Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 Preview – Round 6


Published on Thursday, May 13, 2021

The opening-third of the 2021 Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 home and away season concludes this week, with the best sides locked in a logjam for supremacy at the top of the ladder.

The top-four sides enter Round 66 locked on 16 points apiece after winning four of their first five games. Only 8.45% separates North Heidelberg in first and Greensborough in fourth, with the opening five weeks providing a tasty entrée for what is so come this season.

With a gap beginning to emerge between the top and bottom halves of the ladder, the competition was rejuvenated by several upset results in Round 5.

Victories to previously winless sides Macleod and Whittlesea left Northcote Park as the only club yet to open its account in season 2021, with the Roos and Eagles confirming their best is capable of troubling the top sides.

The highlight of this week’s fixture is a clash between the first and second-placed sides, with North Heidelberg and Bundoora to meet at Shelley Reserve.

North Heidelberg will be looking to respond after suffering an upset 13-point defeat to Whittlesea last week, which ended the Bulldogs unbeaten start to the year.

Meanwhile, Bundoora will be out to continue its resurgence under Michael Ryan as it hunts a fifth-successive win. It has been a terrific turnaround by the Bulls, who lost their final nine games in 2019.

The next month will give North Heidelberg a much clearer picture as to its standing in the competition. The Bulldogs currently sit in first place but are yet to face a side currently inside the top-five.

That all changes over the next four weeks, with this week’s home clash against Bundoora followed by a trip to Greensborough and then successive home games against West Preston-Lakeside and Heidelberg.

The Bulldogs are again expected to head into this week’s match without Brent Harvey, with North Melbourne scheduled to play Hawthorn in Launceston on Saturday afternoon.

The star midfielder was a notable absentee in last week’s defeat, along with Jackson Starcevich and Doug Morris. Charles Le Fanu also missed but will return this week in a welcome boost ahead of the tough run of fixtures.

Bundoora will take great confidence into the game on the back of four-straight wins, the most recent of which was a 27-point triumph Northcote Park last Saturday. It was a more convincing win than the final score suggested, with the Bulls 44 points ahead at the final change.

Danny Younan made his much-anticipated return for Bundoora last week, booting two goals in his first game for the club since the 2017 grand final win over Macleod. The mercurial forward has booted 57 goals in 42 appearances for VFL club Essendon since his last game with the Bulls.

The Bombers co-captain will be available for Bundoora only fleetingly in 2021, and all opposition clubs will have their fingers crossed he doesn’t play enough games to trigger finals eligibility, as a combination with Sam Lloyd could prove a nightmare to stop.

Bundoora looks to have several match winners in the front half of the ground, however its defence deserves to be heralded for its performance over the past month. The Bulls have conceded an average of just 52 points a game over the past four weeks – nine points fewer than the next best side, West Preston-Lakeside.

Montmorency and Heidelberg will both be looking to avoid a third-successive loss in their clash at Montmorency Park North Oval.

It looks a genuine eight-point game and could have massive ramifications for both sides’ finals hopes come season’s end.

Heidelberg currently sits in fifth place with a 3-2 record, one win and significant percentage above the sixth-placed Magpies.

A win to the Tigers would provide very handy breathing space between them and the bottom-half of the ladder, however the top-five race opens right up if the Magpies are able to prosper.

Despite last week succumbing to its second-consecutive defeat, Heidelberg would take many positives out of the 18-point loss to West Preston-Lakeside. The Tigers stuck with the reigning premiers all day, with the final margin not indicative of the evenness of the game.

Tom Schnerring put in another stellar performance and was the Tigers best. With so many key players currently out of the Tigers’ line-up, the former VFL midfielder is shouldering plenty of responsibility but does not appear to be burdened by the load.

Heidelberg will be buoyed by its recent form against Montmorency, with the Tigers victorious in the past four meetings between the sides – which includes wins by 125 and 50 points during the 2019 season.

Montmorency needs to respond after last week suffering its third loss of the season in a fadeout 18-point defeat against Macleod under lights. The Magpies hit the front early in the final term courtesy of a goal to Stephen McCallum but then conceded the next four.

The result means the Magpies are now 0-2 at home this season and they simply must end that home losing run this week to ensure they aren’t playing catch-up late in the season in their quest for a finals berth.

One positive from last week’s disappointing defeat was the impressive debut of Bronson Hill. The 18-year-old booted four goals, including three in the first quarter. Based on his first-up effort, Hill could provide a handy foil to the ever-reliable Patty Fitzgerald.

After kicking only two majors in the opening two rounds, Fitzgerald has booted five goals in each of the past three games. The concern for Montmorency is that Fitzgerald’s hot form has culminated in only one win – with more support needed around the star forward to help the Magpies boot a winning score.

A second win in as many weeks is up for grabs when Macleod and Whittlesea meet De Winton Park.

Both teams will take renewed confidence into the game after last week opening their account in fabulous style while missing key players.

Things finally clicked for Macleod after several near misses, with the 18-point win over former coach Garry Ramsay’s Montmorency keeping the Roos in the finals hunt despite a slow start.

The 2021 season is following a similar script to 2019, where the Roos also lost the first four games. They went on to take seven wins and a draw from the next 11 games in 2019 and a similar effort would appear the minimum requirement to keep in the 2021 finals race in what looks another even campaign.

It is no surprise that Patty Flynn’s best game since joining from Lower Plenty coincided with the Roos notching their first win of the season and the gun ruckman looms as they key player in lifting the club up the ladder.

The Roos can ill-afford to drop this week’s game ahead of clashes with West Preston-Lakeside, Bundoora and North Heidelberg over the next month – however with four of their next five games at home, a win this week would help to build momentum for the tough challenge ahead.

Whittlesea’s last two weeks have shown the club deserves its place in the top flight, with the reigning Division 2 premiers finishing within three goals of West Preston-Lakeside in Round 4, before downing North Heidelberg last week.

The Eagles’ return to Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 hasn’t been aided by injuries to key players, however they would take plenty of heart out of their performances over the fortnight and have found several emerging types in the absence of Jaron Murphy, Matthew Atta and the Wild brothers.

Blair Harvey now also has the welcome headache of where to play Paul Higgins, following last week’s match-winning display. The reigning club champion was named on the half back flank in the 2019 Division 2 Team of the Year but went forward last week to great effect.

Higgins booted six goals, including five in the opening half, to help his side to their maiden win of the year. The question now is whether he stays forward to bolster the Eagles’ attacking half – which last week kicked its highest score of the year.

Hurstbridge and West Preston-Lakeside meet at Ben Frilay Oval, where the home side will need to bridge the gap on recent matches against top-half sides to trouble the reigning premier.

The Bridges have played three sides inside the top-five so far this season and have lost all three, with an average losing margin of 64 points.

Last week’s defeat at Greensborough had some encouraging signs, with the Bridges trailing by just 17 points at three quarter time – however it must be noted the home side had registered double the scoring shots to that point, kicking a wayward 6.17 to 5.6.

Hurstbridge would take encouragement from its 2019 showings against the Roosters, where it finished within 20 points of the eventual premiers on both occasions.

Mitch Hymus completely locked out Ahmed Saad in both those matches, keeping the leading goal kicker to just one goal across both games. However, with Saad still absent, Hurstbridge can utilise Hymus in a different lockdown role this time around.

West Preston-Lakeside continued its juggernaut last week and ended a more than two-decade hoodoo with their first win over Heidelberg at Warringal Park since 2000. It was a win full of determination and grit and hallmarked many of the Roosters best qualities.

Plain and simple, the two-time reigning premiers know how to win and lifted when the game was in the balance – booting three of the last four goals to claim an 18-point triumph and improve their record to 14-2 since Round 11, 2019.

Matthew Vincitorio played an important role in filling the void left by Ahmed Saad, booting four opportunistic goals to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Michael Ercolano and Nick Robortella also produced season-best performances.

While several of the club’s best players are yet to fully hit their straps this year, the incredible depth through the squad has ensured the Roosters have made a strong start to their premiership defence – with just a one-point defeat at Greensborough denying them a perfect start to the year.

Northcote Park’s hunt for its first win continues when it hosts Greensborough at Bill Lawry Oval.

The Cougars have struggled through the opening five rounds of the season and are now the only winless side in the top-flight. While they are yet to suffer a blowout defeat, they are also yet to finish within four goals of an opponent and need the wheel to turn quickly.

Credit has to be given for the fight the Cougars are showing while the chips are down, with the club managing to hang on when big defeats loomed against Bundoora, West Preston-Lakeside and Montmorency.

Northcote Park’s cause has not been helped by opposition sides gaining key players right when they meet the Cougars.

Bundoora welcomed back Danny Younan for the first time in three years last week, Lachlan East and Cameron Cloke returned for Hurstbridge in Round 4, while Jaylon Thorpe played his first game for West Preston-Lakeside since the 2018 premiership decider in Round 3.

The curse looks set to continue this week, with Tom Bell, Nathan Hrovat and Zak McCubbin all likely to be available for Greensborough. Meanwhile, the Northern Bullants have a bye in the VFL, which could pave the way for Billy Murphy and Tynan Smith to return.

Greensborough will start the warmest favourite of any team this round and that will only be aided if the aforementioned players all return to the line-up this week.

In their absence, the Boro’s next crop have emerged as seriously good players this year. Tom Brindley’s improved form has been well documented, while Ben Pannam has also enjoyed a strong start to 2021.

Pannam has been a leading presence in the past two wins over Macleod and Hurstbridge, racking up plenty of the footy and capping both performances with a goal. He has been a regular in the senior side over the past two seasons – playing 27 matches across 2018 and 2019 – but has elevated his game to the next level in 2021.

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