ABERFELDIE v MARIBYRNONG PARK
TWO finals contenders who will not want to get any injuries in the last round of the season.
Both Aberfeldie nor Maribyrnong Park will come out guns blazing this week as both teams’ spots are cemented in the finals, and there isn’t much to play for, so resting some players and preparing for the first week of finals is much more important.
However in saying that, it still will be a very entertaining game with the skill base of both sides.
Maribyrnong Park would have studied Aberfeldie closely after their loss last time, and they will be watching even closer to see where the cracks are, if there are any, in the home side.
It will be interesting to see the two go head-to-head, if they do, in finals.
ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS v GREENVALE
Greenvale, who sit atop the Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division ladder and have done so all year, came out last week to dominate Craigieburn.
They didn’t hold anything back.
It will be interesting to see if they do the same to Essendon Doutta Stars this week, or they rest and prepare for a huge game against Aberfeldie in the first round of finals.
With nothing much in it for the Stars, they will come out hard to put plenty of body on and roughen up the Jets.
A confident Greenvale side shouldn’t be too phased, though this game is too hard to call early as anything could happen.
STRATHMORE v WEST COBURG
After an incredible run, it has all come to a halt for Strathmore in recent weeks.
Last time these two played West Coburg shocked spectators to beat the dominant Strathmore by five points.
Can they do it again?
A loss for the Mores this week will make it three going into finals.
Although they can’t lose their spot on the ladder, it does identify their weaknesses and show the other sides what to look for in order to beat them in finals.
West Coburg have only won four games for the year, and would love to knock off the Mores this weekend at Lebanon Reserve.
However, if Strathmore can manage to get some injured players back, they should win, but it will be close.
AVONDALE HEIGHTS v PASCOE VALE
With finals out of the question for both Pascoe Vale and Avondale Heights, the end of the season really can’t come quick enough, with a win not really proving anything this week besides leading into the 2018 pre-season with confidence.
The Panthers come off a very good win against now fourth spot, Strathmore, and will be confident they can get the points again and finish off their season on a high.
Avondale Heights also come off a loss, so will want to win their last game of the season and finish off with a respectable seven wins.
Last time the two met, the Heights managed to take the points by a reasonable margin.
Let's see if this is any different.
CRAIGIEBURN v KEILOR
A very long season will come to an end for Craigieburn this weekend, with a game to go they have one chance to get four points on the board and win a game.
Although Keilor aren’t really the ones they would have liked to play, they could catch them off-guard and cause an upset.
Keilor, surprisingly won’t be running around in the 2017 finals, as they have done so in years prior.
So they will want to at least end the season with a comfortable win to set the precedent for the off-season.
