The 2017 Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 home and away season reaches an exciting conclusion on Saturday, with much of focus to centre on the action at Yulong Reserve and Eltham Central Park.
The final spot in the top-three is at stake when Bundoora hosts Greensborough for a double chance in the finals, while Eltham will need to produce a minor miracle against Whittlesea to avoid relegation back to Division 2 for the first time since 2002.
These two games take centre stage despite Macleod hosting Northcote Park in a top of the table clash. The Roos have already clinched the minor premiership, while the Cougars are assured a top-three finish for the first time under the NFL banner.
Finals arrive a week early for Bundoora and Greensborough when they headline Round 18 in a massive clash at Yulong Reserve.
Both sides enter the game with an 11-6 record and the winner will give its premiership hopes a massive boost by claiming a top-three finish. A draw would be enough for Bundoora to keep hold of third spot.
The Bulls had the chance to secure a finals double chance last week but for the second time this year were stunned by a slick and hungry Whittlesea outfit fighting for its survival in the top flight.
Trailing by seven points at the final change, the Bulls were outscored six goals to three in the last quarter to fall to a 27-point defeat. Brent Marshall and Josh Grabowski were among the better players in the loss.
Having won just one of its past four finals matches, Bundoora would want nothing more than to bypass a knockout final in the opening week of the finals series – particularly after sitting inside the top-three for all but one week in the back half of 2017.
It is a remarkable achievement that Greensborough is playing finals this year, let alone striving for a top-three finish, after a 0-5 start to the year. The Boro head into the finals as arguably the form side of the competition with wins in 11 of their past 12 games.
A third-place finish would certainly shorten the Boro’s premiership odds, particularly having beaten both Macleod and Northcote Park in their most recent fixtures. It would also keep them away from facing West Preston-Lakeside in a knockout final next week – with the Roosters convincing winners in the pair’s two outings in 2017.
A fast start was the catalyst for last week’s win over Hurstbridge. Greensborough piled on four goals in the opening 10 minutes and was able to keep its visitor at arm’s length for the rest of the day in the 34-point triumph.
Brody Tickell enjoyed a breakout performance with five majors. The youngster now has 20 goals in 13 matches and leads the Boro’s goal kicking ahead of Tristan Stead (19) and Josh Grubb and Billy Bedford (both 18).
With the prospect of relegation looming large, Eltham requires a huge win over Whittlesea to avoid a drop to Division 2 in 2018.
The Panthers sit a win and 9.21 percent behind the Eagles entering the final round of the season. While it is hard to formulate an exact calculation, the Panthers will need to win by approximately 15 goals to jump above the Eagles.
Alternatively, Eltham will need to score a win over the Eagles and hope Montmorency gets thrashed by Heidelberg. That scenario looks less likely, with a win and 11.13 percent separating the Panthers and Magpies – meaning the margin differential between the two sides in Round 18 needs to be about 180 points.
Eltham was ousted by 10 points in a slog against Heidelberg last Saturday, with just 12 goals kicked for the day. Anton Woods, Lewis Glasgow and Tom Rogers toiled hard in tough conditions, however their side managed just two majors after quarter time.
Whittlesea is on the brink of playing Division 1 football for a club-record third-consecutive year in 2018. The Eagles have their fate in their own hands and are finishing the year in strong form.
Last week’s win over Bundoora again demonstrated the Eagles are more than capable of matching it with the best in the top flight. It also provided some form of atonement following the previous week’s fadeout one-point loss to Heidelberg.
It was a four-quarter effort that got the job done against the Bulls, with every player contributing to the win. Brenton Briffa was particularly influential and had great support from Jai Robinson, Matthew Atta, Riley Dyson and Andrew Fairchild (four goals).
Fierce rivals Montmorency and Heidelberg meet at Montmorency Park in somewhat of an anticlimactic affair for two sides who are usually preparing for finals at this time of year.
The Magpies have won just two of their past 14 matches, with their 3-0 start to the year now a distant memory. An abomination in the last round could see them relegated to Division 2 for the first time, however they look to have enough of a buffer on Eltham to avoid a last-place finish.
They were never in the hunt after a scoreless opening term against Northcote Park at Bill Lawry Oval last week, eventually falling to a 10-goal defeat. While undermanned, it was still a disappointing effort, with the home side recording triple the scoring shots.
Jesse Donaldson and Pat Fitzgerald again gave their absolute all, as they have all year, but ultimately their side was no match for a side in the premiership hunt and work needs to be done in the off-season for the Magpies to close the gap on the competition’s top sides.
Heidelberg is finishing an underwhelming premiership defence on a somewhat positive note and last week scored its third win from its past four starts when it overcame Eltham.
The result ensured the Tigers ended the year with wins in each of their final five home games, which included triumphs over Northcote Park and West Preston-Lakeside. On reflection, those consecutive thrilling wins in Round 8 and 9 were the highlight of the club’s campaign.
In a season plagued by injuries and indifferent form, the Tigers have been best served by Tom Sullivan, Michael Brunelli and Ryan Stone. In limited matches, Will Goss and Lachlan Wilson have continued to show they have massive careers ahead.
Hurstbridge hosts West Preston-Lakeside at Ben Frilay Oval. The Bridges would love to score one more win to cap off what has been a largely positive return to the top flight, while the Roosters will be looking to finetune ahead of the finals.
A look at the Bridges’ best players last week shows the club is on the right track, with Cooper Perrin, Rad Dyson and Joel Dale all impressing in the away loss to the in-form Greensborough.
Add them with already seasoned young guns Tom Simpson, Lachlan East and Tom Grimes and the Bridges have the framework to build a more than capable Division 1 team in years to come.
West Preston-Lakeside is booked in for next week’s elimination final and will have a close eye on the Bundoora v Greensborough game to see who its opponent will be at Preston City Oval next Sunday.
Last week’s loss to Macleod means the Roosters head into the finals with a 3-5 record against their fellow top-five opponents, although they remain more than capable on any given day – as proven in two big wins over Greensborough.
The positive from last week’s loss was Patrick Karnezis got through his first game in six weeks unscathed. The club remains optimistic Ahmad Saad will be fit for the finals series after suffering a hamstring injury in Round 16.
The competition’s top-two sides meet at De Winton Park when Macleod hosts Northcote Park. With the Roos already locked into first place and the Cougars assured a place in the qualifying final, both will be hoping to get through unscathed.
Macleod heads into the game on a six-game winning streak, which includes last week’s runaway 33-point win over West Preston-Lakeside. The ladder-leader trailed at the main break before piling on nine goals to three in the second half.
Justin White racked up possessions, Reece Geary continued his strong form while Reid Brandt was the most dangerous forward on the ground and finished with a match-high four goals.
It will be interesting to see how the Roos approach the final game of the regular season. With Liam Brandt and Josh Totino already sidelined by injury, there could be a temptation to rest key players.
However, there would also be a lingering fear that any rested players could lack match practice in the second semi final, given the Roos already have a break in the opening week of finals.
Northcote Park’s 60-point triumph over Montmorency, coupled with Bundoora and West Preston-Lakeside’s Round 17 defeats, ensured it will finish the season inside the top-three and head into the finals with a double chance.
The Cougars again shared the load up forward, with their 14 goals kicked by 10 different players. That wide spread of goal kicking options provides Matt McLennan’s side with an element of unpredictability heading into the finals series.
Julian Violato produced his best performance of the season, Matt Perry won plenty of the ball, while Lachlan Boscarini, Tyson Old and Jake Mills provided great drive out of the defensive half.
