For the first time in the 2023 Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 season, a gap is starting to appear between some of the top sides and the rest of the competition.
With one round remaining before the King’s Birthday bye, the break will come at a good time as many clubs are dealing with a variety of winter bugs.
Based on a poor showing against Old Eltham Collegians, Kinglake started as underdogs in the eyes of many as they hosted Laurimar at Kinglake Memorial Oval. However, the Lakers led at every change and never looked like losing as they went on to prevail by 30-points.
In retrospect, every team in the division has had one bad loss. So, perhaps the pundits were too quick to write off Kinglake, especially considering the Lakers are undefeated at home this year.
“I’m very proud of the boys,” Kinglake coach Andrew Fairchild said.
“We showed up after last week and played our brand of footy.”
With not a weak link in the team on the day, Fairchild praised the work of the Matthew Coen as well as the White twins, Lachie and Ben, across half back. The work rate and pressure of the midfielders prevented the Power from getting many smooth transitions inside fifty.
“We were beaten by a very good side today,” Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins said.
“We didn’t bring our best and were poor around the ball all day.”
Cameron Maloney was best for the Power in his first season of senior football, while 17 year old Jai Langford provided a spark and also hit the scoreboard.
Laurimar now heads to the bye, having dropped to third with the defeat.
Kilmore hosted Lalor at J.J. Clancy Reserve and recovered from a poor showing the previous week to record a 185-point win.
It was an even performance with seven, eight, six and eight goals booted in the four quarters.
“A great four-quarter effort with Christopher Barton and Leigh Irons leading the charge,” Kilmore coach Paul Derrick said.
Derrick was also impressed by the ruck work of youngster Josh Hart, who played just his second senior game, as well as debutant Lachlan Chesser on the wing.
The Bloods were well served by Jarryd Baldasso, who justified his promotion from the reserves the week prior, while Scott Dickson was best and has been a handy recruit since arriving at the club in the off-season.
Heidelberg West did battle with Mernda at Heidelberg Park, with the Demons prevailing by 33-points to reclaim the Les Butterworth Cup. The Demons join Kinglake at the top of the table with both teams recording just one defeat, while the Hawks fell to sixth with the loss, but sit outside the top four only on percentage.
Reservoir hosted the Fitzroy Stars at Crispe Park and while the Stars have been known for their slow starts in 2023, they flew out of the blocks with a 7.5 to 1.1 opening quarter last week, and dictated terms thereafter to win by 119 points.
“We’re just growing into the season, getting games under our belt and getting to know each other’s playing styles,” Fitzroy Stars coach Lionel Proctor said.
The win was a reward for the Stars for playing decent footy without winning recently, with the narrow loss against Kinglake being a prime example. Jai Burns was instrumental in the flying start, while Allan Norris, Jordan Proctor and debutant Tony Mullett were productive.
“Considering the five guys that pulled out today, the boys did well,” Reservoir assistant coach Brett Walker said.
Walker liked the work of Ryan Evans in the ruck and Rory Harrington deep in defence, while Zane Pugliese-Thompson and Tom Holloway stood tall.
Round 8 action gives teams one last chance to secure a win prior to the mid-season break and features some crucial match-ups for teams sitting between fourth and seventh.
In what should be one of the games of the round, the Fitzroy Stars do battle with Kilmore at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval.
The Stars are currently seventh on the table with two wins, with the Blues in fifth spot with three victories.
A win by the Stars, in playing coach Lionel Proctor’s 200th game for the club, would likely see them leapfrog Kilmore and be within range of the top four. The Stars will have some confidence after snapping a four-game losing streak last week.
For the Blues, the four points would see them two games clear of the Stars and well placed at the halfway mark despite not claiming their first triumph of the season until Round 4. They have since won three of their last four games.
Apart from Kilmore’s upset win over Heidelberg West, the Blues and Stars have only beaten Reservoir and Lalor this year. So, they will each need to take some scalps in the run home in order to make the finals, but whichever team does win will take a two-game winning run and momentum into the break.
Reservoir journey to Eltham College to play Old Eltham Collegians, with the home side currently holding fourth spot on percentage.
This looks one-sided on paper, but it is a tricky assignment for the Turtles in a sense, because they have just come off a bye and then have a bye immediately afterwards.
As well as aiming to bank the win, a percentage boost might be handy as well, with Kilmore and Heidelberg West both breathing down their neck.
The last meeting at this venue yielded a 224-point victory for the Turtles, so the Mustangs would be looking to improve considerably on that score-line as they continue their rebuild.
Lalor faces a red-hot Mernda outfit at Lalor Reserve and while Bloods fans are wishing for a victory to break their drought, it’s tough to see them getting close to one of the form teams of the competition.
It’s a slow build for the club, but they may do better this week after a possible letdown following the Reservoir game.
Last year at this venue, the Demons won by 130-points. Mernda fans would probably be expecting to win by more than that, given their improvement, however a victory by any margin would see them go to the bye at 6-1 and almost nobody outside the club would have expected that result.
All eyes will be on Kinglake as they host Heidelberg West at Kinglake Memorial Oval. With the Lakers on top and undefeated on their home deck, it appears to be a tough assignment for the Hawks as they endeavour to keep touch with the top four.
The Hawks are also aiming to snap a three-game losing streak. What would give them some hope is to ignore the ease of the Lakers most recent win over Laurimar at this venue and remember that the Stars went within 10-points of Kinglake in Round 5.
Andrew Fairchild’s men meanwhile will be on a high after knocking over a highly fancied Laurimar outfit and it would be a great result for the locals if they could extend their winning run at home and go to the bye at 7-1.
