Round 3 of the MC Labour Division 2 is looking to be a competitive round with a mix of matchups across the Anzac Day weekend.
Thomastown will be hosting Fitzroy Stars at Main St Reserve as the Stars are still looking for their first win as a Division 2 side in 2026.
Both teams are coming off a nail bitting losses from Round 2 but have shown promising signs in the first two rounds so far. Thomastown going down last week by six points after coming off of a win against Panton Hill the week before. While the Stars have yet to claim a win in Division 2, they have shown that their best footy is capable of doing so – putting up a good show against Northcote Park in Round 1 only losing by eight points and a similar story against Lower Plenty last week in a frustrating seven-point defeat.
Northcote Park will be looking to claim their third victory in a row against the almighty Macleod down at Bill Lawry Oval in the NFNL’s Match of the Round. Both sides are currently sitting nicely in the top five and look to be among the early premiership frontrunners.
This contest will have no shortage of firepower on display – Northcote has been well served in attack by Leo Amad and Ricky Fandrich in their first two games, with both men kicking six goals each from those fixtures. While for the Roos, skipper Darcy Barden will be one to watch after a bag of seven goals against Whittlesea last week.
Macleod have had the best of the recent encounters between these two, winning the last two match ups convincingly.
Old Paradians are travelling down Plenty Road this week to Whittlesea Showgrounds to face the Eagles.
The Raiders have had a great start to the 2026 season, collecting two wins against lower Plenty and Thomastown. The Eagles will be keen to bounce back after a disappointing outing last week against Macleod and get back to the form which they showed in their Round 1 win over South Morang.
Coming off a very strong season last year the Eagles are still working through what their best mix looks like week to week but will be keen to ensure they stay ahead in the win-loss ledger. Connor McDonald has been a dominant force for Old Parade in the first fortnight, winning a stack of footy in the ruck and will be a key influence on this game.
Panton Hill is looking to claim its first victory in 2026 but faces a tough task against St Mary’s at Whatmough Park.
St Mary’s will be keen to get back in the winner’s circle after a 55-point loss to South Morang last Saturday. After playing finals last season, the Burra will see this game as an opportunity to potentially move above some other sides above them as the ladder continues to take shape. For the Redbacks it’s about steady improvement and they showed some more promising signs in the final quarter of their clash with Northcote Park last week which they’ll be hoping can translate into a four-quarter effort here.
Lower Plenty welcomes South Morang to Lower Plenty Oval for the first time since Round 10, 2024 to close out this weekend’s action.
South Morang is going to be coming in hot after a dominant win over St Mary’s last week, Matthew Penn and his men certainly have a point to prove coming down from Division 1. The Bears have had some key targets up forward with Jack Chubb booting six goals last week in a best on ground effort against Fitzroy Stars and Jack Madgen has been a great addition with five goals in the first fortnight of the season.
South Morang took the chocolates last time these two sides met but a lot has changed since then and this contest could well be the match of the round.
