We’ll be treated to three big senior men’s games this Good Friday across Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 and MC Labour Division 2.
Greensborough will look to shake off their loss last week when they return home to face off against rivals Macleod.
The Borough are coming off the back of a shock five-point defeat to Hurstbridge, a match where they were up by 10 points at three quarter time before conceding nine scoring shots to four in the last term.
Nathan Hrovat, Chris Clark and Ben Fisher were just some of the names out for Saade Ghazi’s men, but they still boasted many talented players on the day with Matthew Haynes, Ben Pannam and Jack Johnston some of the best players in the defeat to the Bridges.
The Borough have probably been fortunate fixture wise compared to other sides in the division, with their first three games being three of the bottom four sides from the shortened 2021 season.
You’d expect a quality side like the Borough to bounce back after their loss last week and avoid a 1-2 start, but Macleod are a side who have already proven they can be a menace to the premiership contenders of 2022.
Following a disappointing campaign last year, the Kangaroos kicked off this season in perfect style, dominating North Heidelberg by 40 points before a 25-point defeat to Heidelberg in Round 2.
Tigers coach Danny Nolan praised Macleod’s system as well as coach Craig Hayes, highlighting they still have a formidable squad to their name.
Lucas Hobbs continues to impress for the Roos, currently second on the Coaches MVP leaderboard, while the likes Ned McKeown, Kurt Manuel and Paddy Flynn have continued to set the standards that Macleod want to achieve.
The visiting Roos will also take in some confidence from their last meeting in Round 11 last year, when they secured a 24-point victory over Greensborough at De Winton Park.
Paddy Martin kicked three that day and with seven goals already to his name to start the 2022 campaign, he’ll be looking to continue that form against the strong Borough defence of Nick Riddle, Jack Johnston and Billy Bedford.
North Heidelberg and Bundoora are the other match up in Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 with both sides coming off big but important victories in Round 2.
The Bulldogs responded to their disappointing loss to Macleod in Round 1 when they took home a 36-point win from Bill Lawry Oval against Northcote Park.
A five goal to two second half is what finished the job for North Heidelberg with Doug Morris, Jesse Tardio and Jared Crosbie playing pivotal roles in the victory.
Good Friday will be the beginning of a difficult month for the Bulldogs, with games against highly fancied sides West Preston-Lakeside, Heidelberg and Montmorency to follow; meaning a win against the Bulls would not only be a great result for Jason Heatley’s men, but would give them the perfect lead up to attack those encounters.
Bundoora bounced back from their opening round loss to the Roosters to impressively defeat Montmorency by nine-points.
Despite small contributions from Sam Lloyd and Hamish Shepheard, the forward line was led by Daniel Younan who kicked five, while Isaac McMillan, Luke Collins and Brent Marshall were dominant in the defensive half and midfield areas.
The midfield battle of Tardio, Nunan and Morris vs Zaharakis, Collins and Thompson will be excellent viewing while there’s very little doubt Shane Harvey and Sam Lloyd will be keeping a close eye on each other’s’ goal tally’s throughout the afternoon.
In saying that, it was a low scoring affair last time these two sides met in Round 6 last year, and while Sam Lloyd still came to the party with four majors, it wasn’t enough to defeat the Bulldogs, who prevailed by just four-points.
In the standalone game in MC Labour Division 2 on Good Friday, Thomastown will be searching for their first win of the season when they host Epping at Main Street Recreation Reserve.
The Bears are 0-2 for the first time since 2012 and will be disappointed to have not left Beverley Road with the four points last week when they went down to Banyule by five-points.
What has been a positive for Mario Bandera’s side is some of the individual performances the Bears have produced so far this season.
New dynamic duo Jarryd Coulson and Masaki Miki have settled well into Division 2 football, proving to be an influential partnership at almost every stoppage, while Anthony Capeci and Michael Tang combining for eight majors last week proves that the Bears’ forward line continues to be a dangerous threat for opposition sides.
The Bears will be without Capeci due to injury so they’ll need to ensure they take all their opportunities when they play an Epping side who will be looking to respond themselves after a tough loss to Panton Hill last week.
Despite the defeat, the Blues look to have improved across the first two games of the season. The return of Damon Marcon has proved to be a great success so far, the 27-year-old is currently equal third on the Coaches MVP leader board, while Alec Buchan and Leigh Judd have both been solid contributors.
Epping will want to avoid similar results against the Bears in their last two outings.
Thomastown were too strong for the Blues in Round 6 last year, winning by 51-points, while the last time these two met on Good Friday, the Bears kicked 26 goals to win by 93-points.
