Round 4 of the MC Labour Division 2 looks to be another gripping one with exciting matchups across the board.
Whittlesea hosts Fitzroy Stars as both teams look to build on varying starts to the season.
The Eagles have had convincing wins in Round 1 over South Morang and Round 3 over Old Paradians, but suffered a heavy defeat against Macleod in Round 2. They will be aiming to grab their third win of the season in this one which would have them well in the finals mix.
Eagle Caden Allen is currently leading the goal kicking across the whole division, already slotting 12 majors this season, including six last week.
For Fitzroy Stars it has been a somewhat unlucky start to the season, if one or even both of their two seven-point losses in the first two rounds had resulted in wins.
Positively, the Stars are coming off a solid 16-point win away from home at Thomastown which was their first win back in Division 2, so they’ll be heading to Whittlesea with some confidence. Crowd favourite Eddie Betts was held goalless last week but the familiar names of Ethan Penrith, Kain Proctor and Elijah Taylor have all been key players for the Stars thus far.
Northcote Park heads to South Morang at Mill Park Lakes to take on the Lions in an early season top of the table clash, as the Cougars look to continue their undefeated start to the season.
The Cougars moved to 3-0 last week after a topsy-turvy affair with Macleod, turning a 16-point deficit at three-quarter time into a 15-point win, courtesy of a seven goal to two final quarter in front of their home fans.
Whilst for the Lions, they will be looking to build off their nail-biting two-point win at Lower Plenty in Round 3. Northcote Park’s defence has been a standout, only giving up more than 70 points once so far this season back in Round 1. But South Morang have the strongest attack, with the highest points for so far this season. It is shaping up to be an enthralling battle.
Panton Hill welcomes Old Paradians to AE Cracknells Reserve to try and claim their first win of the season.
The Redbacks have been on the wrong end of results in the last fortnight, so they will be hoping to respond strongly at home this week. If they can harness the last quarter effort from last week against St Mary’s, they’ll be optimistic about their chances.
They are coming up an Old Paradians side which has had an up and down start to the season, winning two close games in the first two rounds, but being well beaten by 58 points at the hands of Whittlesea last week. Connor McDonald has had a flying start to the year racking up 17 Coaches MVP votes and is equal top on the Division 2 leaderboard.
These two sides last met in Round 14 last year where Old Paradians got the job done by 13 points in a low scoring affair.
St Mary’s heads to Lower Plenty with the aim of grabbing their third win of the season. The Burra are coming off a strong win against Panton Hill last week and will bring that confidence against the Bears.
Harry Butterworth has shown some excellent form up forward for the Burra, with nine goals in the first three weeks and the Bears will certainly have their hands full keeping him in check.
Lower Plenty suffered a heartbreaking two-point loss at the hands of South Morang – they were trailing by seven points in the last quarter and proceeded to score the next five behinds to fall short by two, including a shot after the final siren had sounded.
A shining light so far for the Bears this season has been Jack Chubb up forward, booting another four goals last week to bring his season tally to eleven and sit second on the goal kickers list in Division 2. A win here for St Mary’s would have them firmly entrenched in the top five, while Lower Plenty will be keen to keep pace with the teams ahead of them.
Macleod hosts Thomastown where both teams will be looking to grab their second wins of the season.
The Kangaroos have arguably had the hardest fixture thus far, with losses to St Mary’s and Northcote Park separated by a big win at home over Whittlesea. They were in the driver’s seat against Northcote Park at three-quarter time, before a 31-point swing in the final term saw them go home empty handed.
They certainly don’t lack firepower in attack, with co-captain Darcy Barden (nine goals) and Jasper Howell (eight goals) both enjoying strong starts to the season.
For the Bears, their two losses in the last two weeks have only come by six points against Old Paradians and 16 points against Fitzroy Stars, so they will feel like their strong efforts have not yet translated into ladder position with only one win. Youseph Dib has been in sparkling form, along with Zain Yamak and captain Anthony Capeci, who will all have key roles to play in this fixture.
