Sides will be looking to continue building momentum as the opening third of the Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 season comes to a close.
Some intrigue surrounds the Banyule and Eltham contest set to take place at Beverley Road Oval.
Both sides occupy fourth and fifth on the Division 1 table, with the winner to move a game closer of the losing side.
Damian Truslove’s side dropped into fifth place after a heartbreaking one-point loss to Hurstbridge at Ben Frilay Oval.
Charlie Serafin and Noah Wheeler both fought hard in defence and midfield in the loss while James Kayrooz kicked four goals to retain his lead as the Division’s leading goalkicker.
The Bears will look to put that loss behind them this weekend when they welcome a Panthers side who’re going along nicely so far this season.
Nathan Jensen was the star for Eltham last weekend against West Preston-Lakeside, claiming the perfect 10 coaches votes in the 33-point victory.
Tim Bongetti’s side were victorious in their last meeting against Banyule, which took place at Eltham Central Park.
Prior to that though they lost three consecutive games to the Bears dating back to 2022 where they met in the Division 2 Grand Final.
The Heidelberg train returns to Warringal Park this weekend to host an in-form Greensborough outfit.
Heidelberg continue to impress and are now a game and a half ahead of second-placed Hurstbridge on the Division 1 table.
So far they’ve won by an average margin of 80 points, with their lowest winning margin to date this season coming against Montmorency last weekend at Montmorency Park.
In that 42-point win they had another wide spread of contributors, led by Nathan Honey, Luke Bunker and Coaches MVP Leader Dylan Clarke.
They welcome a Greensborough side who now sit in third having been 1-2 after their Good Friday clash with Eltham.
Both wins have come at Greensborough War Memorial Park against division newcomers South Morang and 2024 finalist North Heidelberg
Tall duo Tom Brindley and Nathan Howard excelled in the 16-point win over the Bulldogs alongside captain Jack Johnston.
Matthew Hyde’s men will go into this game with no fear having been the only side to defeat the Tigers last year.
That came in their most recent meeting at Warringal Park and following a 30-point Heidelberg victory in their first matchup of 2024.
Bundoora will be looking to build off its first win of the season when they host Montmorency at Yulong Reserve.
After coming so close to a win in the opening month of the season, the Bulls finally broke through last weekend against South Morang.
Jesse King’s six-goal performance saw him move to equal fifth in the goalkicking charts and claim the perfect 10 coaches votes.
Liam Mallia, Lachlan Urbon and Peter McEvoy were also serviceable in the 15-point victory at Yulong Reserve.
Heath Scotland’s side now face a Montmorency outfit who’ve now lost two on the trot and sit in seventh on the Division 1 table.
They didn’t drop their heads last weekend against Heidelberg and only trailed by 14 points at half time of that contest.
William Bella and Stefan Uzelac held down their respective posts while Patrick Dozzi and Marcus Lentini found plenty of the footy.
They split their regular season meetings with Bundoora in 2024, with the Bulls victorious the last time they met at Saturday’s venue by two points.
North Heidelberg return home to Shelley Street Reserve to face a West Preston-Lakeside looking to recapture some form.
Under new coach Kasey Duncan the Bulldogs have had a seesawing start to the season which sees them sit in sixth on the table.
Ben Giobbi and Jesse Tardio still continue to be consistent, with both polling MVP votes alongside Jarryd Culph in North Heidelberg’s loss to Greensborough last weekend.
This weekend will be the first time they meet a side that didn’t play finals in 2024 since their Round 2 victory over Bundoora at Shelley Street.
West Preston-Lakeside haven’t been in the greatest form either having lost their last two games against Hurstbridge and Eltham.
Dante Colosimo managed five goals in the Roosters loss to Eltham while Matthew Harman fought hard all day in ruck.
The Roosters managed to defeat the Bulldogs in their last meeting of 2024 by five points at Saturday’s venue. North Heidelberg did win the other matchup between the two in 2024 by 10 goals.
South Morang faces another test at Mill Park Lakes Reserve this Saturday as they lock horns with Hurstbridge.
Gary Hall’s side are now the only winless side in Division 1 now after going down to local rivals Bundoora last weekend.
Ruck Nathan Stefanile claimed seven coaches votes in the loss alongside Kain Hall who was one of five players to kick two goals.
This Saturday will be the fourth time in the first five rounds that the Lions face a 2024 finalist.
Their opponents in Hurstbridge haven’t lost a game since their three-point loss to Greensborough in Round 1.
Against Banyule Harry O’Brien was the match winner in the dying moments of that thriller. Joel Naylor and William Cookson were sublime all day though, with Naylor kicking seven goals and securing the 10 coaches votes.
The Lions and Bridges last met in 2013 in Division 2. Their last meeting came in Round 15 of that year at Ben Frilay Oval and saw a total of 34 goals kicked.
