CRAIGIEBURN v TULLAMARINE
Saturday 2:15pm at DS Aitken Reserve
COULD this be the grand final preview already?
These two teams have had a lot of love heading into the season and there’s no reason why they won’t be right in the mix at the pointy end.
The Demons started the season with a solid win against an improved Westmeadows side.
But they didn’t have it all their own way, with the Tigers fast out of the blocks and leading by 29 points at halftime.
A 12-goal-to-four second half turned the game around.
Ethan Hope, in his first game for the Demons, showed good signs with four goals, while Tim Barresi continued his good form from last season.
The Eagles have had to wait another week to start their season following a Round 1 bye.
With new coach Lance Whitnall in charge, the Eagles have looked to add more depth to their squad.
The likes of Jessie Davies and Josh Young headline a number of former Eagles players returning home.
With a bit more experience in the squad and another year under the belts of the younger players, the Eagles are primed for a strong season.
WEST COBURG v WESTMEADOWS
Radio Game
Saturday 2:15pm at Coburg City Oval
West Coburg came back to Division 1 with a bang in a convincing win over the recently-promoted Roxburgh Park.
They were one of just two teams across the division to put in a four-quarter performance on the way to a strong win.
For the Burgers, the final result was a 60-point win.
They shared the goals around, with 11 players getting on the scoreboard, led by Mohamed Mohamed, Dominic Spagnolo and Tom Baravi with three goals apiece.
Jesse Martini, who kicked two goals himself, was named best-on-ground.
The Burgers are likely to have a harder task this weekend against Westmeadows, which showed some good signs against Tullamarine.
The Tigers led by 29 points at halftime and could have been even further ahead had they kicked straight.
While an upset looked on the cards at that point, the Demons found another level in the second half and the Tigers couldn’t go with them.
Ben Drummond, Josh Flower and new captain Robbie Castello kicked two goals each in the loss.
Daniel Willcocks was named the Tigers’ best along with Ahmed Abdul-Wahed.
The key for the Tigers this week is making sure they play well for four quarters.
Do that and a win could be on the cards.
EAST KEILOR v ROXBURGH PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Overland Reserve
There was no settling into the season for East Keilor, who stamped its authority early on with a thumping of Taylors Lakes.
While there were some concerns on how the new-look side would gel together early on, there didn’t seem to be any teething problems.
The Cougars had a massive 50 scoring shots compared to the Lions’ 10 and that was the main talking point to emerge from Round 1.
East Keilor had 12 goal kickers, led by recruits Josh and Nick Grabowski, who kicked seven between them.
Nathan Lyons, also in his first game for the Cougars, was another standout.
If they were to continue that same form this weekend, it could be a tough day out for Roxburgh Park.
The Magpies had their moments against West Coburg, including winning the third quarter, but in the end they were still well-beaten.
Harley Short, Ferris Mehri and Luke Capuano were the standouts for the Magpies in what was always going to be a tough ask first up against a side that played in Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division last season.
The challenge for the Magpies is to continue to step it up each week as they adjust to the new standard of Division 1.
