It is crunch time when Eltham and Macleod meet at Eltham Central Park this weekend, where the loser will likely have their finals hopes cut short prematurely.
Both considered pre-season contenders to feature in the lower reaches of the top five, the Panthers and Roos have combined for just three wins in the opening six rounds of the year and languish in eighth and seventh place on the ladder respectively.
Eltham has just one win next to its name – that being an impressive 53-point win over West Preston-Lakeside in Round 2 – and heads into this encounter on the back of four consecutive losses.
In fairness, it has taken on the competition’s top four teams in successive weeks, however the concern for the Panthers is that they have not finished within five goals of an opponent in the past month.
They challenged Montmorency early in Round 3 before being blown away in the third quarter, and had chances early against Heidelberg last weekend but kicked a wasteful 3.11 in the opening half to butcher any hope of victory against last year’s runner-up.
The Round 2 win aside, arguably their best performance came a fortnight ago when they lost to Northcote Park by six goals at Bill Lawry Oval. The Panthers were within four points of the reigning premier in the final term before running out of gas late in proceedings.
That effort featured a number of VFL representatives, namely Bradyn Taglieri, Tim Currie and Josh Marchbank, a trio which has lined up in the black and red jumper just once this year.
A long-term injury to ruckman Steven Foster hasn’t helped Eltham’s cause, while skipper Paul Currie has been courageous to play under duress throughout the opening six rounds.
Macleod looked to have its season back on track when it comfortably accounted for Epping in Round 5, but last weekend suffered its worst loss since returning back to Division 1 in 2010 when it was belted by 129 points by Bundoora.
With skipper Kane Shaw and full forward Mathew Pow both late withdrawals, the Kangaroos failed to kick a goal after quarter time in a forgettable day at Yulong Reserve. Making the result all the more disappointing was the fact that Macleod actually beat Bundoora when the sides last met in Round 12, 2012.
It was a performance that came from nowhere, given the Roos had been extremely competitive in all three prior losses to date, including an 18-point defeat to Northcote Park in Round 2.
The challenge for the Roos this week is to bounce back emphatically and win back respect. And if recent matches against Eltham are anything to go by, this match will be decided by an exceptionally close margin.
Four of the duo’s past six matches have been decided by less than eight points, including their most recent encounter which Macleod won by five points.
However, Eltham has won the past two matches between the sides at Eltham Central Reserve. Last year it claimed a 37-point win during its early season purple patch, while in 2011 it overcame a 34-point deficit at half time to win by seven points.
Past Five Meetings
Round 14, 2012: Macleod 6.6 (42) def Eltham 5.7 (37)
Round 5, 2012: Eltham 19.9 (123) def Macleod 12.14 (86)
Round 12, 2011: Eltham 14.14 (98) def Macleod 13.13 (91)
Round 7, 2011: Macleod 15.10 (100) def Eltham 15.9 (99)
Round 11, 2010: Eltham 16.12 (108) def Macleod 14.8 (92)
