With the King’s Birthday break run and done, sides in the top five will take on teams occupying the bottom five spots in Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 action this Saturday.
Two games went right down to the wire in Round 9, with both matches having a significant effect on the make-up of the top five at this stage of the season.
The first of which came at Waterview Recreation Reserve, as Mernda came from behind late in the contest to defeat the Fitzroy Stars by a solitary point.
The Stars led by nine points at the last change, but only managed three behinds in the final term, while the Demons booted two majors to level the scores before kicking the vital point to break the deadlock late in the day.
With the four points banked, they draw level with the Stars on six wins, but still trail on percentage.
“It was a hard-fought win,” said Mernda coach Robert Fletcher, who was impressed with the work of inside bull Josh Mazzarella.
Against his old side, Ryan Lovegrove-Hudson followed up his bag of six the previous week with another two majors for the Stars.
Kinglake made use of the scoring end with a 4.5 to 0.1 first quarter against Lalor at Lalor Reserve.
The Bloods were playing catch-up all day, trailing by 29-points at three quarter time, and despite coming home well with the wind in damp conditions, they couldn’t bridge the gap and the Lakers ran out winners by 12 points.
“Lalor really took it up to us in the end and we fought out a really gritty win,” Kinglake coach Dave Florance said.
“We hope that this will galvanise our side for the second half of the season, and we can start making some inroads on those sides above us.”
Rye Johnson was exceptional down back for the Lakers.
“We have been competitive, but cannot close the door at the moment,” Lalor coach Lance Whitnall said, who gave a big tick to Hayden Hunt in the middle and Nathan Parkes down back.
Epping snapped a two-game losing streak when defeating Reservoir by 66 points at Epping Recreational Reserve with Adrian Alfonsi kicking seven majors.
The Mustangs produced a better showing than the previous week, and their efforts were highlighted by James El Moussalli who slotted four goals.
Epping will have a second straight week off thanks to the bye and will need to defeat some top five teams in the run home in order to play finals.
Kilmore made the long journey to Ivanhoe Park to play Ivanhoe. The Hoers broke clear of the Blues in the middle stages of the match on the way to a 33-point victory.
“We were effective in turning defence into offence, which was most pleasing,” Ivanhoe coach Wayne Schultz said.
The win keeps Ivanhoe in fifth spot and gives them a vital two-game break on Kilmore.
Matt Presutto impressed his coach with his rebound off half back, while midfielders Marcel Moran and Kane Veliou contributed well.
“We couldn’t get any rhythm and they outplayed us on their home ground,” Kilmore coach Paul Derrick said.
Bailey Derrick and Mitch Portoglou were best for the Blues.
The clash between Old Paradians and Old Eltham Collegians at Garvey Oval was the other battle to produce a thrilling finish, as the siren sounded with the ball in attack for the Turtles, who went down to the Raiders by four points.
Had Old Eltham Collegians kicked one more point, they would have had identical score lines in consecutive weeks.
The result sent Ben Turner’s men to the top of the ladder with seven wins, while the Fitzroy Stars, Old Eltham Collegians and Mernda are a game back on six wins.
Although Round 10 features the top five teams playing against the bottom five sides, the slate of games on offer still showcases plenty of intrigue in a year which has supplied several big upsets.
Reservoir comes off the bye to host Old Paradians at Crispe Park in a top versus bottom encounter.
The challenge for the Raiders will be backing up after the high of a thrilling win over the highly rated Old Eltham Collegians outfit when they play the winless Mustangs.
Rohan Davies’ men were able to put in a solid effort last week despite another defeat and their fans will be looking for continued improvement back on their home deck.
After two weeks of no games, Heidelberg West will return home to take on the Fitzroy Stars at Heidelberg Park.
Ladder positions suggest that this will be a comfortable win for the Stars, who have a three-win break over the Hawks, but Heidelberg West won both encounters between these two sides last year.
Dale Mayne’s men will be looking to take the form that saw them upset the Turtles in Round 8 into this clash. If they can do that, they must be given an excellent chance on their home ground to pull the upset over one of the most impressive teams of the 2024 campaign in the Fitzroy Stars.
Old Eltham Collegians play Kilmore at Eltham College and face a similar challenge to that of the Stars. It is a game where ladder positions suggest a victory for the home team, who are hoping to snap a two-game losing streak.
The Blues inflicted the only loss on the Raiders earlier in the season at J.J. Clancy Reserve and a repeat of that effort would make them highly competitive against the Turtles.
Mernda plays the second of back-to back home games when welcoming Lalor to Waterview Recreation Reserve, with the Demons full of confidence after overrunning the Stars last week.
Robert Fletcher’s men had a massive win over the Bloods last season at this ground in Round 17, with a record 311-point victory, but it is clear that Lalor has improved dramatically since that game thanks to the guidance of Lance Whitnall as well as some handy recruits during the off-season.
A much closer outcome is expected this time, but it would still be a major upset if the Bloods were to prevail.
Kinglake is coming off consecutive wins ahead of their battle with Ivanhoe at Kinglake Memorial Park in what shapes as a massive clash.
The Hoers have been the most consistent side this season and have been rewarded for their reliability with fifth spot on the table after nine rounds, but will need to triumph again this weekend in order to remain in the top five.
Kinglake Memorial Park was a fortress for the Lakers last year when they went through the season undefeated at home, however things didn’t go according to script this season when they lost their first three home games against flag hopefuls in the Fitzroy Stars, Old Eltham Collegians and Old Paradians.
Dave Florance’s men have hit their straps of late with a big win over Reservoir at home and another triumph against Lalor at Lalor Reserve last week.
It all makes for a fascinating affair in which it is tough to pick a winner.
Ivanhoe make the trip to Kinglake for the first time and combined with the momentum of the previous few matches, it leads towards the home side being the tip.
But the Hoers have beaten every team currently below them on the ladder this season and will be aiming for that trend to continue. If they can prevail in this challenge, it may just well be the win which makes all the difference at the end of the regular campaign.
