HADFIELD v MOONEE VALLEY
Live 2pm on 98.9 North West FM & Mixlr.com/edflfooty
THIS really could go either way.
That may seem laughable to some, but Hadfield has been much better in the past fortnight than the form they displayed in the first half of the season.
After beating Burnside Heights in Round 11, the Hawks led the form team of the competition at half time up at Roxburgh Park last week.
All of the sudden there is some confidence in this young group.
With the knowledge that they’re coming up against a side that could not beat Burnside Heights three weeks ago, there’s no reason why the Hawks shouldn’t believe they’re in with a big show this weekend.
The Valley needed to get its own mojo back and did so last week against East Sunbury.
Jordan Faba returned to the side and snagged eight goals, which was pretty much the difference.
The Fog needs to keep winning to keep itself in the hunt for a top two spot comes finals, so it’s important to take care of business in games like this.
COBURG DISTRICTS v NORTHERN SAINTS
We’re still waiting for Coburg Districts to come good and while last week’s win at Burnside Heights was a step in the right direction, many still have their doubts over the Lions getting back to the finals this year.
Here, they can put those doubts to rest.
Districts comes up against a hot Northern Saints outfit that is fresh from a week off that was probably needed after a tough win at Moonee Valley in Round 11.
After re-acquiring premiership ruckman Mahmoud Taleb back from West Coburg before the transfer deadline, this is now probably the most complete side in the division.
Up forward you have Rocky Ferraro (44 goals) and Khodr Taleb (35) dominating most defenders and in the midfield you now have Taleb feeding the likes of Eliot Kako, Tamer Abdallah and Bilal Allouch.
The back line is potentially the exploitable weakness, but it won’t matter if the scoreboard keeps ticking over at the other end.
The Saints are the rightful favourite, but this is the litmus test we’ve been waiting for Coburg Districts to have.
We’ll find out here if they’re a true contender.
BURNSIDE HEIGHTS v ROXBURGH PARK
Aidan Stott is probably the most frustrated coach in Strathmore Community Bank Division 2.
In the Bears’ three wins this year, they showed clear signs of marked improvement and had some truly believing finals were a possibility.
But then there have been some real letdown performances that highlight the gap this young group still has to close in on before reaching September.
We know about the ‘guns’, but as other teams are proving, you need good depth to be a consistently good performer in this division.
And in games like this, you need many players to play their role.
Roxburgh Park is on top of the ladder for a reason and similarly to the Northern Saints, the Magpies have quality role players across the entire ground.
We know about the forward line, but the likes of Harley Short, Hayden Farrelly, Michael Farrelly and Ryan Micallef are all doing their part further up the ground, too.
Unfortunately for the Bears, if enough Roxburgh Park players do their part then they’ll have Burnside Heights outgunned this weekend.
