Saturday night football headlines a brilliant three-game slate in MC Labour Division 2 as Round 1 continues.
Following two Good Friday clashes in the competition last week, six teams will be vying to join Eltham and Thomastown on the winners list after Round 1.
Watsonia will hope for a repeat of their Round 1 performance 12 months ago when they host Lower Plenty at Binnak Park.
The Saints produced an epic three-point win over the Bears in what was one of the upsets of the season. It set their base for their rise in the competition throughout 2022, finishing just two points shy of a finals berth.
George Lattouf won’t have 2022 Team of the Year members Lachlan Potter and Kyle Wheatley at his disposal this season, but they still have some great talent to fill the voids, including last year’s club best and fairest winner Josh Boulton and new recruit Blake Charles.
The Bears have seen a bunch of experienced players depart the club in the last few months and will be heavily reliant on youth throughout the 2023 season.
They still boast a strong midfield group headlined by co-captains Josh Turner and Jordan Sacco as well as young gun Tyler Wallace and will have a new target to aim for inside 50 with the arrival of 20-year-old Riley Alexander who kicked 80 majors for La Trobe University in the VAFA last year.
But with Northcote Park and Diamond Creek to come, Phil Plunkett’s men will be eyeing this clash as one they can build momentum off in the early stages of season 2023.
South Morang’s return to MC Labour Division 2 gets underway with a huge battle against St Mary’s at Mill Park Lakes Reserve.
The Lions have prepared their return accordingly from a recruiting point of view, with South Morang juniors Josh D’Intinosante, Lachlan Potter and James Traianou as well as Gary Moorcroft and son Beau all signing with the club in the off-season.
South Morang has also managed to keep just about their entire squad from their 2022 reserves and senior premierships, which will no doubt allow Gary Hall to build on his side’s morale and chemistry throughout the season.
St Mary’s will be eager to bounce back from their finish to the 2022 season, where a 1-4 record in the last five games of the year saw them slip out of the top five. But Fabian Carelli’s men are still on a natural rise and another improved campaign could more than likely be enough to grab a maiden Division 2 finals berth.
The Burra do have a good record against South Morang, it will be the first meeting between these two sides since their Division 3 clash in Round 18, 2018 where the Burra notched up a 15th win in 16 games on their way to their first NFNL premiership. They haven’t tasted defeat to the Lions since a four-point loss in Round 18, 2017.
In their first Division 2 encounter since 1994, Northcote Park’s aim of returning to the top flight kicks off in a huge Saturday night encounter with Diamond Creek at Bill Lawry Oval.
In their first battle together since 2009, the winner of this clash could easily establish themselves as early challengers to Eltham for the premiership.
The Cougars struggled with inconsistency and a big injury toll throughout their three-win 2022 campaign, but with some handy recruits and a new season ahead, Northcote Park would be optimistic in returning to winning ways sooner rather than later.
Stephen Saddington’s side have lost some great talent in Lachlan Boscarini, Ben McNiece, Thomas Hallebone and Jack Sammartino, but were able finish the off-season strongly with the recruitments of former Greensborough Chris Clark, Hurstbridge’s Tyson Old and Epping trio Adrian Cirianni, Damon Marcon and James Tadd.
Diamond Creek have also had a positive transfer period as they look to build off their impressive preliminary final run of last year.
The losses of Sam Gleeson and Hugh Kavanagh will hurt but adding Billy Bedford, Brenton Keating and Dale Marshall to the squad might quickly make up for their departures.
The Creekers front half will again one to watch with three players, Ryan Pingree, Jai Norman and Sage Dicello all coming off 30+ goal seasons.
