Round 12 of Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 will begin with the teams appearing to sit in three groupings.
South Morang, Kilmore and Laurimar look likely to be fighting for the top two, with the Lions undefeated with seven wins and both the Blues and Power two games behind at 7-2.
After back-to-back wins, Old Eltham Collegians is in the top-four for the first time, with the Turtles two games behind the Blues and the Power. Heidelberg West drops to fifth with a percentage of 114.31 compared to the Turtles’ 119.86.
The competition’s other teams – Mernda, Lalor and Reservoir – are three games or more adrift.
Old Eltham Collegians entered its Round 11 match against Reservoir at Eltham College unsure if a win would propel it into the top-four.
The Turtles fulfilled their end of the bargain – running away with six unanswered goals in the final term to win by 88 points. With other results going their way, they moved into fourth position.
“We did what we had to do and won by enough to put us into the four,” Old Eltham Collegians coach Matthew Sleeman said.
Sleeman was pleased with the good form of Jack Fitzgerald, while Eden Simpson equalled his career-best return with three majors. Tom O’Neill and Clay Crimmins also contributed well.
Reservoir duo Robert Holland and Aaron Lanning both impressed their coach Jason Hamilton, while Tom Zerella did well on a wing and Nick Gregson continued his stellar season.
“We were competitive with our contested ball work, but they beat us on the outside,” Hamilton said.
Heidelberg West lost to Kilmore to the tune of 50 points at Heidelberg Park and consequently fell out of the top-four for the first time this season.
The Hawks were on the back foot early when four goals down midway through the first term. The game was then on even terms until the last break, with the margin being 26 points heading into the final quarter.
Early goals to the Blues sealed the win to keep them in second place, ahead of Laurimar by a margin of 17 percentage points.
The other two matches of round 11 were very similar in scoring patterns.
Both South Morang and Laurimar were brilliant early and looked to be heading towards triple-figure winning margins at the main break. But, in each game, their lower-ranked opponents were highly competitive in the second half.
Mernda hosted South Morang at Waterview Recreation Reserve and the Demons found themselves down by 38 points at the main break. The home side found something extra after half time, winning the third term and finishing level in the second half to lose by 38 points.
Riley Vincent was exceptional down back, while Riley Black snared his biggest bag of goals since 2018 with four majors.
“Mernda had a crack after half time. We needed to respond, and we did,” South Morang coach Gary Hall said after his team withstood the second half challenge.
Brothers Tye and Kain Hall did well in the win for the Lions. Matthew Trim repeated his top shelf performances of recent matches, while Luke Cullen impressed with his second and third efforts.
Alex Colaidis has moved into second place on the goal-kicking ladder after kicking six then four goals in games after the bye. He is six behind leader Josh Williamson, who has 28 majors for the season to date.
Laurimar journeyed to Lalor Reserve and controlled the first half against Lalor with ten goals to one. But the Bloods lifted in the second half, with four goals apiece after the main break seeing the Power running out 65-point winners.
“Hard fought game. Credit to us, we got the job done,” Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins said after securing a must-win result.
Co-captains Mitch Thompson and Luke Wilson pleased Atkins with their work, as did Ethan Gorski and Kaiden Arthur.
Lalor’s effort to win the third term by three goals to one was the club’s best showing of form since the bye.
“We were slow out of the blocks, but the boys gave effort in bucket-loads in the second half,” Lalor coach Gary Cutler said.
Lachie Evans drew praise from his coach for his ruck work in the absence of Hirsi Twomey. Brad Johnstone once again handled the job on Josh Williamson well – limiting him to a solitary goal, while brothers Pasquale and Dominic Saccuzzo made their mark on the game.
Old Eltham Collegians makes the trip to Lalor Reserve to take on Lalor in Round 12 in a must-win game for the Turtles.
They will be aiming to win three in a row for the first time in the NFNL and remain inside the top-four. In fact, they could possibly find themselves a win and percentage inside the top-four, despite having only beaten the teams in the bottom three places on the ladder.
Ladder positions would suggest a win for Old Eltham Collegians and they will be clear favourites. But the most recent encounter between these teams at the venue resulted in a mere seven-point win for the Turtles.
With the Bloods showing something in the second half last week, their fans will have hopes of an upset result.
Reservoir hosts Laurimar at Crispe Park. The Power will be looking to win and build some percentage in the process as they aim for second place.
The Round 2 meeting between these teams was a low point for the Mustangs when they went goalless and lost by 173 points at Laurimar Reserve, when Josh Williamson booted eight goals.
Reservoir fans will expect better this time at their home ground and their form since the bye has been slightly better than before.
Fresh off a vital win, Kilmore plays host to Mernda at J.J. Clancy Reserve.
The Blues are on a six-game winning streak and would be favoured to continue on their merry way in this contest.
The Demons matched it against South Morang after half time last week and if they can continue on with that form, they would be some chance of causing an upset.
Last time they met Kilmore came away from Waterview Recreation Reserve with a 30-point win. Chris Ryall was at his best that day and booted five goals for the Blues, while William Crouch slotted five as well for the Demons.
Perhaps the game that looks most intriguing on paper is the clash between South Morang and Heidelberg West at Mill Park Lakes Reserve.
This now makes it four games in a row for the Hawks against the top-three teams after rounds 8 and 9 were cancelled.
The Lions are aiming to be the first team in Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 to go through the regular season undefeated. If they can extend their run to ten straight, then top spot is close to being sewn up.
Their narrowest winning margin for the year actually came against Heidelberg West. The Hawks led at half time at Heidelberg Park back in Round 7 but fell 16 points short on the day after the Lions booted five goals to two in the third term and then hung on.
Although the gap between the two teams seems to have widened since that match, the Hawks would still give themselves a chance of a boilover. An upset win may not get them back into the top-four immediately, but it would see them well placed – with an easier draw upcoming.
