesea again fronts up at home to host fifth-placed Macleod.
Ben Barker and Janan Daniel both showed they were over the injuries which kept them from the field in 2013, with the duo named the Eagles’ best in the three-point defeat. Mitch Scholard’s three goals were Whittlesea’s most in a game where the highest lead at any change was just four points.
After losing so many thrillers in 2013, Macleod will be brimming with confidence after finally holding out for a win in a tight contest. Despite conceding the opening five goals of the final term, the Roos bounced back to win by 14 points. Midfielders Hamish Paynter and John Andrew were both instrumental, while Nick Lynch kicked five goals in his first game back on De Winton Park.
Lower Plenty makes the short trip to Yulong Reserve to take on Bundoora – a journey which has not been too kind to the Bears in recent seasons.
Inaccurate kicking plagued the Bears early in their loss to West Preston-Lakeside, heading into half-time with a wasteful 4.11. However, it was all one-way traffic in the second half as the hosts piled on nine goals to one after half time. Ben Buller and Jackson Powell fought hard in defeat, but it was an otherwise disappointing day following a promising win in Round 1.
Round 2 was historic for Bundoora as it recorded its first win at Montmorency since 2006. It was the first win at the ground for every Bulls player on the day, as they overpowered the Magpies by 38 points in the 2013 Grand Final rematch. Cameron Cloke and Gary Moorcroft combined for 11 goals, while Matthew Dennis impressed in his first game of the year.
Finally, arch-rivals Montmorency and Eltham meet under lights at Montmorency Park as both sides look for their first win of the year.
The Magpies will hope to have Ryan Willits, Jesse Donaldson and Mark McKenzie all return as they look to bounce back from their toughest start to a season since 2011, where they lost their opening four games.
Eltham’s turnovers were its biggest downfall in its loss to Greensborough, with the Boro booting eight goals from Panther errors. Harrison Burns proved he’ll be a star of the future with four goals, while Brendan Ryan and Billy Glasgow were in the best, alongside Ben Johnson in his cameo game in red and black.
