The 2022 Grand Final re-match headlines a massive weekend of action in Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1.
All eyes will be on Yulong Reserve when Bundoora and Heidelberg face off for the first time since last year’s decider.
Both sides have again had strong starts to the 2023 season, sitting 3-1 after four games, meaning we are no closer to predicting the outcome of this match than we were at the start of the season.
Bundoora almost entered this game unbeaten but went down by 11 points to Montmorency last week in a closely fought out affair. Joel Fitzgerald, in his first game of the season, and Peter McEvoy were the standouts for Michael Ryan’s men.
The Bulls have still looked like one of the most dominant teams in the competition despite last week’s defeat. They still sit atop of the ladder, boasting the best points for and have conceded the least points against in this year’s campaign.
It suggests that Bundoora are best placed to end a four-game losing streak against the reigning premiers on Saturday.
But Heidelberg have continued to keep opponents at bay this season, apart from their Round 3 loss to the Magpies of course.
The Tigers defeated Greensborough by 22 points in their most recent outing, but that score could have been a lot more had they have kicked straighter.
Captain Sam Gilmore notched his second perfect 10 Coaches MVP vote performances for the year while Lachlan Wilson had another major impact on the triumph.
Incredibly, Heidelberg only have 12 players who have played all four games this season and have already used 33 players in 2023, but their depth has been exceptional in recent years and despite the large use of players, it hasn’t affected their quest for back-to-back flags.
A massive clash awaits between two sides expecting to contend for the premiership.
West Preston-Lakeside will be eager to bounce back when they host North Heidelberg at J.E. Moore Park.
The Roosters looked primed to take care of Banyule last week following the inclusions of premiership players Ahmed Saad and Garrett McDonagh. But despite Saad kicking four majors, they couldn’t stop a rampant Bears side in the second half, losing their second game of the season.
It puts West Preston-Lakeside 2-2 after four games but with 2022 finals opponents in three of their next four games, Luke Giles’ men will be destined to bank the four points against North Heidelberg on Saturday.
The Bulldogs were able to produce a crucial win over Macleod last week to kickstart their 2023 campaign.
It was an emotional afternoon with Shane Harvey putting on a show with five majors in his final game for the club, but it was other strong contributions from Jesse Tardio, Nicholas Matthews and Majak Daw who helped their side record a strong victory.
Hamish Murphy has been a revelation for Jason Heatley’s men since joining the club in the off-season. He’s been in his side’s best in all four game so far, the only player to do so.
North Heidelberg’s record over the Roosters hasn’t been great of late, losing their previous four encounters dating back to 2019. But the Bulldogs are still in good shape, they are the fourth highest scoring team in the competition despite sitting in eighth spot and actually have a greater percentage than West Preston-Lakeside.
With both sides looking to create some consistency throughout the first half of the season, this should be a fascinating contest.
Greensborough will look to put a rough fortnight behind them when they host Banyule at Greensborough War Memorial Park.
Following two comfortable wins in the opening fortnight of the season, the Boro have now fallen in consecutive games, first by three points against West Preston-Lakeside and then again last week by 21 points to the reigning premiers.
Their attacking presence has been lacking in recent weeks, with only Whittlesea having scored fewer total points than them so far this season, however, their defence has again been exceptional as highlighted in Round 4 when Saade Ghazi’s man conceded eight goals from Heidelberg’s 23 scoring shots.
It’s been thanks to the continual efforts of captain Jack Johnston and young gun Angus Seivers that their defence is currently the best in the league, having conceded only 251 points in four games.
If they can get things right in the forward half, it will put their Saturday opponents in Banyule under plenty of pressure.
The newly promoted Bears find themselves in the top five following their impressive four-goal triumph over West Preston-Lakeside last week.
Xavier Mitchell excelled on the day with a career high four-goal performance while Jack Langford continued his terrific start to the season, battling hard in the ruck with the Roosters’ Mark Kovacevic and picking up nine Coaches MVP Award votes as a result.
A second scalp against a finals side from last year would not only confirm Banyule as a genuine Division 1 side, but it might start putting them in the final’s conversation in these early stages.
But the Boro only play one finals side between now and Round 10, and they’ll be eyeing this clash as one that can get them back to winning form.
Hurstbridge will face one of its biggest tests to date when they host Montmorency at Ben Frilay Oval.
Under new coach Joel Cordwell, the Bridges sit as one of four sides with three wins from the opening month, they picked up back-to-back wins after a tough win against Whittlesea away from home.
Carlton VFL-listed star Mitchell Moschetti has been extraordinary for the Bridges in the last fortnight. He’s picked up 19 Coaches MVP Award votes in two weeks to sit equal second on the leaderboard, he’s also been named in his side’s best in all three games he’s played in 2023.
Bailey Jordan and Joel Naylor have been brilliant up forward with 19 majors between them while captain Ethan Taylor has been solid also.
However, this weekend sees them come up against an outstanding Montmorency outfit who have now ended the winning streaks of both Bundoora and Heidelberg in the last fortnight.
Those results have come in part due to the incredible work of Marcus Lentini who like Moschetti, sits equal second in Coaches MVP Award voting. His work in the midfield has been classy and has proven difficult to stop when combining with ruckmen Jake Spencer and Liam Wale-Buxton throughout the year.
Patrick Fitzgerald has been able to reap the rewards of Lentini and co-captain Sam Binion’s efforts in midfield, the veteran has now kicked 12 majors in his last two games and 19 in total.
Montmorency have won the last seven encounters against Hurstbridge, however as proven this year, the Bridges are difficult to run over the top of at home, having defeated the Roosters and the Bulldogs at Ben Frilay Oval already this year.
Whittlesea will back themselves to end their losing streak this weekend when they travel to De Winton Park to face Macleod.
The Eagles are the only winless side in the opening month, however after falling short by just eight points to Hurstbridge at home last week, they would have some confidence to build on those efforts and get back to winning ways.
There’ve been many positives for new coach Wayne van der Ross to experience despite the defeats. Those include young forward Christian Prestopino as well as the form of Mitch Andrews, Riley Carter and Xavier Dimasi, who all continue to play consistent football.
This weekend sees them face a Macleod side who have lost their last two matches and sits just one spot above them on the ladder.
Without Michael Hurley, the Roos struggled to find the big sticks in the Round 4 loss to North Heidelberg, kicking only seven goals on the day.
It’s been the Macleod midfielders who have had to step up in that department. Kurt Manuel kicked three goals in the Bulldogs match last week while Lucas Hobbs has four goals for the season.
It was an even split last year between these two sides, with Whittlesea winning by seven points at the Showgrounds before Macleod were victors the most recent meeting at Saturday’s venue, claiming a 25-point triumph.
To say a win is vital for Craig Hayes’ men would be an understatement, as their next three matches are all against the current top three sides in the competition.
