A look ahead to Round 5 in Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3.
The gap between the top-three teams and the rest narrowed after Round 4 action. Had the top-three teams all won, there would have been a gap of three wins between third and fourth. But not all results panned out according to ladder positions.
Kilmore began the season as a premiership hopeful but was 1-2 before hosting unbeaten Heidelberg West at J.J. Clancy Reserve.
Many would have tipped this as a close contest, but the Blues got a break on the Hawks in the second term to open a 28-point lead at half time. Then they ran away with it with a 7.2 to 1.2 final quarter to claim a 70-point victory.
“It was a good response this week after a disappointing effort last week against South Morang,” Kilmore coach Nathan Phillips said. “We hope to continue this form for the rest of the year.”
Chris Ryall returned after missing the previous week and was in the thick of things upon his return. A nine-vote effort gave him back the lead in the Coaches MVP voting.
Leigh Irons dominated in the clearances and playing as a sweeper, Grant Paxton was solid in defence and also provided some run off the back line, while Jaxson Kinnear slotted three goals and had a hand in several others.
Harley Mozdzierz was the standout forward for Heidelberg West, while Ryan Lee excelled in the midfield.
“It was a great test against a team we rate highly, ”Heidelberg West coach Michael Missen said. “We weren’t able to get out of first gear today but will take a lot of learnings from the game and look forward to bouncing back.”
South Morang celebrated the ten-year anniversary of their 2011 Division 3 premiership with a 28-point win over Mernda at Mill Park Lakes Reserve.
Kain Hall played his best game for the Lions and was ably assisted by Nathan Bell. Kain’s older brother, Tye, impressed and produced the match’s best highlight with a big specie in the defensive goal square.
“The young boys are still learning, but the pressure around the contest was good,” South Morang coach Gary Hall said.
Bryce Kimuliatis booted four goals for Mernda, while Anthony Bradford was named best. 23rd Player Thomas McMahon kicked a goal and was prominent in his first senior game for the Demons.
Lalor followed up its close loss to Old Eltham Collegians with an 80-point victory over Reservoir at Crispe Park. The win moved the Bloods from seventh to fifth and their percentage boosted to just below 100.
Louis Hill and Nathan Gioffre caught the eye for the Bloods, who had five multiple goal kickers – headed by Nathan Smith and Jacob Duson with four apiece.
Although it was a bad day for Mustang fans, who may have viewed this as their club’s best chance at scoring a win in some time, Nick Gregson was outstanding with six majors.
Laurimar tussled with Old Eltham Collegians at Laurimar Reserve and came away with a 19-point win, although it wasn’t easy going for the undefeated Power.
They trailed the Turtles by 20 points at quarter time, seemed to have the game in hand with an 18-point lead at the last change, then had to withstand a late challenge to get the win.
Laurimar has been behind at the first break in three of its four games this season. It has not cost them four points yet, but Power fans would love to see their team up and about early.
“Very pleased that we are grinding out wins and being able to overrun teams. But we need to play a solid four quarter game,” Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins said.
Josh Williamson established a six-goal break on the field in the goal kicking ladder after slotting nine majors. The star forward has 20 majors in three appearances this year, including 17 in his past two games.
Brad Deed’s leadership and experience was important when the game was in the balance, while Luke Wilson and Ethan Gorski shone in midfield.
Tom Cleary was in the right spots at the right time and starred for the Turtles. Matthew Dean did well down back, Luke Mills impressed in the ruck, captain Tim Woods led by example and finished with three majors, while Fraser Cloney enjoyed his best haul in the NFNL with a bag of five.
Despite the valiant effort, Old Eltham Collegians coach Matthew Sleeman is looking for more. “It’s time for us to stand up and compete against the best,” Sleeman said.
While getting a big scalp would be good for Old Eltham Collegians, they face a decent challenge when hosting Mernda at Eltham College to kick off Round 5.
Mernda leads the head-to-head battle 2-0 and scored a 21-point win at this ground in the final round of 2019 to just fall short of a finals berth.
With both teams highly competitive against 2019 finalists last weekend, a close contest appears likely. The victor is likely to climb to fifth spot – depending on other results.
Kilmore has back-to-back home games and will host Reservoir at J.J. Clancy Reserve.
The Blues go from a huge game against an unbeaten team to playing a winless side, so the build-up may feel quite different for the players.
The Mustangs went down by 98 points when last playing at Kilmore in a game when Michael McCulloch kicked six for the Blues. Reservoir fans would be looking for their team to improve on that score line this time.
This game will be covered by OKR 98.3 FM, Mitchell Community Radio.
Lalor comes off its first win for the season to play unbeaten ladder-leader South Morang at Lalor Reserve.
While the Lions will be firm favourites to keep their perfect 2021 record intact, a win for the Bloods would have them close to a top-four place.
The 2019 clash between these sides at this ground saw South Morang win by 86 points, but the Bloods would take some hope from their encounter at Mill Park Lakes Reserve in the same year.
They lost that contest by a mere six points – with both Lalor’s Sam Rexhepi and Alex Colaidis of the Lions booting four goals.
The biggest game of the round takes place between Heidelberg West and Laurimar at Heidelberg Park.
Heidelberg West sits in third spot on the ladder – a win and 33 percent behind the Power. While the Hawks can climb into the top-two if they win by five goals or more, any win would be sweet and enhance their status as a finals contender.
Laurimar fans would be hoping for an overdue good start so as to avoid having to play catch-up. They may be favoured going on 2019 form, but this year’s form is hard to line up.
Based on each team’s effort against Kilmore, the Power would win easily. But the boot is on the other foot if one looks at the performances this season against Old Eltham Collegians.
These two comparisons highlight the caution shown by the coaches in assessing where their teams sit.
With the entire 2020 season cancelled, it may take pundits a bit longer than normal to work out which teams are genuine contenders. The result of this game will help complete one part of the puzzle.
