The Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 action resumes on Saturday following a successful representative campaign, with the Round 6 action headlined by a top-of-the-table clash.
Macleod and Greensborough both enter their match at De Winton Park with 4-1 records, with the winner set to take a one-game advantage at the top of the ladder one-third of the way through the season.
While the result might help determine early-season premiership favouritism, both sides will be more focused on the short-term importance of banking another four points.
Given the even nature of the competition, each win is proving to be vital and the winner this Saturday will have the advantage of staying away from the mid-table logjam for at least another week.
Macleod goes into the clash with a four-game winning streak following its dour win over Northcote Park at Bill Lawry Oval in Round 5. The Roos did the damage early, kicking five goals in the opening term to take a 32-point advantage into quarter time.
Despite adding only four more goals for the day, the ladder-leader was never truly troubled in the low-scoring game and came away with a 29-point win – it’s smallest winning margin during its impressive winning run.
Since losing to North Heidelberg in the opening round, the Roos have conceded just 179 points in four matches, at an average of just 45 points per game.
Justin White was again a standout in the win over Northcote Park and pushed into second place in the Coaches MVP voting after featuring among the votes for the fourth time this year. He was assisted by Ned McKeown and Lucas Hobbs – with the trio all featuring in the NFNL’s representative win over the MPNFL.
Greensborough produced the most dominant performance of any side this season during its 107-point thrashing of Whittlesea at War Memorial Park. The result bumped up the club’s percentage from 125.00 to 159.73.
The Boro’s impressive spread of goal scoring avenues was again on display, with their 18 goals spread across 11 players. Despite sitting third for points scored after five rounds, the Boro don’t have one player among the competition’s top-10 goal kickers – a testament to their versatility in attack.
Josh Callaway was the dominant player on the ground in an impressive display on the wing. He capped his performance with two goals and banked a perfect 10 votes from the coaches. Chris Clark, Brody Tickell and Matthew Haynes also excelled.
West Preston-Lakeside and Bundoora have made a habit of playing thrilling matches in recent years and will resume a strong modern-day rivalry at J.E. Moore Park.
The sides experienced different fortunes before the break, with the Roosters suffering a five-point defeat to Montmorency, while Bundoora outlasted North Heidelberg to get its campaign back on track.
To demonstrate the importance of this week’s game, West Preston-Lakeside enters in third place on the ladder and can push back inside the top-two if Round 6 results go its way. Alternatively, a loss could see the Roosters slip as low as fifth and hanging onto a place inside the top-five by percentage alone.
West Preston-Lakeside’s Round 5 defeat to Montmorency was its second home loss by less than a kick this year, with Rob Maiorana’s side looking to secure its first home points for the season when it hosts Bundoora on Saturday.
The Bulls scored a vital win prior to the bye, with the 13-point result over North Heidelberg ending a three-game losing streak. With the representative break allowing injured players time to recuperate, the reigning premiers will hope to continue their charge back up the ladder.
Scott Dowell was a standout in the win at Shelley Reserve, while Dale Marshall, Nathan Thomas and returning midfielder Andrew Sturgess also played major roles in ending the Bulls’ run of outs.
On a low-scoring day, Gary Moorcroft’s five-goal haul was crucial and amounted to half of his side’s tally in the 10.17 (77) to 10.4 (64) triumph. The Grabowski brothers also combined for four majors.
Hurstbridge will hope the representative break hasn’t halted its momentum when it hosts North Heidelberg at Ben Frilay Oval.
The Bridges scored successive wins on the road in the two weeks prior to the bye and will be looking to bring that form to their home deck – where they have been poor in two showings in 2018, losing both games by an average of 71 points.
The Round 5 win at Heidelberg was a gutsy one, with the Bridges needing to show resilience to run away with a 13-point triumph. The four points looked in safe keeping at quarter-time, when the Bridges led by 31, however the advantage was quickly eroded, with scores level at half time.
Cooper Perrin’s 23rd match was his best at senior level, with the 20-year-old booting five goals to ensure Hurstbridge steadied in the second half and secured its second win. Mitch Burton was also lively with three, making it eight majors in two weeks.
North Heidelberg continues to challenge all comers in its return to the top-flight, but another close loss has pushed the club into ninth-place on the ladder, with only percentage keeping last year’s Division 2 premier off the bottom of the table.
The Bulldogs have been in winning positions in each of their past three defeats. However they have not been able to hold out both Greensborough and Bundoora late in the fourth quarters over the past two matches.
Jackson Jones played his best game of the year against the Bulls, while Jake Brown’s red-hot form continued to feature among the Bulldogs’ best for a third-successive match. Shane Harvey kicked a team-high three goals, however Brent Harvey was nursed for a minor injury late in the game – with the week off coming at a perfect time for star veteran.
Heidelberg and Whittlesea meet for the second time when they clash at Warringal Park. The Round 1 fixture between the sides resulted in the Eagles’ sole win in 2018.
Heidelberg’s three-game winning streak was brought to an end by Hurstbridge in Round 5, where the absence of reigning best and fairest Tom Sullivan was certainly felt in the close result.
The Tigers’ produced an outstanding second quarter, booting five unanswered goals, to get themselves back into the game after a poor start. However, in tough conditions they could only manage one goal in the second half as they suffered their second defeat of the year.
It was a host of the club’s youngest players who were their best performers, with Nathan Honey and Matt Cecchin playing solid games. Both also represented the NFNL in its under-19 representative game at the weekend.
Whittlesea’s season has gone into free-fall and the club will be aiming to get back on track following a much-need timeout over the week away. The Eagles have lost their past four games by an average of 10 goals.
There were few positives to take away from the massive loss at Greensborough, where the Eagles managed just one goal for the afternoon. Their final score of 1.8 (14) was their lowest score since returning to the top-flight in 2016.
After beating the Tigers by two points just five weeks ago, the Eagles should take some optimism into the game, despite the disappointing form they have displayed over the past month.
Montmorency hosts Northcote Park at Montmorency Park, where the home side will start as favourite on its home deck.
The Magpies head into the game in fourth place after returning to the winners’ list in thrilling style against West Preston-Lakeside. Leading by 17 points at the last change, it was Brent Fotheringham’s goal in the dying minutes that secured the five-point result.
In a real scrap, it was Montmorency’s top-end talent that lifted when it mattered most, with Ben Kennedy, Ben Fennell and Joel McLellan among the best players, while Danko Bzenic booted three goals.
Bzenic’s good form continued last weekend, with he and fellow Magpies teammate Patrick Fitzgerald among the better players in the NFNL’s win over the MPNFL at Preston City Oval. Fitzgerald’s four-goal haul was the most of any player on the ground and showed he has overcome the knee injury sustained at Macleod in Round 4.
It wasn’t all great news for the Magpies last weekend however, with Ben Fennell injured in the opening minute of Essendon’s VFL win over Geelong at Windy Hill.
Northcote Park will be looking to bounce back after two-straight home losses, which have seen the Cougars slip down to eighth place on the ladder, with a 2-3 record and lowly percentage of 71.95.
The Cougars have managed just 11 goals over the past two weeks and have kicked over 100 points in a game once this season. Against Macleod they registered just six scoring shots, albeit in tough conditions.
Bronik Davies and Bryn Barnes-Webb fought gamely in the loss to the Roos, while Alastair Punshon showed promising signs in his first senior game, after getting the call up following three dominant showings in the reserves.
