After some big wins and tight finishes last week, who knows what Saturday’s action in Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 will bring as we start the second half of the season.
Heidelberg have the chance to make it 27 straight games unbeaten when they host North Heidelberg in a huge clash at Warringal Park.
The Tigers dominance didn’t cease following the league wide bye a fortnight ago, as they made their top of the table clash with Hurstbridge last week look anything but, with a 100-point thumping away from home.
Luke Bunker and Dylan Clarke maintained their status as the most dynamic midfield duo in the competition after another scintillating display from the pair, meanwhile Nathan Honey stole the show with a 10-goal haul up forward.
The reigning premiers are still yet to drop below the 90-point mark in their last seven matches and have won their previous three games by an average of over 106 points.
They seem impossible to stop but North Heidelberg will do their best to end the run of their rivals, as they come into this game off some great form.
The Bulldogs have won three straight matches, the last two being against current top five sides including a nail-biting one-point triumph over Banyule at Shelley Park.
Jason Heatley’s men registered their highest score of the season and saw brilliant contributions from many players such as Brody Bell, Parker Heatley and Liam Hunt.
Making the win even more impressive was the fact they were missing the likes of Jesse Tardio and Lachlan Smith in the clash, with the victory signalling North Heidelberg’s intent to feature deep in September.
But even the in-form Bulldogs will need to be at their best if they’re to topple the Tigers in what looks set to be a highly anticipated contest in front of a big crowd.
West Preston-Lakeside will be keen to take down another another scalp this weekend when they welcome Greensborough to J.E. Moore Park.
The Roosters were one of the more unpredictable sides in the opening half of the season, taking it right up to teams in the top five whilst also underachieving against sides around them so far in 2024.
Last weekend however was evidence of the former, as despite leading at three quarter time, they fell just five points short of causing a major upset against Montmorency on the road.
Although the young guns had shone for Ian Aitken’s men so far this season, Saturday’s performance was led by Max Dreher and Matthew Harman, who are each again producing underrated campaigns for the club.
Saturday’s game was the third time in five weeks in which they’ve kept an opponent to 65 points or less, a positive trend for the side after conceding 83 points a match in their opening month.
They’ll face a Greensborough outfit who got back to winning ways in convincing fashion, proving too strong for Macleod in an 81-point triumph.
Young guns Marty Fitzgerald and Brody Glenn had their best performances of the season to date, with Glenn kicking six goals and Fitzgerald polling nine Coaches MVP Award votes.
Whilst they still sit a game outside the top five, the Boro have the third best percentage in the competition, meaning another win and some results falling their way could see them end the round as high as third.
But they will need to put together a more consistent performance than their last meeting with the Roosters, when a late flurry allowed Greensborough to prevail by just 12 points at War Memorial Park.
Hurstbridge will look to bounce back from its heaviest defeat of the season when they remain at home to tackle Eltham at Ben Frilay Oval.
Nothing went the Bridges’ way in last week’s top of the table clash with Heidelberg, going down by triple figures for the first time since Round 15, 2021.
It’s seen them slip to third on percentage but still with plenty of time and talent to secure a double chance spot by season’s end.
Joel Cordwell will be delighted to see consistent performances from the likes of Kye Agosta, Mitchell Hymus and Liam Middleton despite recent losses, and will be looking to that trio to maintain their form ahead of a patch of games that sees Hurstbridge play just one current top five side in their next four matches.
That slate of games starts this weekend against Eltham, who will no doubt have an extra pep in their step after getting their second win of the year last weekend against Bundoora at Eltham Central Park.
The inclusions of Jesse Donaldson and Jason McCormick proved vital in the triumph, with the former piling on four goals and collecting nine Coaches MVP award votes in an excellent display.
Cooper Dahms also made his way back to the side after VFL duties and was another pivotal performer. They will hope they can see more of Dahms in the red and black throughout 2024.
The Panthers went down by 26 points to the Bridges in the opening round of the season but with another win under their belt, they will still be confident they can be just as competitive against one of the current contenders this season.
It’s set to be a big ask for Bundoora to get back on the winners list when they host a red-hot Montmorency outfit at Yulong Reserve.
Following their first win of the campaign back in Round 6, the Bulls have slumped to three consecutive losses, including a 25-point defeat to Eltham away from home.
The inclusion of Peter McEvoy wasn’t enough for Bundoora to kick a winning score despite his three majors. Still, the former Coburg VFL star has kicked 20 majors in eight games, including 11 in his previous three appearances.
Jesse King has also been hitting the scoreboard of late, with his three-goal effort in the loss to the Panthers making it seven majors in his previous fortnight of matches.
Bundoora themselves however are struggling to put up big scorelines, and are ninth in the competition for points for, averaging just under 63 points a game.
It will be even tougher for Heath Scotland’s men to break the trend against the second-best defensive side of the competition in Montmorency.
Last weekend saw Nick Rutley’s side make it four wins in a row, after just doing enough to defeat West Preston-Lakeside by five points on their home deck.
Their narrow win on Saturday came without star midfielder Nash Holmes, and with their leading goalkickers in Ayhan Bajramov and Patrick Fitzgerald combining for just one-goal.
But Stefan Uzelac’s stellar season continued in the victory and he stood up when it mattered to poll nine Coaches MVP Award votes and move into fifth on the Division 1 leaderboard.
The Magpies will be determined to keep their winning run intact but will be weary of a Bundoora outfit who are still dangerous when playing at their best.
Macleod will look to bounce back from another heavy defeat when they take on Banyule at De Winton Park.
Craig Hayes’ side have slipped back down to the foot of the Division 1 table after last weekend’s 81-point loss at the hands of Greensborough.
It was a disappointing defeat following their first win of the season a fortnight earlier, but Darcy Hogg continued to shine for the Roos.
He has now been named in his side’s best in five of six matches in 2024 and has polled Coaches MVP Award votes in his last three successive games.
But he’ll need much more support this weekend when the Roos face a Bears side looking to return to the winners list after consecutive defeats for the first time this year.
From midway through the second quarter until the final seconds of the game, Banyule led North Heidelberg last week, but fell agonisingly short to drop to fourth position on percentage.
Reuben Blackmore-Moore did all he could to will his side over the line and finished the afternoon with three majors and nine Coaches MVP Award votes, while Kye Yodgee’s great season continued.
Sam McLarty is also starting to prove his worth as a dangerous swingman, kicking four goals in the loss to the Bulldogs.
Paul Harris’ men defeated Macleod in the two sides’ last meeting in Round 1, prevailing by three goals despite some inefficiency in front of the big sticks.
But you can expect Banyule to produce a more convincing display in order to start the second half of the season on winning terms, ahead of some big matches over the next three weeks against Hurstbridge, Heidelberg and Montmorency.
