With the top five facing the bottom five in Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 this weekend, the potential to both extend the gap between sides as well as cause a few upsets is high.
Bundoora will look to create another winning streak when they face Macleod at Yulong Reserve.
The Bulls will be favourites on their home turf and after grabbing a 13-point victory over Northcote Park last week, they’ll be relieved to head into this match on the back of a win.
Danny Younan was the main man up forward once more with four goals whilst Hamish Shepheard and co-captain Luke Collins combined well in the midfield to give the Bulls first use at every stoppage.
Macleod though will feel they can cause another upset this weekend having won two of their last three matches, including most recently at home against Hurstbridge.
Luke Joyce has started to hit some form and added three goals to his tally this year while Sebastian Latina also continued his breakthrough season, picking up the 10 Coaches MVP votes.
Bundoora were the winners last time these two faced in what would ultimately be the last match of the 2021 season, winning by seven goals at Yulong Reserve.
But Craig Hayes has got Macleod back on track after a slow start and if results go their way, the Roos could enter the top five for the first time this year with a triumph over the Bulls.
After winning their second game of the season, North Heidelberg will face another challenge in the form of Greensborough at Shelley Street.
The Bulldogs comfortably defeated Whittlesea by 46-points over the weekend, with Billy Hogan producing his best performance, kicking six goals and collecting 10 Coaches MVP Votes.
Jesse Tardio has also continued his stellar 2022 campaign, continuing to prove difficult to contain around stoppages.
Greensborough went down for the first time since Round 2 when they were no match for ladder leaders Heidelberg at Warringal Park.
Nothing could split either side at three quarter time but a six goal to nil last term from the Tigers meant Saade Ghazi’s side suffered their second defeat of the season.
Zak McCubbin kicked a team-high three goals whilst Nick Riddle had another strong game in defence.
These two sides met twice in 2021, with the Borough winning on both occasions by an average margin of almost 73-points.
But, while not winning, the Bulldogs have shown that they can match it with the top five sides of the competition, losing by no more than 20-points against Bundoora, West Preston-Lakeside, Heidelberg and Montmorency so far this year.
They’ll also potentially jump from tenth to sixth in the space of a fortnight if they can cause an upset.
With both sides needing to quickly regain their early season form, Hurstbridge and West Preston-Lakeside are set to do battle at Ben Frilay Oval.
The Bridges have been unable to regain the heights they reached after starting the season 2-1, losing their last four matches.
Their most recent defeat was the hands of Macleod to the tune of nine points, the Bridges just falling short despite a four goal to one first term.
Joel Naylor has been one of the consistent factors throughout the 2022 season, the forward kicking another three majors last week to move him to 14 goals for the year alongside teammate Cooper Perrin.
But Jarrod Tilley and Brayden Shaw may sense an opportunity to return to the winners list when they face a Roosters side who have only picked up two points in their last three matches.
Last weekend they lost their third consecutive game at home, going down by 17-points to top five rival Montmorency.
While the performances of Michael Ercolano and Max Dreher were excellent, the loss puts the Roosters in fifth spot and another defeat could see them drop out of the top five for the first time since Round 11, 2019.
These two also met twice in 2021. West Preston-Lakeside won on both occasions by 68 and 116 points, with the currently injured Ahmed Saad booting 11 goals in their most recent match at J.E. Moore Park.
Montmorency will look to make it four consecutive wins while keeping tabs with the top of the table Tigers when they host Whittlesea.
It’s been a strong month for the Magpies, topped off by an impressive victory away to West Preston-Lakeside that saw them leap into second spot.
Liam Wale-Buxton continued his brilliant start to life at Montmorency, dominating in ruck and kicking two goals in the 17-point triumph over the Roosters. Patty Fitzgerald kicked four majors whilst Michael Fitz-Gerald, Jai Robinson were dominant down back.
They’ll be up against a Whittlesea team who currently sit on the bottom of the table despite gaining some of their stars back in recent weeks.
The Eagles were no match for North Heidelberg at Shelley Street last week, going down by 46 points in what some expected to be a tighter contest.
In what’s been a positive for Blair Harvey’s side this season, David Mennen has had a handy start to his career at Whittlesea, named in the best in five of his seven games while also leading the club in Coaches MVP votes.
What will also still be in the memory bank of many from Whittlesea will be their last battle with the Magpies, where the Eagles came from 25-points down at quarter time to win by three points.
A similar result could see them jump back as high as seventh but with the form the Magpies are in, it would take an incredible performance for an upset to occur.
Heidelberg will play host to a much-improved Northcote Park line up at Warringal Park.
In one of their most impressive efforts of the season, the Tigers kicked six goals to nil, after scores were level at three quarter time, to defeat Greensborough by 35-points, giving them a small amount of breathing room at the top of the ladder.
In his second senior game for Danny Nolan’s side, Charlie Wilson kicked three majors in an excellent match, while Brayden Sier had his most influential game in yellow and black, combining well with Sam Gilmore and Lachlan Wilson in the midfield.
If the last few weeks are anything to go by, Northcote Park could prove to cause a few challenges for the league leaders.
Following a period of two wins in three weeks, the Cougars threw everything at Bundoora, only to fall short by 13-points.
Michael Amad and Alex Boyse combined for five majors up forward with Jordan Perry, and Daniel Tallariti playing key roles for Stephen Saddington’s side.
The Tigers won both times these two met last year by an average of 102 points and while an upset would be almost impossible to imagine, you can safely assume the Cougars won’t make things easy for their opponents.
