Round 12 may well be looked back on as the weekend that changed the course of the 2013 season, with a number of surprising results throwing a new twist in the competition ahead of Round 13.
Macleod, West Preston and Epping all claimed vitally important wins, while Heidelberg’s come from behind win at Bundoora reversed its Round 7 loss to the Bulls and further boosted its top three hopes.
Macleod’s surprise victory over Northcote Park at Bill Lawry Oval moved the Kangaroos from a slim finals aspirant to a genuine top five contender, and the Roos now host West Preston-Lakeside in a match that could push the winner inside the top half of the ladder.
The Roos have reversed their form since mid-June, winning two of their past three matches with that loss an unlucky five-point defeat to Bundoora. Last week they defeated the reigning premier by 17 points on its home paddock, booting eight goals to four in the second and third quarters to take a match winning 25-point lead into three-quarter time.
West Preston-Lakeside has moved into sixth place on the ladder, its highest position this year. Like the Roos, the Roosters have won two of their past three games and are now only percentage behind fifth-placed Eltham.
They last week accounted for Greensborough by 12 points in arguably their best victory of the season. Trailing by 17 points in the first quarter, it was the Roosters’ biggest names who stood up. Xavier Clarke, Shaun Gannon and VFL-listed player Kirk Lang were all instrumental in the win, while Oliver Dufficy kicked four majors.
Powerhouse teams Heidelberg and Montmorency meet at Warringal Park in arguably the most anticipated match of the season.
Heidelberg’s resurgence continued last week when it clawed back from an early deficit to beat Bundoora by 32 points – the club’s first win at Yulong Reserve in three years. The Tigers booted six goals in each of the final two quarters, spurred on by five-goal hauls by Chaz Sargeant and Lance Oswald.
The Tigers on their home paddock are shaping as Montmorency’s biggest test as it looks to continue its unbeaten season. Last week the Magpies overcame a strong first half challenge from Eltham to record a 45-point win – its 13th win in succession. Ryan Jackson continued his rich vein of form with four goals from the midfield, while Daniel Coghill played his best game of the year.
Greensborough’s season will be on the line when it travels to ninth-placed Lower Plenty. The Boro missed an opportunity to jump back inside the top five courtesy of last week’s loss to West Preston and have slipped to seventh place on the ladder – their lowest position of the year. Not even five goals from the underrated Josh Grubb could get his side over the line.
The threat of relegation again looms largely over Lower Plenty following last week’s lamentable performance against Epping. Knowing a win would all but confirm their place in Division 1 next season, the Bears were asleep in the first term and were unable to recover a 36-point deficit at quarter time, despite solid efforts from Jackson Powell (three goals) and Matt Duckworth.
Fourth meets fifth when Northcote Park travels to Eltham. Both sides are struggling with long injury lists with the Cougars missing the likes of Nick Carter, Mitch Papas and Ben Abbatangelo in last week’s loss, while Eltham continues to play without key players Steve Foster, Brendan O’Sullivan and Lachie Richardson. While both teams won’t be looking for excuses, there is no doubt both will benefit from the return of important players after next week’s bye.
Northcote Park won the earlier fixture between the two sides by 36 points and was also victorious by 22 points the last time it travelled to Eltham Central Reserve.
Finally, Bundoora will be looking to rebound when it hosts Epping at Yulong Reserve – its second home game in succession.
The Bulls looked well on their way to a seventh-consecutive win when they led Heidelberg by close to four goals in the second term. But without key midfielders Micheal Farrelly and Ricky Dyson, they were comfortably run over in the second half, with Heidelberg registering 15 more scoring shots than the Bulls in the 25-point result.
Epping won its second game of the season last Saturday, sparked by a best on ground effort by Josh Totino and supporting roles by Daniel Moore, John Kruezer and Sean Bolger.
The Blues kicked nine of the first 10 goals to lead by as much as 45 points late in the second quarter, before holding on for crucial 19-point win.
