Official website of the Essendon District Football League

Round 10 Preview - Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division

By ADEM SARICAOGLU


STRATHMORE v KEILOR

AT certain stages throughout the first half of the season, some pundits have been keen to write off both of these teams as genuine contenders.

But here we are at the halfway mark of the season with both the Mores and Blues well and truly in the hunt at 6-3.

There are clear signs that Strathmore might be ready to pounce, with Jaryd Cachia, Nick Lower and Nathan Grima all returning to the side last week and joining forces with fellow experienced heads in Adam Iacobucci and Hamish McIntosh to help sink the reigning premier.

While Aberfeldie was undermanned, it was still a performance well worth taking note of.

But this is another test against a side many might just be sleeping on.

With some key pieces missing still missing, Keilor has flown under the radar and one key stat that has particularly been overlooked is that the Blues are the highest-scoring team in the entire division so far this year.

Their scalps include Greenvale and Pascoe Vale, and they came very close to adding Aberfeldie to that list.

Their new-look three-pronged attack of Dean Galea, Josh Martin and Matt Clark is proving to be quite a handful for most opposition sides, and they’ll be vital here again against the Mores.

PASCOE VALE v ABERFELDIE - Radio Game

Mick McGuane recently introduced a new ‘buzz phrase’ into the EDFL lexicon and it applies beautifully in this game.

This is a ‘footy audit’ for Pascoe Vale.

The Panthers are playing excellent footy of late and when you have both Lachie Hansen and Matthew Watson playing the sort of footy you’d expect from two key pillars recently out of the AFL system, the mob from Raeburn is pretty hard to beat.

But, at Raeburn, they seem to be just that little bit easier to beat.

The Pacco faithful are sick of hearing it, and I’m even sick of saying it, but their home ground ‘disadvantage’ is a real thing.

In the past, it’s games like this that have ultimately kept the Panthers out of the top two come finals.

You simply need to defend your home turf against quality sides if you want that double chance come September.

And right now, Aberfeldie is ripe for the taking, with several key players missing from their line-up.

Here’s where we find out exactly where Pacco is at.

WEST COBURG v GLENROY

This is the most important game of the season for both sides, because a win here will probably ensure safety from relegation.

Neither West Coburg nor Glenroy have given us any reason to believe in them of late, though in both cases, player unavailability has admittedly been a factor in their respective drops in form.

One of West Coburg’s two wins was against Glenroy back in Round 1, but much water has gone under the bridge since early April.

While not winning, the Burgers were stringing some good footy together against the division’s more powerful sides and until last weekend, were staying in games.

But with some key outs, that all came unstuck last week against Pascoe Vale – where the Watson-Hansen combo produced nine goals, which was four better than West Coburg’s entire output.

With Adam Winter, Adam Del Busso and Jayden Walker finding ways to hit the scoreboard despite their team’s overall woes, Glenroy might have too much firepower for a West Coburg side that has only hit triple figures once this season.

AVONDALE HEIGHTS v GREENVALE

The cue might already be in the rack for Avondale Heights.

That unlikely draw from back in Round 3 against Aberfeldie might well be the safety cushion that protects the Heights from relegation, but at the same time, finals are probably now too far out of reach as well.

So they’re probably the only team in Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division that has nothing to lose, nor gain, for the rest of the season.

With that comes freedom, and maybe Donald McDonald would be wise to just release the shackles and encourage his mostly young and inexperienced group to take the game on.

That mindset seems to have worked for both West Coburg and Essendon Douttas Stars against the Jets.

While Greenvale held on to win, many pundits were surprised to see last year’s runner-up struggle in both of those games.

Greenvale is just getting by right now but as long as it keeps winning, you can’t be too critical.

The Caruso brothers were out last week and both Addam Maric and Jacob Thompson are being managed with ongoing injuries, so of course their form is going to fluctuate.

The Jets should, and probably will win, but this is very much a danger game.

ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS v MARIBYRNONG PARK

All we’ve been asking of Essendon Doutta Stars of late is for them to show some genuine heart and compete as hard as they can against sides with which they’re clearly outgunned.

While their second half was really disappointing, the fact Douttas almost got over the line last week against Greenvale will breathe a little bit of life into the Nipper Jordan faithful.

For those lucky enough to be at Section Road last Saturday, it was great to see the Stars fight to the end and almost snatch victory away from the Jets.

As they always do, Jordan Schroder and Marcus Calvaresi battled manfully and Charles Lill, given his recent battles, is a true inspiration for his footy club.

It’s players like those who deserve to sing the song at some point this season.

Whether they get to this weekend, though, is tricky to make a strong case for.

Maribyrnong Park needed the Queen’s Birthday break and returned to form with a nice win over Glenroy last week.

Panayioti Kokkinakis returned and slammed through five goals while Will Martiniello is firming as a Reynolds Medal favourite after another strong performance around the ground.

When firing on all cylinders, few sides can go with Marby, let alone one that is lacking in star power, pardon the pun, the way Douttas currently is.

EDFL Partners