While many eyes will be fixated on the top of the table clash in this weekend’s slate of MC Labour Division 2 football, there are some still some crucial battles to take place in Round 17.
We could be in for an early Grand Final preview when an unbeaten Whittlesea outfit and second-placed Diamond Creek battle at Coventry Oval.
It seemed from the early stages of the campaign that these two sides would sit near the top come season’s end and we’re about to find out which of the two will hold premiership favouritism as we approach the finals.
The Eagles cruised to victory last week in order to keep their unbeaten run intact, prevailing by 23-points over South Morang at J.J. Clancy Reserve.
With inspiring performances from the likes of Jack Morley and Mitchell Andrews, as well as three majors courtesy of Riley Powell and Christian Prestopino, Garry Ramsay’s men did enough to stop an in-form Lions side (who were aiming for nine straight victories of their own) from breaking their winning ways.
It was the 12th time in 16 matches this season where Whittlesea have produced a winning margin above 15 points, highlighting that even finals bound sides are struggling to get a hold of the blue and gold.
The Creekers meanwhile maintained their dominant patch of form during the second half of the season, recording their seventh consecutive win with a 41-point triumph over Lower Plenty.
Back in for his first senior game of the season since last year’s Division 2 Grand Final, Andrew Elward was one of the best for the hosts and finished with four majors.
Joel Randall meanwhile led a defensive unit that conceded just six goals against the Bears. They have now given away no more than 55 points to an opposition side in four of their previous five matches.
Whittlesea have won all six encounters against the Creekers, dating back to 2013, but with little separating the two sides this year with Eagles only breaking away late to win by 15 points in their last match at the Whittlesea Showgrounds, predicting the winner of this contest is far from clear cut.
With a top five spot up for grabs, Thomastown will be looking to take all four points when they battle with Panton Hill at A.E Cracknell Reserve.
The Bears had to respond ahead of their clash with Watsonia last week and did so after an 11-point victory ended a six-match losing streak.
Ruck Jarryd Coulson has been excellent of late, having been named in Thomastown’s best in his last two matches and showing why he’s regarded as one of the most talented rucks in the competition.
Nick Jolly returned to the team after missing his side’s loss to Lower Plenty and booted a season-high four goals, which proved crucial in the triumph over the Saints.
While finals are still mathematically possible for the Bears, the evenness of the division sees Panton Hill in a peculiar position with the outcomes of a finals appearance and a bottom placed finished a reality, as they sit six points from both results.
Wanting to take themselves out of any talks of dropping down to Division 3, albeit being an outside chance, they’ll be looking to secure their place in finals calculations with a triumph this week.
The duo of Oliver Parks and Sam Parks have produced some solid performances in the last couple of weeks for Simon Amore’s men, with the brothers having been the standout players for the side again across season 2024.
Meanwhile in defence, Joshua Callaway has been a steady presence and has helped his side be the fifth best defensive team of this year’s campaign.
Still in the back of their memory will be their Round 8 clash with Thomastown, in which the Bears prevailed in convincing fashion. But desperate to keep their season alive, Panton Hill be aiming to put in a better showing this time around.
Still yet to cement a position in the finals, Lower Plenty will see this week as an opportunity to separate themselves from the pack and firm a spot in the top half of the ladder when they travel to play Watsonia at Binnak Park.
The Bears’ encouraging campaign took a halt last weekend after going down in convincing fashion to Diamond Creek by 41 points, almost identical to the 42-poitn they suffered at the hands of the Creekers in Round 7.
While Jordan Sacco maintained his status as one of the team’s most consistent players, others such as Tyler Wallace, Jed Wallace and Lewis Tsourou have also featured in the best regularly in recent games, which will be pleasing for recently re-signed coach Travis Stephens.
This looms as a massive clash for a side that were still in a relegation fight only 12 months ago. If they defeat Watsonia and Thomastown fall to Panton Hill, a top five spot is confirmed with one round to play.
But getting back on the winners list will no doubt be the priority for this young Lower Plenty outfit, starting with the Saints this weekend.
Watsonia are looking to arrest a run of six consecutive defeats after going down to Thomastown last week and now occupy bottom spot on the ladder for the first time in 2024.
The defeat didn’t stop Daniel Annetta and Harrison Sinclair having an impact, with both men standing out in the team’s sixth straight loss. The same can be said for captain Joshua Boulton, who has helped his team boast the second-best defensive record of sides currently in the bottom five.
But even with competition leading goalkicker Ethan Lowe fresh off a five-goal game, the Saints need to find some big scores if they are to defeat Lower Plenty on Saturday and stay in the division, averaging only 58 points per game.
Northcote Park will hope to record back-to-back victories to keep their slim finals hopes alive when they play South Morang at Mill Park Lakes Recreation Reserve.
Similarly to the Redbacks, Anthony Palmer’s side sit on 20 points for the season, just as far away from the top five as they are from the relegation zone, with a victory this weekend to make their fate much clearer.
The Cougars, who were without a win in the opening half of the season, will be looking for some further reward following their much improved second half of the year, most recently knocking off St Mary’s by 13 points in what was their second victory in their previous three games.
The winning effort was led by Benjamin Augustus and Jacob Thompson who put in some of their best performances of the season. Thompson in particular was key to the triumph after booting five goals to move to fourth in the competition leading goalkicker charts.
With last week’s win, Anthony Palmer’s men would already feel confident about causing another upset in Round 17, but even more so against a Lions side who they should have arguably defeated in Round 8 after they led by 26 points at half time before conceding 13 of the last 18 majors of the game.
The scoring power showcased in that second half has still put the Lions in good stead to earn a top three spot. But the best attacking side in the competition have managed totals of just 59 and 63 in the previous fortnight.
They’ll look to get more out of the likes of Joshua Lansfield and Kyle Wheatley who were both goalless in their defeat to Whittlesea last week, but might look towards Mitch Kalpakis, with the Team of the Year defender kicking a season-high two majors in a switch to the forward 50 last week.
For the second time since 2018, St Mary’s and Laurimar will face each other, locking heads at Whatmough Park.
With just a solitary point separating the sides earlier in the season, their second meeting also has the makings of an intriguing fixture.
The Burra come into this game having continued their slump, with the loss to Northcote Park last weekend marking a month without a win to their name and just four points earnt in the previous eight matches.
Despite this, they have remained in fourth for almost that entire period and can finally lock in consecutive Division 2 finals appearances with a victory on Saturday.
The defeat to the Cougars did see a return to form for their star forward Jeremiah Antypas, who produced a bag of four goals for the third time in 2024 and the first time since Round 3.
Jake Halewood and Huon MacGibbon meanwhile finished in the side’s best again, having been solid contributors over the past fortnight.
Their Saturday opponents in Laurimar pulled themselves off the bottom of the ladder after securing their third win in a row, this time defeating Panton Hill by 16 points.
Even more impressive in the victory was the fact that their leading goalkicker Joel Lawson was absent, with Cooper Herbert, Jai Langford and Campbell Walker all standing up to kick three goals apiece to help the Power continue their winning ways.
Also contributing to their recent victories is skipper Luke Wilson, who has now been named in his side’s best in eight of his last 10 matches.
Remarkably, after looking all but certain to face the drop back to Division 3 a month ago, Jimmy Atkins’ men will earn their spot in the competition again in 2025 with the four points over the Burra on Saturday.
With both sides still having plenty to play for, we should be in for another entertaining contest.
