THE second half of the 2016 Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 season starts this week, with Heidelberg well clear of the chasing pack in the race for the minor premiership.
While the Tigers will have greater ambitions than just a first-place finish, their outstanding opening half of the season has given them a near unassailable lead at the top of the ladder – sitting wins and percentage clear of closest rivals Greensborough and Bundoora.
Spots in the top five remain at a premium, with just two wins separating the second-placed Boro and Montmorency in seventh spot.
Depending on results this week, the Magpies could push within a game of second place with a win in Round 10.
The relegation battle looks a fight between Whittlesea and Lower Plenty, with just percentage dividing the two sides, following 1-8 starts to the year.
For the time being, Northcote Park holds a comfortable two-win advantage over the bottom two teams, but has managed just one victory since Round 4 and lost to the previously winless Eagles last weekend.
Round 10 is headlined by a top of the table encounter at Warringal Park, where Heidelberg hosts Greensborough.
A Tigers’ win would make them a near lock for a first-place finish at the conclusion of the home and away season.
Heidelberg looked destined to have its unbeaten streak ended last week when trailing Macleod by 17 points entering time-on in the final quarter.
The ladder-leader showed its fighting qualities in the dying stages and late goals to Nick Miller, Ryan Stone and Adam Symes – with the last kick of the game – sealed a memorable one-point win.
A loss could potentially have cut the Tigers’ lead at the top of the ladder to one win, however the last-ditch effort, combined with Greensborough’s loss to Eltham, leaves Heidelberg 12 points clear in first place.
Greensborough was again left to rue poor kicking at goal in its home loss to Eltham.
The Boro had 27 scoring shots to their visitors’ 16, but managed only a wasteful 6.21 (57) in the nine-point loss.
The Boro have kicked 99 goals and 134 behinds for the season, with a scoring accuracy below 43 per cent.
Their win-loss record stands at 6-3, despite registering less scoring shots than their opponent in only one game this year.
West Preston-Lakeside and Montmorency face off in a season-defining match at J.E Moore Park, with both clubs looking to boost their finals chances.
With wins in three of its past four matches, West Preston-Lakeside sits fifth on the ladder with a 5-4 record.
Led by strong performances by Rhett Jordon, Patrick Karnezis, Nathan Valladares and Ali Fahour, the Roosters recorded their second big win over Lower Plenty for the season in a 92-point result.
After sharing nine goals at Montmorency Park, Karnezis and Valladares have now combined for 46 goals this season – more than any forward combination in the competition.
Montmorency will hope a break last week doesn’t halt the momentum it has generated from big wins over Whittlesea and Bundoora in its past two starts.
The results have transformed the Magpies from relegation battler to finals aspirant and another win this weekend could propel them inside the top five.
Ben Walton has been a standout in the past two wins, along with Ben Fennell and Luke Collins, who booted four goals in the 50-point triumph over Bundoora.
Lower Plenty slipped to the bottom of the ladder following Whittlesea’s win in Round 9 and its task gets no easier this week when it hosts a Macleod side desperate to return to winning ways after losing three of its past five games.
The Bears took it up to West Preston-Lakeside in the first term and trailed by just eight points at quarter time. However they could manage just four goals in the final three quarters to slump to a 92-point defeat.
With a percentage of just 53.20, wins are at a premium in the second half of the year if the Bears are to avoid relegation.
Tom Keys and Patrick Flynn have been the club’s two best players this season and both again led from the front in last week’s loss, with Keys the team’s only multiple goal scorer.
A healthy percentage is all that separates Macleod from the bottom five following a second consecutive one-point defeat last week.
After leading for the majority of the game in its Round 8 loss to West Preston-Lakeside, Macleod was again left to lament a fadeout in last week’s one-point thriller against Heidelberg.
In arguably the game of the season, Macleod had looked home when Josh Totino put the host 17 points ahead at the 18-minute mark of the final quarter.
One positive from the loss was Josh Henkel’s strong return in his first game of the season.
Whittlesea ended a 13-game losing streak in the top flight when it downed Northcote Park last Saturday and the Eagles will be quietly confident when they host Bundoora this week.
The Eagles led at every change in their 14-point triumph over the Cougars, with Janan Daniel instrumental with four of his side’s 11 goals.
Roy Dyson found plenty of the football, while big man Sam Peet was among the best players in his first senior game for the Eagles.
Having led Bundoora late in the last quarter in their two-point loss to the Bulls in Round 5, the Eagles should hold no fears going into the reverse leg at the Whittlesea Showgrounds this week.
Bundoora has had a week to stew over its disappointing defeat to Montmorency over the Queen’s Birthday weekend.
Leading by two points at the main break, the Bulls produced their worst performance of the season after half time, managing just one goal to the Magpies’ 10 to go down by 50 points.
Matthew Dennis and Liam Byrne have been key performers for Bundoora in the first half of the season, while Gary Moorcroft leads the goal kicking table with 29 goals.
The final game of the round sees Eltham travel to Bill Lawry Oval to take on Northcote Park in Lachie Richardson’s 250th game.
The Cougars’ defeat to Whittlesea may well have put paid to their finals chances, however the immediate need to get back on the winners’ list is to keep away from the relegation mire.
Skipper Bronik Davies was once again his side’s best player in last week’s defeat, alongside Gerard Sutton and Aaron Di Matteo.
Mannon Johnston booted three goals and currently leads the Cougars goal kicking with 13 goals in seven matches.
Eltham heads into this week’s game on the back of its most important win of the season, with the triumph at War Memorial Park keeping last year’s preliminary finalist within percentage of the top five.
Bailey Taglieri played his best senior game to be named Eltham’s best in the win, ahead of Billy Glasgow and Mikael Avramov.
The Panthers can establish their finals charge in the next month, with their next three opponents currently sitting outside the top five.
