The race for the last two spots in the top-five looks down to three, although the battle for a finals place takes a backseat to a league legend who reaches a landmark milestone in Round 16.
Daniel Keenan has long been one of the most highly respected figures in the Northern Football Netball League and this week the two-time Frank Rosbrook medallist creates another piece of history when he becomes the first player in league history to play 400 senior games.
Keenan made his senior debut for Hurstbridge as a 16-year-old back in 1998 and has gone on to become one of the league’s most decorated players across a career spanning 22 seasons in the top flight.
He played 56 games for the Bridges between 1998 to 2001, before joining Montmorency in 2002 – where he made an immediate impact by winning the club’s best and fairest in his first two seasons, both of which were grand final campaigns.
He went on to play 310 games for Montmorency – captaining the club, playing in four grand finals and twice winning the league’s Division 1 best and fairest award, before returning to Hurstbridge in 2018.
Keenan enters the record books when Hurstbridge travels to J.E. Moore Park to take on reigning premier West Preston-Lakeside.
While Hurstbridge’s finals hopes have now been dashed following consecutive 10-point defeats to Macleod and Heidelberg, the Bridges would love nothing more than to celebrate their legend’s big occasion with a win.
The ninth-placed side has played much better football than its ladder positions would suggest – with six of their past seven defeats coming by margins of fewer than 20 points. Had two of those close results gone their way, they would find themselves equal on points with sides in the top-five.
Closing out tight games has certainly been an issue in recent defeats, however with so many young players getting exposure to senior football this season the signs are bright for what the future may hold.
Lachlan East is having an outstanding finish to the season and was best afield in last week’s defeat at Macleod. Add the likes of Tom Simpson, Bailey Jordan, Cooper Perrin, Jack Furlong and Mitch Dale and the club has a strong core for which to build on in 2020.
With their final three games to be played against the Roosters, Northcote Park and Greensborough – the Bridges would have to be content if they could claim another two wins and take some positivity into the pre-season.
West Preston-Lakeside will be desperate to make amends after last week producing its worst performance in months in a 32-point defeat to Montmorency. A win would likely have sealed a top-five finish, however the fifth-placed Roosters now sit above the Magpies only by percentage.
The Roosters did all the early attacking but were wasteful, despite kicking three of the opening four goals. The remainder of the opening half belonged to the home side – who booted 11 goals to two thereafter to lead by 38 points at the main break.
A response is certainly expected this week and it will be required against an opponent who has proven tough to shake in 2019 and has added incentive on a landmark occasion.
West Preston-Lakeside won a tight encounter by 19 points when the sides met at Ben Frilay Oval in Round 9. Matt Signorello was best afield in that match, although he has spent the past four matches with VFL side Port Melbourne – where he has been in red-hot form.
Montmorency will be looking to back up its best win of the season when it makes the trip to Shelley Reserve to take on North Heidelberg.
The Magpies currently sit in sixth spot on the ladder, behind West Preston-Lakeside by 10.31 percent. While it isn’t impossible, it will be a tough ask to make up that percentage gap in the final three rounds. Therefore, they will likely have to win one more game than the Roosters (or fourth-placed Macleod) to play finals for the first time since 2014.
Last week’s vital win was another positive endorsement for the direction the club has chosen to go in this year, with up and comers Blake Murphy and Stefan Uzelac producing leading roles, with great support from mainstays Jesse Donaldson, Ben Walton and Michael Fitz-Gerald.
The second term was unquestionably the best football the Magpies have played under Garry Ramsay – piling on eight goals to one to take a commanding lead into the main break after trailing at quarter time. That display confirmed that the club is capable of matching it with the best sides in the competition, after teasing with glimpses throughout the year.
The next two weeks look set to determine the club’s fate in 2019, with this week’s clash with North Heidelberg followed by a trip to De Winton Park to play Macleod. If they can’t win at least one of those games, it’s highly likely the final round clash against Lower Plenty will be played only for pride.
North Heidelberg ended a two-game losing run with a runaway 47-point win over Northcote Park last week and the Bulldogs now need just one more win this season to lock in a top-three finish for the second-consecutive year.
Playing without Daniel Harris and Shane Biggs for the first time this year, the Bulldogs made a slow start against the Cougars, but piled on 13 goals to five after quarter time to win comfortably – led by dominant showings from Brent and Shane Harvey (six goals).
The Bulldogs finish the home and away side against three sides in the bottom-half of the ladder, including Bundoora and Lower Plenty in the final two rounds. However, the focus wouldn’t be any further than this week against a Montmorency outfit whose season may ride on the result of this week’s game.
The Round 11 encounter between the sides proved to be one of the games of the season, with North Heidelberg hanging on for a three-point win at Montmorency Park. The Bulldogs booted the first four goals, but the Magpies fought back and were left to rue wasted chances in the 10.16 (76) to 12.7 (79) result.
It’s seventh versus fourth when Northcote Park plays its final home game of the season at Bill Lawry Oval against Macleod.
Last week’s defeat at North Heidelberg has likely put an end to Northcote Park’s finals hopes, with the Cougars now one win and more than 25 percent outside the top-five. They would now have to win their final three games to have any sniff, which looks unlikely given they have been victorious just twice since Round 5.
It’s been a brutal few months for the Cougars since winning their opening four games, with many of the club’s best players sidelined for significant periods at a time when the club’s depth has been lacking.
With that said, very few sides would have adequate cover if they were missing the likes of Paul Dirago, Ash Close, Jackson Starcevich, Kyle Galloway, Lachlan Boscarini and Charles Le Fanu at the same time.
Macleod managed to find a way to get past Hurstbridge in a low-scoring affair last week. While the game was far from pretty, the result may prove to be one of the Roos’ most important wins of the year as they etch closer to another finals appearance.
Lucas Hobbs, Matt Dornauf and Muhammad Saad all returned to the line-up last week, while Coburg-listed Brodie Foster made his club debut. The Roos are steadily getting their best team on the park at the pointy end of the year, which could create a big threat for the sides above them on the table.
If results go their way this week the Roos could sit six points clear inside the top-five. Even in that case the job to play finals would not yet be done, ahead of matches against Montmorency and West Preston-Lakeside in the last two rounds.
Macleod’s recent record against Northcote Park makes it the clear favourite going into this week’s encounter. The Roos have won the past six matches between the sides by an average of 71 points.
That includes a 73-point triumph in the Round 9 match at De Winton Park, which remains Macleod’s biggest win of the season. Anthony Doherty and Reid Brandt combined for eight goals on the day, while Hamish Paynter and Justin White were also influential.
Heidelberg plays back-to-back home games when it hosts Bundoora at Warringal Park.
The Tigers are hunting what would be a season-best fifth consecutive win and will be favoured to do so against a Bundoora side which has lost its past six games.
Heidelberg kept its impeccable home record intact last week with a commanding 75-point win over Lower Plenty and will now be fancied to go through the season unbeaten at Warringal Park – where it hosts the Bulls and Northcote Park either side of a trip to Greensborough.
While Sam Gilmore and Jack Blair have been the standouts during this campaign, the Tigers coaching staff would be thrilled with the even contribution they are getting across the board.
Sam Grimley was at his imposing best last week and took several towering marks on his way to a six-goal haul, while Daniel O’Dwyer switched from defence to attack and slotted four majors – adding to the long list of Tigers who can play at both ends.
Jordan Sutterby has cemented his place in the senior line up in 2019 is one of seven Heidelberg players to feature in every game this season. He comes into this week’s game off his best performance at senior level and will be hoping to build on that going into the finals.
Bundoora’s finals chances were dashed in a 50-point defeat to Greensborough last week – bringing to an end one of local football’s longest consecutive runs of finals appearances.
The Bulls trailed by seven goals at quarter time after failing to register a major in the first term, but bravely fought back to close within three goals early in the third term. However, it was as close as they would get, with the ladder-leader kicking away thereafter.
After a promising start to the year, the past two months have been the arguably the club’s most challenging over the past decade. The continued strong form of Luke Collins has been one positive from the long losing run, while Bailey Thompson continues to impress.
Bundoora would have to cause a massive upset to get the points this week, which would include overturning a 49-point defeat when the sides met at Yulong Reserve in Round 10. The Bulls led by 24 points during the first quarter of that game but were kept goalless after quarter time by a Sam Gilmore-inspired Heidelberg outfit.
Round 16 concludes with a clash between two sides at opposite ends of the ladder, with Lower Plenty hosting Greensborough at Montmorency Park South Oval.
The match will pay tribute to our Vietnam Veterans, with the two clubs vying for the Long Tan Cup.
It’s a tough ask for Division 2-bound Lower Plenty against a Greensborough outfit fine-tuning towards what it hopes will be a successful finals campaign – although the Bears did cause a massive boilover when the sides last met on this occasion back in 2016.
With skipper Patrick Flynn sidelined since Round 2, the Bears could have asked for little more from their next crop of leaders in what has proven to be a tough initiation back into Division 1.
Josh Turner, Ben Paterson, Tom Blake and Jordan Sacco have given their all in 2019 and were again their side’s best players against Heidelberg last week, while Tom Keys has worked his way into the year after recovering from a knee injury.
Greensborough needs just one more win to claim the minor premiership and will be the shortest of favourites to notch that accomplishment this week, ahead of a top of the table clash with Heidelberg in Round 17.
One of the highlights of last week’s win over Bundoora was the return of Jake McNamara in his first game from a serious knee injury sustained early last year. McNamara marked his return with a strong mark and goal at an important time in the third term and further bolsters the club’s stocks ahead of the finals.
The Boro booted 110 points in last week’s win – marking the first time since Round 11 that they have cracked the ton. That was despite losing Tynan Smith to a late VFL call-up, with the young forward going on to kick four goals for Essendon in a big win over Sandringham.
Greensborough recorded its highest score of the season in its meeting with Lower Plenty earlier this year. The Boro piled on 23 goals in the 95-point win on Good Friday, with Charlie Molyneux and John Desmond running rampant throughout the day.
