WITH seven teams still in finals contention, six of the league’s top seven sides play each other in three blockbuster encounters in Round 16.
Fierce rivals Montmorency and Lower Plenty meet in a clash between the competition’s fifth and third-placed teams.
The Magpies are beginning to display their best football, heading into the encounter on the back of three straight wins. Last week they handed Heidelberg its first home loss of the season in a 20-point result. The win was built off the back of big games from star midfielders Jesse Donaldson and Ryan Jackson, who have both been in dominant form as their side makes its charge towards September.
Lower Plenty has winning form against Montmorency following a 10-point home win in Round 9, and heads into this away encounter on the back of a thrilling win over Macleod. It was a massive result for the Bears, propelling them into third place where a loss would have seen them slip to seventh.
Skipper Darcy Barden led his side superbly with four goals, while Will Morley and Tom Keys were instrumental. Campbell Brown also added two goals in his second game but won’t play this week.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for Bundoora and Macleod when they meet at Yulong Reserve. The winner will likely move inside the top five with two weeks to go, while the loser will fall a game outside and have their finals hopes hanging by a thread.
The Bulls had no trouble against Whittlesea last weekend, romping to a percentage-boosting win at Whittlesea Showgrounds. Cameron Cloke and Gary Moorcroft combined for 11 goals, while youngster Ned McKeown impressed with a bag of four. With matches remaining against Northcote Park and Eltham, the Bulls will be favoured to play finals if they can get over Macleod this weekend.
Just a fortnight after sitting two points clear in third place, the Roos are now playing for their season following successive close losses. After trailing at every change, the Roos hit the front early in the last quarter against Lower Plenty but were unable to hold onto their slight advantage. Anthony Doherty was gallant in defeat with five goals, while John Andrew and Sean Driscoll also played well.
West Preston-Lakeside and Heidelberg are both coming off losses when they meet at J.E. Moore Park. The Roosters place inside the top four hangs in the balance, while Heidelberg must win to stay in the race for first place.
With Aaron Davey, Billy Micevski and Steven Hiho all missing, the undermanned Roosters were never in the hunt in an 81-point loss to Greensborough last week. Their chances weren’t helped when tall defender Nathan Valladaras went off with an ankle injury. Running defenders Luke McKenna and Ali Fahour were their side’s best in an otherwise forgettable day.
Heidelberg’s poor recent record against Montmorency continued last week, losing a fourth successive game to the Magpies. The Tigers could only muster five goals in the opening three quarters, despite the best efforts of Aaron Crispe and Michael Looby. Given its much tougher run home than Greensborough, the Tigers are now the slight outsiders to finish first and win a rest in the opening week of the finals.
Following Jason Heatley’s announcement that he would step aside as senior coach at season’s end, Northcote Park produced its best result of the season in a 70-point thrashing of Eltham.
After trailing by 26 points at the first change, the Cougars booted 26 goals in the final three quarters. Bronik Davies and Daniel Ledda starred, while Koden Colman, Nick O’Brien and Patrick O’Connell each kicked five goals.
The Cougars now return home to host Whittlesea who heads into the clash after two huge home losses. Brenton Briffa, Jeremy Page and Andrew Fairchild were amongst the Eagles best last week, although they were never truly in the contest against the Bulls.
Greensborough will be a raging favourite when it hosts Eltham at War Memorial Park. The Boro were ruthless in their dismantling of West Preston-Lakeside last week, with Michael Hooper (three goals) dominant in the ruck, while Rhys Boyden and Tim Bongetti proved too powerful up forward and combined for nine goals.
Eltham started positively last week but could not contain Northcote Park after quarter time. Still eligible to play under-19 football, Billy Glasgow was again a standout, while James Kroussoratis booted five goals. The Panthers have a good recent record at War Memorial Park and were competitive in the Round 2 loss to the Boro on Good Friday.
