Although the average winning margin in Round 6 was almost 45 points, the storylines which emerged from these games has created an intriguing Round 7 ahead.
Yet again it was North Heidelberg who made the big statement of the week, with their take-no-prisoner approach yielding the ultimate reward in the opening quarter of their meeting with Panton Hill.
The margin at quarter time was a simply astounding 59 points, with the Dogs kicking 9.6, whilst restricting the Hillers to a solitary behind. To the Hillers’ credit their next three quarters saw them reduce the margin from their massive quarter time deficit, but it was still not enough to prevent the Dogs easing to a 51-point victory, 19.14 (128) to 11.11 (77).
Shane Harvey and Lachlan Dowling were yet again dominant, kicking 12 goals between them, with Leigh Taggart and Jarrod Spurrell their best players.
That result sees the Dogs remain unbeaten ahead of their rematch of the epic 2012 Division 2 decider with Epping, with Collingwood premiership star Alan Didak to make a cameo appearance for the ladder -leaders.
The Blues were left to rue a poor first half against Fitzroy Stars, which saw them kick three goals from 12 scoring shots. That included 0.6 in the first quarter, which effectively killed their chances of victory. The second half was much improved, but the Pingers still fell 40 points short.
Aaron Willits was superb, kicking four goals and providing a shining light for the Blues, with Daniel Moore kicking three himself. Shane Wood was also one of Epping’s better performers.
The Stars have eased into the season thus far, with injuries halting their progress, but arguably fielded their best side of the season in the victory over Epping, holding them in good stead as they chase the double chance.
Malcolm Dow continued to be a dominant force and heads into the second third of the season as a leading chance for the competition best and fairest. Dow kicked three goals for the Stars, who were led by John Hayes with five goals. Shannon Turner also kicked three, whilst Allan Norris was another solid contributor.
Fitzroy Stars now host Hurstbridge at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval. The Bridges were able to match Mernda in front of a huge crowd at Ben Frilay Oval, but were left to rue a disappointing first quarter in the match of the day.
The Hurstbridge faithful turned up in droves to watch former Collingwood and Fremantle champion Chris Tarrant play a one-off match, and Tarrant did not disappoint, kicking three goals. However, Daniel Francis was threatening to steal the show, kicking four goals and willing Hurstbridge into the game.
However, Mernda had every answer in their 16.20 (116) to 12.17 (89) victory. Francis, along with Dale Eames and Aron Burns were good performers for the Bridges.
Mernda, itself, was able to unveil big name recruit Saul Caddy, who kicked three goals in his debut game for the Demons. Brent Gallichio, also in his first senior game, kicked four, alongside Nicholas Brannelly.
All three were pivotal figures in the victory, alongside Les Adams. The victory means that the Demons still currently hold the right to the double chance, with a big game against Diamond Creek coming up.
The Creekers finally broke through for their first victory of 2014 with an outstanding second half, which saw them kick eight goals to one to turn a 15-point half time lead into a 59-point drubbing.
Jai Norman was a dominant force, kicking four goals for Diamond Creek, with Matthew Green and Chris Burton adding three more. Billy Bedford and Ryan Burrell were amongst their best performers as the Creekers were able to sing the song for the first time since Round 18 last season.
After winning its first two games of season 2014, Lalor has now lost four on the trot ahead of a huge game against Panton Hill at Lalor Reserve.
Todd Hughes was Lalor’s best performer, as well as its only multiple goalkicker, kicking two goals. Jarrod King and Kane Toronis were also good performers in a very disappointing outing, with a big game against the Redbacks coming up.
As mentioned before, Panton Hill was able to play three quarters of reasonable football after being shell-shocked in the opening quarter by North Heidelberg, outscoring the Dogs by eight points after quarter time.
Brendan O’Connor kicked five goals for the Hillers, with Andrew Schadendorff best, alongside Tyler Scarce who continued his outstanding start to 2014.
