Round 4 of the MC Labour Division 2 season has some exciting fixtures in store, with the division the tightest it’s been in several years.
Several sides are staking their claim for a coveted finals spot a month into the new campaign and with only four points separating sides between second and ninth on the ladder, these early wins will be worth everything.
In what should be the game of the round and a possible grand final preview, the undefeated Banyule will be taking part in another ‘battle of the bears’ when they host Lower Plenty at Beverley Road Oval.
Banyule remain the only undefeated side of the division, having ran over Diamond Creek in the second half last week to win by 20 points. Their already impressive side has been bolstered with Ricky Dyson and Tim Martin playing their first games last week.
Martin, in particular, was superb with his ruck work and was best on ground for Banyule. Jacob Mitchell, Liam Chambers and Adam Carafa all had great games, meanwhile Jack Langford was kept Diamond Creek defenders on the backfoot all day.
Though facing tough opposition, Lower Plenty will be coming into this fixture full of confidence, coming off back-to-back wins, coming off a 45-point win over Eltham.
Joshua Turner was influential in the midfield while Billy Barden and Tom Keys continued to dominate in the front half, combining for eight goals between them.
In the only meeting these Bears had last year, Lower Plenty were comfortable 41-point winners but expect this clash to be a lot closer, given the start these two sides have had in season 2022.
There will be a lot of intrigue on the result of Watsonia and Eltham at Binnak Park, as both sides come into this fixture 2-1.
Watsonia are coming off a 17-point victory against Panton Hill and with two impressive wins to start this year’s campaign, the sky’s the limit for the Saints. Having been spearheaded by Kyle Wheatley up forward, the George Lattouf’s side took a different tact and shared the load last weekend as ten of their goals were shared amongst six goal kickers.
Cooper Burns and Adrian Saccuzzo continued their impressive starts to the season with Teague Van Zwienen stepping up and putting in his best performance of the year.
Having gone down to Lower Plenty last week by 45 points, Eltham will be eager to make amends and get back on the winners list. Trailing by a point at quarter time, the Panthers would be blown away in the next three quarters. Darcy Vallance, Anton Woods and Jackson Weatherald stood up in the losing effort.
Robert Hyde’s men will also be weary of how tight the contest was last time these two sides faced off, when the Panthers held on to win by four points in a low scoring affair. On the flipside, a win for Watsonia would certainly put them in the final’s conversation.
After back-to-back honourable losses, Diamond Creek will be looking to get a win for their efforts when they take on Epping at Coventry Oval.
Despite starting the season 1-2, Diamond Creek will be encouraged with how they’ve performed in the first three rounds, particularly last week’s 20-point defeat against premiership contenders Banyule.
Both sides were evenly matched for most of the day, with the Creeker’s poor third quarter coming back to haunt them in the end. Jai Norman was the standout in the loss, finishing the day with four goals. Midfielders Thomas Bennett and Tyler Barnes have also continued to have good starts in season 2022.
Their opponents Epping will be hopeful of an improved showing following their 99-point loss to Thomastown on Good Friday.
Having lost by an average of 80 points in their two meetings against Diamond Creek last year, the Blues will be eager to put in a more competitive showing this weekend to get their season back on track, while a return to the winner’s list for the Creekers could be just the momentum shift, they need.
Thomastown will be in search of back-to-back victories when they host the winless Fitzroy Stars at Main Street Reserve.
The Bears finally got their first win of the 2022 campaign in their Good Friday thrashing of Epping, however with Anthony Capeci and Masaki Miki sidelined for the next little while, Mario Bandera’s men will need bank all the wins they can while some of their stars are out.
What they do have when it goes right is a productive forward line with Michael Tang, Ben Nesci and Salvatore Mamone all kicking big scores in the opening three rounds of the season. Jarryd Coulson has been dominant in the ruck as expected.
Thomastown have also unearthed a new talent in Lawrence Lopiccolo, the 20-year-old currently leads the Division 2 Coaches MVP Voting and has been impressive in the first three rounds of the year.
However, their opponents on the flip side are out of form, coming into this weekend’s clash having nearly lost by an average margin of 10 goals in the opening three games this season. Having kept touch with St Mary’s in the first half last week, the Stars would get overrun in the second half, conceding six goals to 12 in the third and fourth term.
The rebuilding Fitzroy Stars will look to gain some respectability this weekend following three heavy defeats to start the 2022 season. In saying that, they proved difficult to push past in last week’s loss to St Mary’s before they were overrun with a six goal to 12 second half.
Andrew Hood, Nathan Lovett-Murray and Riley Livingstone will no doubt be some of the players who’ll lead the way for the hopeful task of upsetting the Bears.
With two successive victories, St Mary’s have been quietly going about their business and will be confident they can keep the streak going when they take on Panton Hill.
With a 51-point win last week, St Mary’s find themselves sitting in third on the ladder, quickly building their form to the level they reached in the shortened 2021 campaign.
Jacob Yeomans and Nicholas Dean continued their bright start to the season, with the duo dangerous around goal and named as the side’s two best players in the win. If those two perform in similar fashion this weekend, it should put them in good stead to record their third win of the season.
Panton Hill will be an outside chance heading into this contest as the Redbacks have just the one victory to their name so far this year, but the likes of Brody Tickell and Oliver Parks have made an already strong impact to a new-look Redbacks line-up.
Simon Amore’s men will also take some confidence from their last meeting with the Burra, when his side prevailed by 14 points in Round 13, 2021.
