Approaching the halfway mark of the home and away season, the MC Labour Division 2 competition is as even as ever, with last week’s results set to make Round 9 an interesting weekend ahead.
In a battle of fourth vs fifth, Lower Plenty will host St Mary’s at Montmorency Park South Oval with the two sides looking to firm their spot inside the top-five.
Having come up short last week to the in-form Diamond Creek, the Bears will be eager to get themselves back on the winners list against another tough opposition in the Burra.
The Bears were always in the contest but trailing at every change they were unable to wrestle momentum for long enough to reverse the deficit.
In the losing effort, it was the trio of Thomas Blake, Corey Sleep and Jordan Sacco who were named as the top contributors. Meanwhile Tom Keys led the scoring with three goals, taking his season tally to 21.
Opponents St Mary’s will be eager to take the four points, sitting just two points behind the Bears, as win will see them jump up the ladder.
The Burra produced a famous win over Thomastown last Saturday and were able to withstand a last quarter charge from the Bears after leading by as much as 38 points midway through the term.
While morale is high, Fabian Carelli’s men will be motivated to put in a full four-quarter performance against quality opposition this time around.
In a high scoring affair the efforts of Zane Costello, Tane Cotter and Nicholas Dean got the Burra over the line, combining for nine goals and all named as the side’s top three players in the win.
Yet to record back-to-back wins this season, the Burra will be out to buck that trend this weekend while the Bears will want to keep in touch with the top sides of the competition.
Sitting a game outside of the top five, Watsonia will be looking to close in on a finals spot when they host Thomastown.
Coming off a comprehensive victory over Epping in Round 8, the Saints have regained momentum and will want to make their presence in the competition known by producing back to back wins.
Forward duo Kyle Wheatley and James Lucente kicked 10 goals between them, meanwhile Joshua Boutlon and Corey Potter also impressed.
With their midfield and forward line up and firing, the Saints will give Thomastown plenty of headaches if they can repeat their efforts from last week.
The Bears too will be coming into the clash desperate for a win. Despite on paper fielding one of the strongest sides in the division, the Bears have fallen short numerous times this season and currently find themselves sitting seventh on the ladder.
Their most recent defeat being a seven-point loss to St Mary’s and despite a spirited fightback in the final term, it would be another honourable loss for the side.
Daniel Chadwick, Josh Beare and Anthony Capcei were the side’s best contributors in the loss.
A Saints win will see them at worst, just two points off the top five, while the Bears will want to capitalise on this opportunity to regain some form, or risk falling at least six points away from sixth spot on the ladder.
Now two games clear of the relegation zone, Panton Hill will be out to further separate themselves from the bottom two when they take on Diamond Creek at home.
Having struggled for most of the season, Simon Amore’s men were able to turn things around in a tight contest against the winless Fitzroy Stars, defeating the home side by 14 points.
The Park boys were impressive in the win, with all three of Nick, Sam and Oliver proving to be a handful for the Stars. Despite claiming win number two for the season, the Redbacks will be in for challenge when they take on one of the in-form teams of the competition.
Diamond Creek jumped to second on the ladder following their impressive nine-point victory over Lower Plenty last weekend, leading at every change.
The defensive duo of Jack Empey and Nick Searl were influential again with their intercept marking and rebounding helped keep their opponents at bay. Ryan Pingree and Jai Norman made the most of entries up forward, finishing the day with two goals each in a low scoring affair.
This will be the first meeting between these two sides since the opening round of the 2021 season, in which the Creekers prevailed by just six points in a low scoring contest. The Redbacks will hope to produce the same competitiveness.
Coming off a heavy loss to Eltham, the Banyule have a good opportunity to get back on the winners list when they face on Epping at Beverley Road Oval.
In their highly anticipated top of the table clash, Banyule were blown out of the park after quarter time, conceding 12 unanswered goals to go down by 66 points, their heaviest defeat since Round 6, 2018.
Christian Farchione, Liam Jacob and Reuben Blackmore-Moore were the shining lights in the losing effort, with Lachlan Turner also showing a decent effort.
Facing the second bottom on the ladder, the Bears will be eager to put in a dominant display and send a statement to the competition having looked vulnerable last weekend.
Meanwhile Epping will be eager to stop the bleeding having not lost a game by under by less than 90 points since Round 2.
The Blues have struggled this season and have a massive opportunity to prove they are a better side than what they’ve been showing in the past month when they take on one of the highly fancied sides of the competition.
Their most recent defeat came at the hands of a 101-point defeat to Watsonia, with the trio of Jude Georgievski, Joshua Sims and James Tadd were rare highlights.
Currently conceding more points than any other side this year, Epping will at least want to gain some respectability in the competition.
Following their impressive victory over Banyule last week, Eltham will be out to secure back-to-back comprehensive wins when they take on the winless Fitzroy Stars at Eltham Central Park.
The Panthers recorded arguably their best triumph of the season last weekend, putting in a dominant second half performance over the Bears to be a game clear on top of the table.
Matthew Williamson and Jason Mccormick led the scoring with three goals apiece, while the trio of Kyle O’Sullivan, Finnbar Maley and Luke Sirianni impressed further afield.
The Fitzroy Stars are coming off one of their more solid display’s despite falling short to Panton Hill.
Riley Livingstone and Hotak Akram were among the best for Lionel Proctor’s side, who continue to try and put together the right pieces to claim their first win of the season.
Lingering at the bottom of the ladder, the opportunity to get themselves out of the relegation drop will a major motivating factor when they take on the Panthers and although the bottom side beating the top side would seem almost impossible, stranger things have happened.
