Two crucial top five clashes lead what looks to be another big weekend in the 2023 Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 competition.
Bundoora will get the opportunity to move a game closer to Montmorency when the two teams do battle at Yulong Reserve this weekend.
The Bulls have now won five of their last six games this season, but only sit six points clear of sixth placed Hurstbridge.
Their most recent victory came against Whittlesea last weekend at the Whittlesea Showgrounds and despite being pushed by the winless Eagles at times, five majors from Peter McEvoy, who has now kicked 14 goals in the last four games, and an outstanding performance from Hamish Shepheard helped assert Bundoora’s dominance on the contest.
While sitting in third position, Michael Ryan’s men have struggled to take wins off the top sides in the competition, with their victory over North Heidelberg in Round 2 being the only occasion so far in 2023 in which Bundoora have defeated a team currently in the top four.
They have a chance to quash that fact when hosting Montmorency, but the Magpies are still in white hot form despite drawing with Heidelberg last week.
The Magpies led for all but a few minutes in their entertaining battle with the top of the table Tigers and despite only receiving two points for their efforts, they well and truly proved their premiership credentials.
Liam Wale-Buxton and captain Sam Binion stole the show on Saturday, with the former picking up the perfect 10 Coaches MVP Award votes after a dominant display across the ground, while the latter stood up in the tough moments and produced some great clearance work.
Jonathan Manzoney’s men won the early season encounter with the Buls meeting by 11 points out at Montmorency Park, however Bundoora have won the preceding five games before that, starting back in 2021.
It will be a big test for Bundoora to prove their status as a premiership contender while Montmorency will aim to make it 10 straight games unbeaten.
Heidelberg will welcome Greensborough to Warringal Park in what looks to be an intriguing first vs fifth contest.
Having trailed for most of their clash last weekend with Montmorency, the Tigers were able to fight back and gain two points, as well as retain top spot on the ladder by the end of Round 12.
Standing up in the battle was Isaac Wallace, who’s move to the midfield in the absence of Brayden Sier looked to be a masterstroke by Vin Dattoli.
Matthew Smith also impressed in the draw while young guns Jess Gedi and Jed Rule highlighted the club’s focus on developing their younger talent.
With at least a top three spot all but solidified, wins against Greensborough and Bundoora over the next fortnight would likely seal a second consecutive minor premiership for Heidelberg.
The Boro were able to run over the top of West Preston-Lakeside at Binnak Park last Saturday, despite leading by just three points at three quarter time.
VFL-listed players Harrison Andronaco, Charlie Bowes and Zac Hart displayed their state league quality, with Jack Johnston also having another terrific display in defence, claiming a seventh appearance in his side’s best in 12 games.
Angus Seivers meanwhile made it a fourth consecutive week in his side’s best and is inching closer to a maiden Team of the Year appearance.
Although they produced inaccurate kicking, Heidelberg were able to turn a four-point half time advantage into a 22-point triumph last time these two met at Greensborough War Memorial Park.
But with their top five spot still up for grabs, expect Greensborough to have another competitive performance against the reigning premiers on Saturday.
Macleod’s winning streak will be put to the test in their matchup with finals bound North Heidelberg at De Winton Park.
Craig Hayes’ men have found a spark in recent weeks, winning their last three games, and as a result, have kept themselves in the finals conversation, sitting just two games behind Greensborough in fifth.
The key catalysts to their change of fortunes have been a quartet of their 2023 recruits in Darcy Barden, Michael Hurley, Zac Hudson and Solomon McKay.
Barden has been named in his side’s best for six straight weeks while Hurley is the club’s leading goalkicker with 23 majors.
Hudson’s efforts in the ruck and up forward have been excellent, being named in the Roos best in three of the last four games and kicking six majors in the same period, with McKay finding form in the middle parts of the 2023 campaign.
But they face a Bulldogs outfit that defeated them comfortably back in Round 4 and have only lost twice since that encounter.
North Heidelberg put together a stirring performance in their must win game against Hurstbridge last week, holding off the Bridges to prevail by 28 points.
That contest saw Hamish Murphy produce a best on ground performance, he has now been named in his side’s top four best players for four consecutive weeks, while Majak Daw returned to goalkicking form with his first five-goal haul since May.
Jason Heatley’s men are in the hot seat to secure a first finals berth since 2019, and if they are able to convincingly do the double of Macleod and halt their impressive winning streak, North Heidelberg could do more than just be a part of September.
Both West Preston-Lakeside and Banyule will be looking to gain momentum heading into the backend of the season when they meet at J.E. Moore Park.
The Roosters have been on a six-game losing streak whilst the Bears have lost their last five matches of the season to sit in ninth and eighth place respectively.
Luke Giles’ men has shown plenty of promise in their past three encounters, losing by an average of 25 points, and had either led or trailed by three points at three quarter time in their last two matches, proving their competitive ability.
Against Greensborough last weekend, Alex Federico and Matthew Harman led from the front and did what they could for their side.
Federico earnt a spot in his side’s best for a fourth straight game and for the eighth time in total while the reigning Frank Rosbrook Medallist has been a critical figure all around the ground for the Roosters.
The Bears have also produced some strong efforts throughout the season, but their poor starts to games has always given their opponents the ability to go on with the job.
In fact, Banyule have trailed by a combined total of 159 points to opponents in first terms in their last five matches, an average of almost 32 points a game in opening quarters.
One positive for last year’s Division 2 premiers has been Kye Yodgee, who since his return to the side in Round 10, has been named as his side’s best or second-best player in all three matches.
Banyule also won their first ever clash with West Preston-Lakeside back in Round 4, prevailing by four goals. But with both teams desperate for a return to the winners list, we could see a much closer affair.
Hurstbridge will be eager to bounce back into the top five when they host Whittlesea at Ben Frilay Oval.
The Bridges couldn’t pass a big test last weekend against North Heidelberg, going down by 28 points to drop out of the top five again by week’s end.
Hurstbridge are still certainly in the hunt to play off in September but will need to put in a dominant performance against Whittlesea before an incredibly important month of football.
They will also need the form of players such as Caelan Anderson, William Cookson and Joel Naylor to continue over the next four or so weeks to give themselves a chance to compete with the top sides.
Anderson has kicked nine goals in the last four games after kicking one in the first five, while Cookson has been named in his side’s best for two straight weeks and for six of 12 games in total.
2022 Team of the Year forward Naylor has kicked 10 majors in two weeks and now has 29 for the season, including at least one in each match he has played.
They return home to face a Whittlesea outfit that will be buoyed after coming off their strongest performance of the year.
Whilst they went down to Bundoora, they were able to keep up with last year’s runners up for most of the contest, trailing by just four points at three quarter time before going down by 17 points.
Harley Fraumano showed plenty of promise in his fifth game of the season whilst Xavier Dimasi led from the front in midfield and was brilliant against some talented opponents.
Wayne van der Ross will hope that competitiveness from his side will come again when they face a Bridges team, they only fell to by eight points in Round 4.
