After a round which saw all four results have a major impact on the ladder, Round 14 looks set to be equally important as the race for spots inside the top-four heats up.
Ladder-leader Banyule suffered just its second loss of the season and now lead second-placed Whittlesea only on percentage. The Bears still have an extra game in hand on the four sides directly below them, however their stronghold on top spot has been loosened in recent weeks.
Whittlesea and Eltham are waiting in the wings if Banyule’s does slip up over the final five rounds, while Thomastown and Diamond Creek both picked up critical wins last weekend to as increase their buffer on the Fitzroy Stars.
Despite both suffering losses on the weekend, Fitzroy and St Mary’s remain mathematical chances of sneaking into the top-four but would need to win all their remaining games and have other results go their way.
The Stars are the much better chance of the two, given they have an extra game to play and already sit two points above the Burra.
Playing in the twilight fixture at Eltham Central Park, Eltham will host Banyule in what looks the match of the round between two leading premiership contenders.
The Panthers bounced back strongly last week to record a 35-point win over Fitzroy Stars, which was a sizeable turnaround from their previous outing with the Stars earlier in the season, which the Panthers lost by five goals.
Eltham held just a one-point lead at quarter time but then went on to overpower the home side at Sir Douglas Nicholls, booting 10 goals to four after the first change.
Michael Still returned to his best form after kicking just a solitary major in his return game two weeks ago, slamming home six goals against the Stars. The haul extended Still’s lead atop the goal kicking table to four majors – having kicked 31 goals in nine appearances in 2019.
Anton Woods was named among Eltham’s best in his return game, while Bronson Glasgow and Lane Sinclair played starring roles in the win, which kept the Panthers firmly entrenched in the race for a double chance in the finals.
Banyule enters this week’s much-anticipated clash off its worst performance of the season, when it was overpowered by Diamond Creek in the second half to fall to a 40-point defeat at Coventry Oval.
The lead changed hands at each of the first two breaks, however the Bears booted just six behinds in the third term, which consigned them to their fate. Trailing by 27 points at the last change, they were outscored two goals to four in the final term to lose just their second game of the year.
The return of key trio Scott Gumbleton, James Kroussoratis and Tim Martin did little to aid the Bears, who were simply outplayed in the second half by a red-hot Diamond Creek outfit on their home deck.
With five games remaining in the home and away season, Banyule will be looking to regain their early-season form as the race to the finals heat up.
Despite losing two of their past three games, they should go in with confidence this weekend given they comfortably accounted for the Panthers by 46 points when the two sides met at Beverley Rd Oval in Round 2.
Whittlesea and the Fitzroy Stars lock horns in yet another critical match-up that could have big ramifications in the race to the finals.
Whittlesea moved within percentage of top spot after their 34-point triumph over St Mary’s last weekend. The win over the in-form Burra was the Eagles’ fifth in succession and they are the form side of the competition right now.
The Eagles were also a major beneficiary of Banyule’s loss to Diamond Creek and the stars are suddenly aligning for the young Eagles side as they look to make a swift return to the NFNL top flight.
Thomas Falls and Matthew Atta both starred in last week’s win at Whatmough Park, while up forward it was the Nicholas Pupillo show, as he snagged a five-goal haul. Pupillo is having his breakout year at senior level and has kicked 19 goals – which includes 10 in his past three games.
The Eagles will feel they can give a bit extra in this weekend’s game knowing they have the bye the following weekend, which then leads into their massive Round 16 match against Banyule at Beverley Rd Oval.
The Fitzroy Stars have managed just a draw from their past four games and simply must win this week if they are to have any chance of making a late charge for the finals.
It’s a tough ask for the Stars, who travel to Whittlesea this week before hitting the road again to take on ladder-leader Banyule next week. At their best the Stars are capable of beating anyone, but they cannot afford for their current lull to continue any longer.
Fitzroy was still in the hunt at half time last week against Eltham but was then only able to kick one more goal in each of the remaining two quarter to eventually fall to a 35-point defeat.
One positive for the Stars was the returns of Jared Payne, Steven Miles and Max Maynard, who were all named among their team’s best players, while Aaron Lynn continued his strong season.
Despite struggling over the past month, the Stars do have recent winning history over the Eagles, and convincingly won the Round 6 match at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval by 31 points.
Diamond Creek will be looking to build on its two-game winning streak when it travels to Epping Recreation Reserve take on Epping.
The Creekers backed up a great win at Eltham with an even better performance against ladder-leader Banyule and will this week be favoured to continue their push for a berth in the finals.
After trailing by nine points at quarter time, the Creekers piled on 13 goals to four to run away to their best win since playing off in the 2017 grand final.
It was quite the turnaround from Diamond Creek, who had lost previously to the Bears by a whopping 88 points in their Round 6 clash. It’s amazing what a few months in between can do to a side.
Jacob Booth has been a model of consistency this season, while Ryan Pingree is becoming a major X-factor and kicked his second-consecutive three-goal haul. Nicholas Barro, Matthew Lewis and the returning Hugh Kavanagh were also influential in the Creekers’ big win.
Epping will need to cause an upset to crush its three-game losing streak and get back on the winners list after it suffered its 10th loss of the season against Thomastown on the weekend.
Despite the loss, there were positive signs last week. Firstly, the Blues returned onto their home deck for the first time this year after playing the first half of the year on the back oval at Epping Recreation Reserve.
The Blues were competitive for much of last week’s game against a side fighting for a finals spot. Jake Perry returned to the fold and was named in the club’s best players, with Sage Dicello and Lucas Aquilina also performing well.
Recent history is also going against Epping, with Diamond Creek claiming a 49-point win the last time these sides met back in Round 3.
Thomastown and Watsonia go head-to-head at Main Street Recreation Reserve, where the Bears simply cannot afford a slip up ahead of a difficult run home.
Thomastown made it two wins on the trot last week, bolstering its percentage with a six-goal to two final term to claim a 60-point triumph. It followed an equally impressive win over the Fitzroy Stars a week prior – continuing Scott Plant’s winning start as caretaker coach.
Daniel Chadwick was dominant and polled 10 votes in the Coaches MVP voting, while Lukas Fellows, James Rizzolio and Shannon Ball also played key roles in their side’s seventh win of the campaign.
A win this weekend against a side they accounted for by 55 points in Round 5 this season is a necessity to help secure a place in the finals. Their run home is tough and includes finishing the season against the current top-two sides.
As well as facing Whittlesea and Banyule to round out the season, the Bears also face a stern battle against fellow finals hopeful Diamond Creek next week in a massive encounter at Coventry Oval.
Watsonia returns from the bye this weekend and will be looking to claim several scalps in its final five games to round out the season on a high.
After starting their season with two wins, the Saints have since failed to reach their early-season heights and have gone on to win just one more game.
They fell to a third-straight loss in their most recent game, going down to St Mary’s by 45 points. The Saints looked flat throughout the game and the bye may have come at a good time as they look to attack the final stages of the year with vigour.
Daniel Watson has been a consistent performer throughout the campaign and would be a leading contender to take out the side’s best and fairest award. Watson was the Saints best player in their previous match against Thomastown.
