MOONEE VALLEY v BURNSIDE HEIGHTS
Saturday 2:15pm at Ormond Park
JOSH Covelli isn't the only problem for Moonee Valley to worry about this weekend.
It's also the Bears' newly-potent midfield that will be keeping Shanon Carroll busy in the lead-up the Fog's first game of 2019.
There's no way Covelli would have booted eight goals last week if it wasn't for the Bears' complete midfield dominance over Jacana, so cutting off his supply should be near the top of Carroll's list in preparation for this one.
Michael Wever and Logan Clegg both had good nights in the ruck and the work rate of midfielders Adam Sullivan and Stephen Kenrick was second-to-none as well.
The Bears proved they'll be a tough out for anyone they run into this year and a 2-0 start would go a long way to help secure their first finals berth since joining the EDFL in 2014.
But Moonee Valley is also a very good team.
Cory McGrath and Braden Padmore are two of the best players in Strathmore Community Bank Division 2 and the Fog now has arguably the best small forward of the division in their side as well, with Rocky Ferraro now inside their forward 50.
It's a genuine coin flip and a tough one to pick, but the Valley is typically hard to beat at Ormond Park.
NORTHERN SAINTS v HADFIELD
Saturday 2:15pm at Charles Mutton Reserve
Both teams had very different starts to their respective 2019 campaigns in Round 1 and that makes predicting what will happen here rather tricky.
The Northern Saints had to travel up to Sunbury to take on the Kangaroos and couldn't keep up with the EDFL's newest team after halftime, conceding 11 goals to five in the second half.
It was a concerning drop off given we're this early into the season, but the Kangaroos are tipped by many to go all the way this year and Hadfield is probably not in the premiership conversation just yet.
Zakaria Farah showed good signs for the Saints and Mo Taleb took some decent grabs inside 50 as well, so the promise certainly is there for Brett Kennerley's men moving forward.
Hadfield had it their way from start to finish last week against Keilor Park.
By halftime the Hawks had 14 goals on the board to the Devils' two and the game was clearly over, but Brett Pitts and his men decided an early percentage boost would do them good.
They were relentless through to the final siren and nearly scored a double-ton as a result, throwing into question just how competitive the Devils, who have the bye this weekend, will be in 2019.
This will be a game that's won in tight, given we're expecting wet conditions on Saturday and the Saints' harder bodies, led by Eliot Kako in particular, should win out here.
COBURG DISTRICTS v JACANA
Saturday 2:15pm at Cole Reserve
If Jacana had trouble dealing with Burnside Heights' midfield then Mathew Huy and his men would be particularly nervous about facing Coburg Districts this weekend.
The Lions beat East Sunbury at its own game at Goonawarra in Round 1, with star mids Tom Gleeson and Tom Lucin getting among the goals in what turned out to be a solid 21-point win over last year's Division 2 runner-up.
Matthew Vesnaver also starred up forward with five goals and after seeing what Josh Covelli did to Jacana's back line on Friday night, he'd be one that is feeling confident of kicking another bag here on Saturday.
The Jaguars are probably best to forget about what happened in Round 1.
Very little went right under the Friday night lights for the second year running and perhaps coming back to the traditional timeslot will do them some good.
Cam Cloke was good, kicking three of his four goals when the game was up for grabs early, but the longer the night wore on, the more frustrated he got.
Cloke was the first EDFL player at senior level to be sent off for 15 minutes with a blue card, and that did not help his team's causes.
His on-field leadership is going to be vital this year and expect him to be the one to stand up and take control if the Jags are going to claim victory here.
SUNBURY KANGAROOS v EAST SUNBURY
Streaming Game
Saturday 7pm at Eric Boardman Reserve
It was a great introduction to the EDFL for the Sunbury Kangaroos last week and they'll again be part of history here for what is the first ever 'Sunbury Derby' on Saturday night.
Mitch Streiff announced himself to the EDFL with a best-on-ground display that yielded six goals, including the historic first goal of the game, while Lachie Baddeley, Michael Spooner and Brenton Sutherland each kicked two in the impressive 27-point win over the Northern Saints.
But coach Anthony Leydin is a hard taskmaster and this week told Leader Newspapers that there's still plenty of room for improvement, and if that is the case, then it spells trouble for East Sunbury.
The Thunder was slightly off against Coburg Districts and only manged to score 10 goals on its home deck in windy, but still ideal conditions.
Kamen Ogilvie and new ruckman Tom Godsell both starred, but East Sunbury's second-tier couldn't match the Lions in Round 1.
The Kangaroos' list runs deep, so Glenn Hopkins and his men can't afford to have another off day... or rather night, at the office again here.
If the wet weather that has been forecast does eventuate, then that'll make things even harder for an East Sunbury side that prefers to run and carry and then hurt you on the scoreboard, which they struggled to do in dry conditions last week.
The two new local rivals will be playing for the 'Local Cup' and if you can't get to Eric Boardman Reserve in person, then you'll be able to live stream the game on facebook.com/essendondfl from 7pm.
