There is plenty of scope for movement at both ends of the ladder as teams prepare for Round 8 action in Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3.
For those teams specifically around the middle of the pack, the next two weeks prior to the mid-season break will be vitally important as they attempt to set themselves up for the second half of the season.
Round 7 action saw some of the top teams consolidate their spots on the table.
Old Eltham Collegians were too accomplished for Reservoir at Crispe Park and strengthened their grip on top spot with a 107-point victory. Tim Ellis returned to some excellent form for the Turtles, while Brent Macaffer continued his strong start to the year.
Mark Ferraro and Rob Holland led the way for the Mustangs on a day when they found scoring difficult.
Kilmore improved to a 3-3 record when clinching a vital win against Heidelberg West at Heidelberg Park.
The Blues booted 4.4 to 1.1 in the first term and kept the Hawks at arm’s length thereafter to prevail by 33 points.
“We started really well and controlled the play for 90% of the day. We had no passengers, which was great,” Kilmore coach Paul Derrick said.
Ethan Derrick kicked a bag of seven for the victors to take him to 23 goals for the year, narrowly trailing Lalor’s Sam Rexhepi who is on 25. Michael Italia was productive for Heidelberg West and kicked three goals.
Lalor and Ivanhoe battled it out at Ivanhoe Park, with the home side prevailing by 20 points after getting the early lead, but never being far enough in front to feel comfortable.
“Super proud of the players to win with no healthy rotations in the second half. But credit to Lalor who filled up our forward fifty and made it hard for us to score,” Ivanhoe coach Wayne Schultz said.
Schultz liked the work of Michael Doyle who supported the defence admirably and also swung forward at times to hit the scoreboard. Kane Veliou also excelled as an inside mid.
Nathan Parkes again stood out with his intercept marks in defence for the Bloods. He now sits in equal second in the Coaches MVP award votes as his side prepare for the bye.
Kinglake and Old Paradians met for the first time at Kinglake Memorial Oval, and after a relatively even first term, the Raiders pulled away to what appeared to be a match-winning lead of 46 points at the main break.
It turned out to be sufficient, but the Lakers did win the second half of the contest, eventually going down by 31 points.
“We played a good four-quarter game, credit to Kinglake, they kept coming; but thankfully, we were able to sustain our composure when it mattered,” Old Paradians coach Ben Turner said.
Lachie Kerr kicked a season-high of five majors for the Radiers, while Kinglake captain Bailey Robinson provided plenty of drive for his side alongside Damian Pywell, who also kicked five goals.
“The fellas had a fair dinkum crack however a poor second quarter of footy is ultimately what cost us in the end,” Kinglake coach Dave Florance said.
“We went in with a very young side missing the likes of Gilbert, Adams and McIntyre however the 3 young blokes that came in did an excellent job for us.”
The Fitzroy Stars finished strongly to defeat Epping at Epping Recreational Reserve by 23-points. The turnaround coincided with Neville Jetta’s arrival at quarter time after completing Collingwood duties.
The win keeps the Stars in second spot on the table with five wins, level with Old Paradians and a game behind the ladder leaders Old Eltham Collegians. A group of three teams have four wins in Mernda, Ivanhoe and Epping, with Kilmore a game outside the top five on three wins.
Round 8 action will see one of Kinglake or Reservoir open their account when they meet at Kinglake Memorial Oval in a highly anticipated clash. Both teams are winless, but the home ground advantage and recent form suggests that the Lakers will be hard to beat.
However, the Mustangs will also see the game as their best winning chance and are likely to be up for the contest. With fine conditions predicted, both sets of fans will be watching on eagerly for that maiden victory.
Old Eltham Collegians play Heidelberg West at Eltham College with all current form lines suggesting a comfortable win by the Turtles.
There is a big gap between the teams on the ladder and Matt Sleeman’s men would love to hit the bye undefeated, with a game against Old Paradians to come prior to the mid-season break.
A positive for the Hawks, however, is that they seem to match up well against Old Eltham Collegians and have won the last four straight in the head-to-head battle. The Turtles last defeated Heidelberg West back in Round 3 of the 2022 season at Heidelberg Park by the narrowest margin.
Hawks fans would be hopeful of an upset in a year where some major surprises have already occurred.
Ivanhoe journeys to Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval for the first time to take on an in-form Fitzroy Stars outfit, who are aiming for four straight wins in this contest.
Lionel Proctor’s men have been extremely impressive of late and are likely to get forward Patrick Farrant back for the game.
Based on the way the Stars ran away from Epping last weekend, it would take something special from the Hoers to chalk up a win on the Stars’ home deck. But the quality of their fighting win over Mernda recently would give their supporters hope that they could pull off a minor upset.
With the ladder so tight from first to seventh, Ivanhoe may need the win to stay in the top five.
Kilmore hosts Mernda at J.J. Clancy Reserve, with Blues coach Paul Derrick coming up against his old side.
The ledger was 2-0 in favour of the Demons when these teams met in 2023, with the Blues last overcoming their Saturday opponents at this venue in 2022 to the tune of 23-points.
Most pundits will be expecting a Mernda win, but Kilmore has looked the goods in the past two weeks with a narrow loss to Epping followed by a crucial win over Heidelberg West.
With the home ground advantage, the Blues would give themselves every chance to take it right up to Robert Fletcher’s side.
Old Paradians welcome Epping to Garvey Oval for what will be an intriguing match-up.
The Raiders remain undefeated at home this year and would love to keep that record intact.
Three teams won all their home matches in 2023 in Mernda, Laurimar and Kinglake and all three teams made finals.
Ben Turner’s men have won back-to-back matches after their bye with triumphs over Lalor and Kinglake, but Epping pose as a more difficult opponent for Old Paradians.
The Blues will also be desperate to atone for their fade-out after quarter time last week against the Stars. They will feel that they are better than that effort but will need to show something near their best to come away with a win over the Raiders.
Sam Gilmore will look to give his teammates first use of the ball and if he can do so, Old Paradians will be hard to beat. But Epping has some exciting players who can move the ball quickly, so a fascinating tussle looms.
