The second half of the Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 home and away season commences with just two wins separating the first and sixth-placed teams on the ladder.
A couple of upset results in last week’s resumption of play have provided several interesting subplots approaching the final eight rounds of the home and away season.
Heading those storylines is the fact that only percentage divides third-placed Heidelberg from sixth-placed North Heidelberg, ensuring a thrilling race to the finals over the final two months of the regular season.
The race for top spot has also taken a dramatic turn following Greensborough’s big loss to Bundoora. Meanwhile, Northcote Park’s competitive showing against West Preston-Lakeside proved the Cougars are far from a spent force despite not yet opening their account this year.
Highlighting the Round 11 action is an enticing clash between West Preston-Lakeside and Montmorency at J.E. Moore Park.
Having won the past two flags and now sitting pretty in first spot with a 7-1 record, West Preston-Lakeside has firmly established itself as one of the great local football sides of the modern era.
The Roosters continue to tick all the boxes in their quest to achieve the astonishing feat of a three-peat and will no doubt be looking to stamp their authority this week against one of the competition’s form sides.
We know what to expect each week from the brilliant ladder-leaders so this week’s game is likely to tell us more about Montmorency than it will about West Preston-Lakeside.
The Magpies have pushed their way up to fifth spot on the back of three-successive wins and now have the chance to put their form to the litmus test against the two-time reigning premiers on their home paddock.
Having beaten fellow top-five sides Greensborough and Heidelberg already this year, Montmorency can announce itself as a legitimate premiership contender if it can match it with the Roosters this weekend.
And with matches to follow against North Heidelberg, Heidelberg and Greensborough over the following three weeks, it goes without saying that the next month could well determine the Magpies’ fate in 2021.
Both sides have midfields stacked with talent, ready to feed an in-form forward capable of winning the game off their own boot. That was demonstrated last week when Ahmed Saad booted seven goals to sink Northcote Park, while Pat Fitzgerald’s five-goal haul against Hurstbridge included four majors in the first half.
Down back both sides have been resolute. West Preston-Lakeside has conceded an average of just 51 points per game this year, while Montmorency has given away only 150 points during its three-game winning streak.
Macleod hosts Greensborough at De Winton Park in a game that takes on added significance following last week’s results.
The Roos have won three of their past four games, with last week’s win over North Heidelberg keeping them within two wins of the top-five.
Having beaten both the Bulldogs and Montmorency in recent matches, there is no question Christian Stagliano’s side is on the rise following a slow start to the year.
However, with the season now condensed to 16 rounds, the task to close the gap on the top-five before season’s end becomes that little bit harder.
Macleod is pitted against each of the top-five sides in the final two months of the season and may very well need to win a minimum of four of those matches, if not all, to return to the finals after missing out last campaign.
Patty Flynn’s importance to the Roos was again highlighted in last week’s best on field performance. Flynn’s most dominant games this season – against the Bulldogs and Magpies – have coincided with his team’s two best wins of the year.
Greensborough will be stinging after last week producing its worst performance in years in a heavy defeat to Bundoora and will be looking to avoid consecutive defeats for the first time since 2018.
The Boro were inaccurate early at Yulong Reserve and trailed by 15 points at half time despite registering five more scoring shots. After an even third term, they were put to the sword in the last when Bundoora piled on 7.3 – just five points less than the average the Boro conceded per game over the opening seven rounds.
Tom Bell will return this week which will help bolster Greensborough’s midfield, which was down on its usual output last week.
The Boro were also on the rebound the previous time they played Macleod this season. Tom Brindley, Ben Fennell, Ben Pannam and Bell stood out on a day where their side booted three of the final four goals to claim a hard-fought 24-point win in Round 4.
Heidelberg has risen to third place on the ladder and now makes the trip to Ben Frilay Oval to take on Hurstbridge.
After dropping three consecutive matches between rounds 4 to 6, the Tigers have won their past two by 97 and 36 points, which has bolstered their percentage to 145.28 – the most of any of the four sides with a 5-3 record. It also means they boast a similar percentage to second-placed Greensborough.
Sam Gilmore heads into this week’s game in strong form after a dominant showing in last week’s six-goal win at home to Whittlesea. The star ruckman pushed forward and took several towering marks, finishing with a game-high three goals.
Down back, the Tigers have been outstanding in their two recent wins – conceding just eight goals and a total of 63 points. Yes, both wins have come against sides placed in the bottom-two, but it is still a remarkable achievement at this level of football.
The extended break came at a poor time for Hurstbridge, who wasn’t able to build momentum on the back of its season-best win over Bundoora at Yulong Reserve back in Round 7.
The Bridges made a promising start at Montmorency last week to lead by three points at quarter time but were completely outplayed thereafter. The home side booted 12 goals to four after the first break to inflict a 51-point defeat on the Bridges.
There is no doubt Hurstbridge has the talent to compete at this level, however the gap between their best and worst needs to be reduced. Their five defeats this year have come at an average margin of 62 points – the worst of any team in the competition.
They will have to improve markedly on their previous showing against Heidelberg to produce an upset this week. The Tigers booted 18 goals to five in a commanding win at Warringal Park in Round 1, with the victory set up by a five-goal second term by Tom Schnerring.
North Heidelberg returns to Shelley Reserve to take on Northcote Park in a game that sees two premiership coaches taking on a club they have guided to a flag.
North Heidelberg coach Jason Heatley famously led Northcote Park to the Division 1 title in 2012 from fourth place on the ladder, while incumbent Cougars coach Stephen Saddington was at the helm for the Bulldogs’ 2014 and 2017 triumphs in Division 2.
Both teams will be desperate to taste victory on Saturday, albeit for largely different reasons given their current ladder positions.
After winning its opening four games, North Heidelberg has slipped outside the top-five after dropping three of its past four matches and will be looking to respond to ensure it returns to the top half of the ladder quickly.
With Brent Harvey and Billy Hogan both sidelined, the Bulldogs fell to a second-consecutive defeat last week in a 12-point loss at Macleod. Down by 16 points at three-quarter time, the Bulldogs stormed to take the lead in time-on, before conceding the final two goals.
One positive was the solid first-up performance of Adam Braendler in his return game for the club. The key forward featured prominently in the 2017 premiership triumph and was among the better players last week in his first senior game for the Bulldogs since the 2017 grand final.
North Heidelberg at Shelley Reserve is an imposing task for any club, let alone one who is yet to win a game in eight starts, but it is the challenge at hand for Northcote Park this week.
The Cougars enter the second half of the year with the single aim of avoiding relegation.
There were promising signs in last week’s 26-point defeat to West Preston-Lakeside and there is no doubt that wins lay ahead for the bottom-placed side if they produce similar performances over the next eight rounds.
It’s no coincidence that the performance coincided with the Cougars fielding their strongest line-up of the season, with skipper Paul Dirago returning for just his second game of the year, while Lachlan Boscarini made his first appearance since Round 17, 2019.
These two sides met at Bill Lawry Oval back in Round 2, where an upset looked on the cards when the Cougars led by two points at half time. However, a Jesse Tardio masterclass steered North Heidelberg in a commanding second half, with the Bulldogs prevailing by 47 points.
Bundoora will be looking to continue where it left off when it makes the trip to the Whittlesea Showgrounds to take on Whittlesea.
The Bulls made the biggest statement of Round 10 with a 58-point thrashing of Greensborough, which was arguably the club’s best win since the 2017 grand final upset against Macleod.
With Hamish Shepheard, Brent Marshall, Brendan Carlyon and Tylar Young all back in the line-up, the Bulls made an emphatic statement that they are right in the premiership mix in 2021.
Bundoora has become a massive aerial threat this year, with Shepheard proving to be a huge asset, especially when being supported by the VFL-listed Young. Add in-form forward John Jorgensen to the mix and the Bulls have the talls to stretch most opponents.
The Whittlesea Showgrounds hasn’t always been a happy hunting ground in recent years. Despite a win at their last two trips to the venue, the Bulls were beaten in their previous two attempts – including in their 2017 premiership season.
However, this line-up is much different to the ones which have made the trip down Plenty Rd in recent campaigns, so there should not be too many lingering doubts for the in-form Bundoora camp.
Despite a 1-7 record, Whittlesea has been far from an easy-beat this season. However it does go without saying that the Eagles will need to pull off an upset if they are to prevail on Saturday.
Their heaviest loss of the season came the last time these sides met, with Bundoora prevailing by 75 points at Yulong Reserve – spearheaded by an eight-goal haul from Sam Lloyd in one of the best individual performances of the season.
Zach Molloy has been given the task of locking down on the opposition’s best small forward this year and has performed admirably against quality opposition. The young star will no doubt relish the challenge of taking on Lloyd again this week and atoning for the previous outing.
Another Eagles youngster who continues to go from strength to strength is Blake Watson. The 21-year-old has been his club’s best performer in their return to the top flight and was among the best players on the ground last week, despite his side falling to a six-goal defeat.
