There’s some crucial games at the top end and the bottom end of the MC Labour Division 2 table this coming Saturday.
3rd vs 4th highlights the upcoming weekend of action as St Mary’s are set to travel to Whittlesea to take on the eagles.
Last time these two sides faced off against each other it was a tight tussle all day long with the Eagles eventually running out winners by 17 points.
St Mary’s will look to bounce back after being smashed by Diamon Creek last weekend and prove that they can take it up to one of the best sides in the competition.
For Whittlesea they will be looking for improvement on last week as they only beat the 9th placed Bears by 4 points, in what was expected to be a much larger margin.
Mitchell Andrews was once again very good for the eagles last week putting together as best on ground performance and will be looking to replicate this on Saturday.
Whittlesea have a very balanced attack going forward and have multiple goal threats through Jason Murphy, Lucas Hobbs, Clayton McCartney, Jack Taylor and Angus Smith who have all kicked 18 or more goals for the Eagles so far in season 2025.
For St Mary’s Ty Kitchell has had a phenomenal season averaging just under a goal and being named in the best players nine times, he has had excellent support from Tane Cotter who missed last weekend’s loss to Diamond Creek.
Jack Cicitta has been dynamic and dangerous up forward and sits second in the league goal kicking with 43 goals already to his name and he will be looking to add to this tally as last time out against the Eagles he wasn’t able to hit the scoreboard.
Old Paradians will travel to Binnak Park as they take on Watsonia in a game that is set to be a thriller as the last time these two teams faced off the Raiders managed to get over the line by one single point in an absolute classic.
Ethan Lowe for Watsonia has had an outstanding year, averaging over two goals a game in a team that has only won the two games is an unreal effort and he will look to add to his tally again.
Luke Whyte, Josh Boulton and Ben Callaghan for the saints have been dominant this season, having been named in the best players more than anybody else this season. They will look to continue this form in a bid to get Watsonia over the line.
For the Raiders Darcy Vallance and Billy Bedford have been stand outs every single week and Lachie Kerr is their main focus point in attack having kicked 25 goals this year.
This contest is set to be a classic as both sides will want to claim a win before the season ends and this may be their best chance to claim one last win for 2025 as well as boost their chances of surviving relegation.
Macleod will host Lower Plenty at De Winton Park as the hosts look to tighten their grip on a top two finish, whilst the Bears will look to finish of the year strongly as it is extremely unlikely that they will play finals and look to aim to take some momentum into next year.
Lower Plenty are coming off a close win against Old Paradians whilst Macleod knocked off Panton Hill by 45 points.
For the Bears Riley Alexander has had an outstanding year in front of goal and will look to continue to add to his year tally of 37 goals. Ben Smith and Ciaran Porter have both been ultra consistent performers being named in the best 10 and 9 times respectively.
For the Roos, captain Darcy Barden has easily been the best forward in the league this year and is on 100 watch having kicked 81 already goals this year.
Mackenzie Hogg has also had a great year averaging two goals a game and being named in the best players eight times in 14 games. Kurt Manuel has also been very consistent being named in 9 games from 15.
The Roos came from behind at three quarter time in their most recent encounter against the Bears, finishing as three-point winners at Montmorency Park South Oval.
Northcote Park will look to edge closer to fourth placed St Mary’s on the ladder this week as they take on Thomastown at Main St Reserve on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears are coming off nearly causing a massive upset last week after only going down to Whittlesea by four points, whilst Northcote Park thumped Watsonia by 107 points.
James Lucente has been the main target up forward kicking 29 goals from his 15 games so far year and last time these two faced off he managed to kick 2 goals.
Youseph Dib has been a standout being named in the best players 8 times but has had great support from Kyle Green who has bagged 23 goals and been named in the best players 7 times.
For Northcote Park, Ben Reddick has been very dominant being named in the best 10 times in only 12 games showing off how consistent he has been this year.
In their early season meeting the Cougars came home with a 20-point victory at Bill Lawry Oval on ANZAC Day.
Panton Hill will travel to Coventry Oval as they take on ladder leaders Diamond Creek.
The Creekers will look to tighten their grip at the top of the ladder as they don’t want to drop down to 2nd because they would love the first week of finals off to give them a week to freshen up before what looks like to be deep finals run.
For Panton Hill they will be looking to jump into sixth position to finish off a relatively successful season even though they most likely won’t be playing finals in 2025.
Diamond Creek have an extremely balanced forward line with four players who have kicked 19+ goals already in 2025 and will look to use this to their advantage once again.
Jacob Booth is a player to look out for Diamond Creek as he is averaging just under a goal a game and has been named in the best players nine times.
He has had great support from Ewan Macpherson who also is a goal a game player and has featured in the best eight times in 11 games.
They have consistent performers across the board which is why they are the best side in the competition at the moment.
For Panton Hill Nicholas Parks has been one of their best weeks in week out being named one of their best 8 times but he isn’t a one man show and has had constant help through Oliver Parks and Riley Livingstone.
Simon Amore’s men caused a major upset earlier in the season against the Creekers, winning by a point at A.E. Cracknell Reserve after trailing at three quarter time.
That was the second time they knocked off the Creekers since 2023 having defeated them at Saturday’s venue in 2023.
