Oak Park v Glenroy
THIS is one of those Essendon Ford Division 1 match-ups where an upset would hardly be a surprise.
Off the back of a hard-fought Round 1 win over East Keilor, Glenroy deserves to be favourite here.
But the Roys run into a hungry Oak Park side that was last week beaten by a hot Westmeadows that kicked clear in the final quarter with four goals to the Kangaroos’ one.
New coach Michael Hooper played and kicked two for the Kangaroos while his fellow returning team mates Nathan Sciberras and Kirk Lang adapted well back to their old club.
Both Sciberras and Blair Cronin are facing former Glenroy team mates that now have some confidence about themselves.
New recruits Luke Capuano and Jayden Walker add firepower and combined for six goals in Round 1, and they look to have settled well into their new digs.
The midfield battle looms as an intriguing one as well, with established Oak Park stars in Danny Rajab and Jack Pascu going up against Matt Walker, James Bennie and company.
Taylors Lakes v Airport West
We’ve had to wait an extra week to get our first look at a new-look Taylors Lakes side and their first match-up is an intriguing one.
Off the back of a good recruiting summer that landed the likes of a Luke Hodgkin from Heidelberg (and prior to that Essendon Doutta Stars), the Lions’ new midfield comes with a bit hype around it.
On Saturday the Lions come up against Airport West for the first time in half a decade at senior level.
The Eagles showed plenty of promise in their Round 1 outing at home to Tullamarine, keeping up with the Demons for most of the game until letting it slip in the final term.
But perhaps more important were some good individual performances from Tyson Young, Matthew Duggan and Jack Cripps, who kicked two goals.
Without any real sample size it’s hard to know what to expect from a Taylors Lakes side desperate to improve on its output of the previous two years, but they’ll go into this game wanting to make an early statement.
Hadfield v Hillside
This is essentially a Round 1 game as both sides did not feature on opening weekend.
All the pre-season talk has been a complete contrast for Hadfield and Hillside.
The Hawks, led by a very driven and confident Steve James, have been written off by most outside on-lookers but internally, there’s something bubbling away.
The side is essentially brand new and for that reason a complete unknown, but those in the know within Essendon Ford Division 1 have warned not to take Hadfield lightly in Season 2017.
Nonetheless, the Hawks will still be underdogs coming up against a Sharks side that is seemingly ready to strike.
Steve Burns has not yet taken Hillside to the finals since taking over as senior coach.
But with a young list that boasts Jackson Volpato, Brandon Coletta, Lachie Rayner and the Hutchison Medal brotherly duo of James and Victor Micallef, expectations have now increased for Hillside.
Their biggest knock last year was not collecting the wins they had to get, and this very fixture 12 months ago proved very costly in the end.
It will also be very interesting to watch Hadfield’s former sharpshooter Matt Patane lining up in opposition colours.
Tullamarine v Westmeadows (6pm Start)
It’s always a big occasion when the Demons and Tigers get together but when it’s under lights in a standalone timeslot… it’s something else.
This now has to be considered one of the best rivalries of Essendon Ford Division 1.
Both coaches, Tullamarine’s Anthony Leydin and Westmeadows’ Dave Connell, have past connections with their opposing clubs and much of the local talent in both sides come from the same neighbourhood.
The Demons are on a mission to prove they still are a top two prospect and to be fair, the Tigers probably are, too.
Established stars from both sides had big games in Round 1.
New Tullamarine captain Justin Marcy kicked three goals alongside Jack Sims, who also kicked three against Airport West, while in the midfield it was Jack Burns who shone.
Westmeadows benefitted from having Robbie Mullen and Mitch Church back in the side, and both played a role in the Oak Park win.
It’s games like this that these sorts of players from both sides live for.
