The sides fighting it out for the 2023 Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 premiership will need to either start or maintain good form heading into some crucial clashes to round out the home and away season.
Recent history in the division shows the importance of peaking at the right time, as every premiership winner since 2013 has won a minimum of five straight games leading into the finals.
With three rounds remaining, the sides who could take a significant winning run into the finals are Mernda and Kinglake, as both have won their last three consecutive matches and have the potential to end the regular season on six-game winning streaks.
The Lakers lead the table with 12 wins, with both the Demons and Laurimar a game behind. If Kinglake loses a game, they’ll become vulnerable as Mernda has a game in hand and the Power has a slightly superior percentage.
There were some big winners and losers in Round 15 action.
Reservoir ran away in the final term to defeat Lalor by 55 points at Crispe Park. Alex Mills had a terrific day up forward with five majors while Jackson West kicked two goals for the Bloods.
Heidelberg West hosted Laurimar at Heidelberg Park with the knowledge that they would play finals if they kept on winning.
But the Power dominated the contest from start to finish and triumphed by 63-points.
“A great win for us, we played four quarters today and learnt from last week’s game against the Turtles,” Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins said.
The team aiming to displace the Hawks from the top four is Old Eltham Collegians who headed to Kinglake Memorial Oval hoping to be the first team to defeat Kinglake on their home deck in 2023.
But the Lakers led throughout and while they did have to withstand a late surge by the visitors, they eventually prevailed by eight points.
The loss had some positives, however, for Matthew Sleeman’s men, as they went closer than any team this year in beating Kinglake at Kinglake Memorial Oval.
More importantly, their narrow loss and Heidelberg West’s large loss further widens the percentage gap between the two teams, meaning that the Turtles would almost definitely finish fourth by season’s end if both sides had the same wins.
The key forwards wowed the crowd at Kinglake, as Leigh Gilbert booted six for the Lakers, while Matthew Williamson slotted four for Old Eltham Collegians. Williamson’s teammate Jay Smith exceeded goal-kicking expectations with three of his own.
The Turtles go to the bye and will keep a close eye on Round 16 action.
Mernda came away with a win over Kilmore at J.J. Clancy Reserve in what some considered a danger game. The Blues pressed in the final term and looked a chance at times to score a come-from-behind win but fell short by 20 points.
When the Demons led by 14 points on the final siren, Riley Edwards took a mark 60 metres out. His long torpedo shot bounced in the goal square and went through for a goal with no defender back in the goal line to stop it.
It remains to be seen if the small bit of extra percentage will be of significance at season’s end.
“It was a really contested, physical game of footy,” Kilmore coach Paul Derrick said.
“Our last quarter was possibly our best quarter for the season, despite not getting the win.”
Derrick liked the work of Grant Paxton, Bailey Derrick and Michael Marrett.
Billy Morrison continued his good form for the Demons and finished his work off with two goals.
Round 16 action features a significant contest between Mernda and Heidelberg West at Waterview Recreation Reserve.
It’s a game of utmost importance for both teams in their different areas of the ladder. The Demons would be well on the way to clinching the double chance with another four points and they would be favoured to do so on their home ground.
Meanwhile the Hawks would be desperate to cause an upset but did go down to Mernda by 33-points at Heidelberg Park in Round 7.
If they can surprise the tipsters and get over the line, they would go a game clear of Old Eltham Collegians and give themselves a great chance to claim fourth spot.
Lalor and Kilmore meet at Lalor Reserve as both sides look to finish of the campaign on a high.
Since their bye, the Blues scored a big win over Reservoir and then produced two competitive efforts over sides in the finals hunt, and would be firm favourites to take the four points over Lalor on Saturday.
The Bloods have managed a pair of one-kick losses on their home ground, so this looks like their best hope in their remaining games to snare their maiden win for the 2023 campaign.
The Fitzroy Stars game against Reservoir was originally scheduled for Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval but has been moved to Crispe Park.
It’s a fascinating match-up as the Mustangs will be hoping that their terrific victory over Lalor last week can translate into beating a team higher up the ladder.
The Stars have been generally competitive but had lost four straight games against sides above them on the ladder prior to last week’s bye. Their fans will be looking for the team to play well against their closest neighbours on the way to a positive end to their first season in Division 3.
In a game with huge implications on the top two, Laurimar welcomes Kinglake to Laurimar Reserve.
With the Power a game behind the Lakers and with a slightly superior percentage, they will go ahead of Kinglake if they can prevail on Saturday.
Most pundits will be tipping Laurimar after their impressive win over the Hawks in Round 14, as well as the fact that they’re also undefeated on their home ground this season.
The Lakers will be keen to claim an away win over a top two aspirant after falling short against Mernda in Round 12.
With each team having only one game and a bye left after this weekend, Kinglake would lock away the double chance with a victory.
With a lot hanging on the outcome and both teams boasting stars all over the ground, it will be a clash well worth coming to see.
