It’s set to be a big first weekend of Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 finals at Preston City Oval, with two evenly poised contests to take place this weekend.
Can Montmorency lift the demons of years past when they meet Bundoora in the Qualifying Final this Saturday?
Jonathan Mazoney’s men will certainly think so, having put together a strong 2023 campaign which saw them finish a game and a half behind minor premiers Heidelberg in second position, their best result on the ladder since they finished on top in 2013.
The midfield trio of Liam Wale-Buxton, Marcus Lentini & Sam Binion along with superstar forward Patrick Fitzgerald have all been keys in the Magpies charge to the double chance this season.
And while those superstars have rightly taken the spotlight, there are other players who have found form at the right time of the season including 2023 recruits Ben Paterson and Corey Sleep. The former has been named in his side’s best for three consecutive matches while the latter has kicked 12 majors in his last five games.
With all the above being said, the number one thing that the Magpies will have to defy is history. As despite grabbing the four points over the Bulls earlier this year, it’s the only victory they have against this week’s opponents in the previous seven encounters, going back to 2021.
What makes the task more difficult is that like last season, they face a Bundoora side who are in terrific form. Since their disappointing defeat to Heidelberg in Round 14, Michael Ryan’s men have won their last four games by an impressive average margin of 72.5 points.
Something that also hasn’t changed much in the last 12 months has been the form of Sam Lloyd who is producing his best work of the season ahead of the finals campaign. In his last four matches, he has kicked 13 goals, including six last week, and been named in his side’s best three times.
The Bulls’ recent success has come in part thanks to the return of some of their VFL-listed talent such as Jedd Longmire and John Jorgensen. Both have had terrific matches of late for the Bulls and will be huge contributors again during this finals series.
In their two finals meetings last year Bundoora were able to defeat Montmorency on both occasions and with both sides looking to get their post-season campaigns off to the right start, we should be in for a terrific display.
Sunday’s elimination final sees two of the surprise packets of 2023 in North Heidelberg and Hurstbridge battle it out to keep their season alive.
Jason Heatley’s side fell six points short of finals last year but were able to flip the switch in this year’s campaign, sewing up a top five spot weeks ago and fighting it out for a top three position right until the final round of the home and away season.
They finished the campaign as the highest scoring team in the competition, averaging over 96 points a game and also boast nine players who have kicked 10 majors or more in 2023.
Their top goalkicker is Majak Daw who has kicked 46 goals in just 14 games and despite missing last week, will be expected to have a massive influence against a side he has kicked eight goals against in 2023.
Daw has been helped by the consistent efforts of Jhye Baddeley-Kelly in the forward line, while the midfield work of Liam Hunt has been excellent also.
Depth will too be key for North Heidelberg’s side if they are to go deep in September and while they did go down to Montmorency in the last game of the regular season, the absence of some of those names above allowed others to have an impact, with strong performances from the likes of Brayden Hirt, Brody Bell & Michael Florance all promising signs ahead of this week’s contest.
Hurstbridge meanwhile are aiming to make more history after they confirmed their first ever finals appearance in the top flight with a 15-point victory over Macleod.
Having been locked in a battle for fifth with Greensborough for the second half of 2023, Joel Cordwell’s side completed a brilliant 12-month transformation which saw them produce their best campaign in club history to date.
Will Cookson, Joel Naylor, Bailey Jordan & Mitch Moschetti were all at their best in the triumph and have been the quartet that has helped catapult the club to finals action.
Cookson in particular has been in stellar form alongside Moschetti in midfield, with both having been named in the best the most for Hurstbridge in 2023, while Naylor and Jordan are second and eighth respectively in the competition goalkicking charts.
These two split their regular season meetings this season, with Hurstbridge winning at Ben Frilay Oval before North Heidelberg defeated them at Shelley Street Reserve.
But it will be the two sides’ first finals contest against one another since the 2016 Division 2 Grand Final which saw the Bridges taste premiership success and remain in Division 1 ever since.
With each team embracing the return to finals footy, an outstanding battle is expected this Sunday afternoon.
