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Round 5 Preview - Essendon Ford Division 1

By TARA MURRAY (Star Weekly)


CRAIGIEBURN v AIRPORT WEST

IT’S the battle of Eagles and if results so far this season count for anything, this could be a cracker of a game.

Craigieburn has lost just one game and could have easily been 4-0.

On Saturday, they looked home and hosed after three-quarter time against Tullamarine, before a poor last quarter cost them dearly.

Other than that quarter, Craigieburn has done little wrong this season.

Airport West, which is undefeated, has done what it’s had to do to get the W.

Its last match with Jacana was the first time Airport West was able to put a team away and run away with a good win. 

It was expected it would take some time to gel, so going through undefeated is a bonus. 

Craigieburn will present Airport West’s biggest challenge so far and the game could go either way.

TULLAMARINE v HILLSIDE

This shapes up as the match of the round in Essendon Ford Division 1 and possibly of all three divisions.

Both teams were expected to be up there at the start of the season, and they’ve performed how they would have been expected to at this point of the year. 

The Demons, who remain undefeated, got the win against Craigieburn on Saturday, but did it on the back of only one good quarter of football.

The Sharks on the other hand had a convincing win against Westmeadows.

Breaking down their form this season, it shows a similar form guide.

The two sides have faced Westmeadows, Oak Park and Craigieburn in their last three matches, with only the Eagles getting anywhere near them. 

Expect this one to be a close match, with both sides having several options up forward.

JACANA v EAST KEILOR

Two of the disappointing sides of the Essendon Ford Division 1 season so far.

Both had high hopes starting the season, but the only points they have so far have come from the bye.

On results so far, the two sides look closer to the wooden spoon than finals.

The Jaguars have struggled having made the step up from Strathmore Community Bank Division 2.

They have been on the end of three big losses and haven’t been in any match yet.

The Cougars have looked better as the season has gone on, but are yet to play well for a full four quarters. 

It’s taken them a while to gel and the bye probably came at the wrong time.

You would think the Cougars would enter the game as favourites on the back of better form.

The winner will take confidence with the win, while finals would almost be off the agenda for the losers.

TAYLORS LAKES v WESTMEADOWS

Another match which sees two seemingly even-placed sides facing each other.

Both sides sit 2-2 and have had some good patches of football.

Both teams have scored a similar number of points and their points-conceded isn’t much different, either.

The Lions enter the match off their best performance of the year.

Their new-look forward line gelled against Oak Park and they kicked 22 goals, their highest tally in a while. 

The Tigers proved no match for Hillside, which had half their team hit the scoreboard.

Westmeadows has had players kick bags on them this year, and the Lions have the players who can do that.

The Tigers are one of the younger sides in the division, which will lead to inconsistency that has been seen in the results.

The Lions have been the more consistent team this season and showed some good patches against top teams, while on form, this week bodes well for a good performance from the Tigers, who have gone win-loss all season.

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