The final month of the home and away season is upon us and following a number of huge upsets in Round 14, the final four rounds of 2013 could not be any more heavily anticipated.
Last week Macleod broke a 42-year winning drought against Montmorency to hand the Magpies their first loss of 2013 in a stunning 10-point result at De Winton Park, while Epping beat Eltham for its third win of the year and kept its Division 1 survival hopes alive.
As a result, there is plenty of life restored back in the ladder, with the race for fifth place now being fought out by three teams – West Preston-Lakeside, Eltham and Macleod. Meantime, Greensborough slipped closer towards joining the Blues and Lower Plenty in the relegation zone.
Round 15 begins with a now huge game between Heidelberg and Macleod, with the Kangaroos fast turning into the giant killers in Division 1.
Last week’s thrilling win over the Magpies followed a Round 12 win over Northcote Park and they are now only one win away from jumping into the top five. Cathal Corr led the way against the Pies, while Mathew Pow kicked five majors as the Roos finished with a four-goal to zero final quarter.
Heidelberg overturned its Round 9 upset loss to Lower Plenty with a 51-point win over the Bears in their return fixture at Montmorency Park. The Tigers setup the win in the first term with nine unanswered goals, with Mark Lynch, Jason Kennedy and Michael Finn the star acts as their side claimed an important percentage-boosting victory.
It’s a crunch game for Eltham and Greensborough who meet Eltham Central Reserve. The Panthers last Saturday missed a huge opportunity to jump back in the top five with a miserable performance at Epping. After kicking the opening three goals they conceded the next nine to fall to a convincing 26-point loss. There were few winners on the day for the men in red and black, although James Kroussoratis (four goals) and Tom Rogers tried hard.
Greensborough suffered its biggest loss for years when it was trounced by 93 points at home to Bundoora. The Boro have now lost seven in a row and sit just four points ahead of the drop zone. Remarkably, a win today could push them back within a game of the top five.
West Preston-Lakeside remains in fifth-place on the ladder despite last week’s 31-point loss to Bundoora and the Roosters face another massive test when they host Bundoora this weekend. Incredibly, Frankie Raso has used more than 50 players in his senior side already this year, with injury last week forcing seven changes from the team that beat Macleod a round prior.
Cameron Cloke made an emphatic return to the playing field last week, snagging nine goals for Bundoora in its huge win over Greensborough. Gary Moorcroft also snared seven and the duo now has 114 goals to fill the top two places on this year’s goal kicking table.
Northcote Park returns home to Bill Lawry Oval for the first time in a month when it hosts ninth-placed Lower Plenty. The Cougars comfortably overcame an in-form West Preston-Lakeside last week, buoyed by the return of key trio Will Debruin (for his first senior game in a year), Nick Carter and Shaun Lorenzini.
The Bears were woeful in the first term against the Tigers and cost themselves any chance of a second consecutive victory. They managed to win the second half by five goals to three but the damage was done in the opening half hour. Youngster Will Morley continued his impressive year and was Lower Plenty’s best.
It’s first versus last when Montmorency hosts Epping and incredibly it’s the competition’s bottom side who heads into the encounter with winning form.
The Pies were slow out of the blocks last week and conceded the opening three goals to Macleod. They then looked to have the game in their keeping late in the third term when they led by 18 points, but conceded the last five goals of the game to slump to their first loss of the 2013 season.
Epping looked a genuine Division 1 side when it comfortably accounted for Eltham and with wins in two of its past three games, it is now a realistic chance to keep its place in Division 1 next year. Sean Bolger’s big marking was a feature in last week’s win, while skipper Daniel Moore and late inclusion Mitch Henwood also played big parts in the home win.
