After last weekend was filled with surprises in MC Labour Division 2, intrigue surrounds the upcoming round of action as the final month of the season commences.
Two sides who’ve started to return to form recently in St Mary’s and Diamond Creek will go head-to-head this Saturday at Whatmough Park.
Jack Bianchin’s side have started to hum in recent weeks, winning eight of their last nine games to sit in fourth on the table.
Last week’s win against Lower Plenty saw Ty Kitchell continue his excellent run of recent form, kicking five goals and snaring the perfect 10 Coaches MVP votes.
Huon Macgibbon was also impressive alongside William Dean, with both claiming coaches votes in the 23-point victory at home.
They now face a Diamond Creek outfit who’ve returned to their best and to the top of the Division 2 table in recent weeks.
In their 41-point win over Whittlesea last round Jacob Booth and Bailey Griffiths impressed, with Griffiths playing his first game since Round 1 last Saturday.
Ben Major kicked four goals while Dale Marshall and Matthew Lewis claimed five coaches votes as the Creekers moved a game clear of third-placed Whittlesea atop the table.
Andrew Tranquili’s men secured a 45-point victory in their last meeting with the Burra, keeping them to just eight scoring shots and four goals at Coventry Oval.
Lower Plenty and Old Paradians will both be eager to move one step further from relegation when they meet at Montmorency Park South Oval.
Both sit on four wins apiece heading into this game, with the winner to move a game clear of the loser in seventh place.
The Bears have been out of form throughout the middle part of the season, with last weekend’s defeat to St Mary’s making it seven consecutive losses for them.
Jasper Collins continued his impressive season alongside Ciaran Porter while Mitchell Ferronato and Joel Leslie both performed admirably in the 23-point loss.
Travis Stephens’ team now meet an Old Paradians side who returned to the winners list against Panton Hill last weekend, kicking five goals to nil in the last term to win by 13 points.
Lachie Kerr starred in attack with three goals while Rufus Jones had a major impact alongside Sam Philp, with Jones securing the 10 coaches votes.
Their first ever meeting with the Bears didn’t go quite to plan, losing by 64 points at the Garvey Oval in a game where the Raiders kicked only two goals from 10 scoring shots.
This weekend will also mark the first time that Old Paradians coach Ben Turner set to return to Montmorency Park South Oval as a head coach since the shortened 2021 season.
Panton Hill will look to keep its finals chances alive when they welcome second-placed Macleod to A.E. Cracknell Reserve.
Those hopes of the Redbacks playing finals took a hit last weekend after they went down to Old Paradians for the second time this season.
Oliver Parks was stellar yet again in the loss, kicking three goals and claiming seven coaches votes.
Samuel Parks continued to impress in his return to the side alongside Hugh Kavanagh, with both also securing MVP votes.
Attention for Simon Amore’s men now turns to a Macleod side who returned to the winners list against Northcote Park in Justin White’s record-breaking game.
White’s premiership teammate Patrick Martin starred in his return to the senior lineup, claiming nine coaches votes and kicking two goals.
Darcy Barden extended his lead in the goalkicking charts with a seven-goal performance while Mackenzie Hogg continued his sublime season in the 76-point triumph.
Nick Lynch’s side secured a 22-point victory over the Redbacks in their early season meeting at De Winton Park, with a four goal to two final quarter sealing the win.
Both Whittlesea and Thomastown will aim to return to the winners list when they meet at the Whittlesea Showgrounds.
The Eagles dropped points for the first time since Round 7 last weekend against Diamond Creek, leaving them a game behind the Creekers and Macleod.
With Deakin Tennant, Clancy Bland, Xavier Dimasi and Tom Falls among their outs, Mitch Andrews and Keidan Treacy stepped up alongside Harley Fraumano.
Garry Ramsay’s men return to the Showgrounds to meet a Thomastown outfit that suffered a heartbreaking loss last weekend to Watsonia.
Anthony Capeci returned to form in the four-point loss, kicking three goals and securing seven coaches votes.
Youseph Dib and Julian Janev both had an impact while James Lucente kicked three goals to make it 14 goals from his past five matches.
David Folino and Sash Spiroski’s side were inaccurate in their Round 5 meeting with the Eagles, kicking five goals and 15 behinds in a 29-point loss.
Northcote Park returns to Bill Lawry Oval looking to put its seventh loss of 2025 behind them when they meet a buoyed Watsonia outfit.
The Cougars went down to Macleod at De Winton Park last Saturday, kicking six goals from 16 scoring shots in the loss.
Lachlan Boscarini had one of his best games in the loss though while William Rohde’s impressive run of form continued.
They now meet a Watsonia siren who won their second game of the season last weekend after the siren against Thomastown at Binnak Park.
Ethan Lowe, who kicked five goals and claimed three coaches votes, was the hero for the Saints on the day.
Ben Callaghan also continued his terrific season alongside Joshua Boulton and Jake McSwain, with Callaghan securing nine coaches votes in the win.
Their most recent encounter with the Cougars saw them go down by 49 points at Binnak Park, with Jacob Thompson, who didn’t play last week, kicking seven goals that day.
