All teams have now played at least eight games and the ladder is taking shape as round 11 action of Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 Football approaches.
Round 10 action saw some favourites bank the four points and teams strengthen their finals credentials.
Mernda played Heidelberg West at Waterview Recreation Reserve for. The Demons retained the Les Butterworth Cup on the back of a 3.5 to 0.1 third term to claim a 33-point win. Young tall Lincoln Coffey impressed for Mernda as did Brayden Plant who slotted five goals.
The Hawks were close enough at half time but were unable to stop Robert Fletcher’s men scoring into the wind. Max Brown and Michael Italia were best for Heidelberg West.
“We are working hard to stay in games but need to get reward for that,” said Heidelberg West coach Dale Mayne.
Kilmore and Ivanhoe battled it out for a spot in the top five at J. J. Clancy Reserve. The Hoers flew out of the blocks to the scoring end and never looked like losing in an impressive 37-point win.
With fifteen goals kicked at one end and only four at the other, the difference was how well Wayne Schultz’s men used the wind. They booted eleven goals with it compared to just four for the Blues when they had their chance. Ivanhoe goes to the bye well placed to challenge for finals action.
Lalor took on the Fitzroy Stars at Lalor Reserve. The Stars had trouble putting away a lower ranked opponent last week but were clinical this time and dominated each quarter on the way to a 171-point win.
A highlight was the return of Eddie Betts who booted six majors and he was ably assisted by Elijah Taylor with five.
“The mindset for the game was to play our way and execute our roles from start to finish and the scoreboard showed that, said Fitzroy Stars coach Neville Jetta.
While few Bloods fans were expecting a victory, it was disappointing for them not to register a goal, finishing with 0.5 for the day. Jamison Vearing continued his recent good form for Lalor to be among the best.
Laurimar came off the bye to tackle Reservoir at Crispe Park. The Power led all day after having first use of the breeze. But it was struggle for them to put the Mustangs away. Rohan Davies’ men fought valiantly but fell 15 points short.
While the main battle was close, the other contest was a draw. Laurimar’s Patrick Fitzgerald and Aaron Edwards of Reservoir each kicked four goals, leaving Fitzgerald with a one goal lead in the goal-kicking stakes.
“I thought we didn’t make the most of the wind in the first and third terms, but controlled the footy in the last quarter and were able to kick goals against it, said Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins.
Kaiden Arthur once again kicked multiple goals with a couple this time, while Jake Francis also did well and hit the scoreboard.
Josh Grabowski continues his push to win the Coaches MVP with another excellent game for the Mustangs and Tyle Williams also impressed.
The Fitzroy Stars remain undefeated and a game clear of Laurimar on the table. Epping is a further two games back on six wins.
A trio of teams in Kinglake, Ivanhoe and Mernda have five wins, with Kilmore on four wins and Reservoir on three. Old Eltham Collegians climbed off the bottom without playing a game and move ahead of Lalor on percentage.
In round 11 action there will be clear favourites in all five matches. But there has been a couple of big upsets already this season and more are likely to come sooner or later. With all five favoured teams in the hunt for finals, any slip-up would be costly. And, as Epping and Ivanhoe fans know very well, percentage can also be important as the finals approach.
Historically, the eventual premier in Division 3 hits top form in late June and continues that momentum through to the end of the regular season. So teams in the premiership window will be looking to hit the accelerator from now on.
Old Eltham Collegians host Epping at Eltham College. While both teams are coming off the bye, their form before the byes are vastly different.
The Blues hit their bye on a four-game winning streak and are seen by some as a premiership threat. Conversely, the Turtles went to their break having lost seven in a row. Last year, they had a losing streak of six but still came back to play finals.
While that looks a bridge too far this year, the circuit breaker of the bye may be good for Matt Sleeman’s men. History shows that teams are often capable of snapping a losing streak after their bye.
Despite that statistic being a plus for Old Eltham Collegians, it would be a major upset if they were to prevail.
The Fitzroy Stars take on Reservoir at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval. Similar to the game previously mentioned, the Stars are unbeaten all season while the Mustangs have now lost four in a row.
Rohan Davies’ men were highly competitive against Laurimar last week, but the challenges don’t get any easier as they now face the league leaders on their home deck.
The Mustangs play the Stars twice in the run home and will likely need to beat them at least once to have any chance of finals action. It’s hard to see a way they can cause the upset, but they have come a long way from the form of 2024.
Kinglake does battle with Heidelberg West at Kinglake Memorial Oval. The Lakers have been very good at home this season with a 3-1 record. In their only loss, they managed to score triple figures against premiership hopeful Laurimar. Coach Dave Florance and his team would see this as a must-win game as they aim to cement a spot on the top five.
The Hawks have back-to-back away games and ladder position suggests that this will be a big challenge. But they have been better since the bye, especially when coming close to defeating the Stars two weeks ago.
It would be a great achievement if they could pull the upset. Their only match-up with the Lakers at this venue was back in round 8 of 2023 when the home team won by 46 points.
Lalor plays host to Mernda at Lalor Reserve. The Demons will go into this contest as the hottest of favourites and will be aiming to get the win as well as a much-needed percentage boost which currently sits at 96. Ivanhoe and Kinglake on the same number of wins are both in the 120s.
Bloods fans would just love to see their team kick some goals and get back to the form that saw them beat the Turtles last month.
Laurimar welcomes Kilmore to Laurimar Reserve and would be favoured by most to win and keep in the hunt for the number one spot on the table.
Currently on an eight-game winning streak, their fans will turn up with plenty of optimism. Backing up that optimism is the fact that their last clash with the Blues at this venue yielded a 70-point win back in round 1 of 2023.
Kilmore began the year at 3-0 but have now lost four of their last five and sit a game outside the top five.
Paul Derrick’s men will likely need to claim at least one big scalp in the run home to make the finals. If they can pull the upset win in this contest, they would be right back in the hunt.
