NORTHERN SAINTS v EAST SUNBURY
Saturday 2:15pm at Charles Mutton Reserve
EVERYTHING seems to be conspiring against the Northern Saints at the moment.
They had seven new faces take on the in-form Moonee Valley last week and they were never really in it against a near full-strength Fog outfit.
More than half a dozen automatic best 22 selections are currently on the sidelines, including star midfielders Mousty Hammoud and Bilal Allouch.
Meanwhile the absences of Kelsey Clayton and Khodr Taleb, who has only played four games after being named at centre half forward in last year’s Strathmore Community Bank Division 2 Team of the Year, hurt structurally.
No wonder the Saints have lost four straight games by an average margin of 52 points.
They have slipped down to sixth place on the ladder after earlier this year looking like a premiership contender.
Now, approaching the final month of the home-and-away season, the 5-6 Thunder is above Northern on the table and looking to take full advantage of the Saints’ personnel issues here.
East Sunbury kept its finals hopes alive with a hard-fought 51-point win over Hadfield on EDFL Match of the Day last week.
Most pleasing for the Thunder was the consistent effort of its 22 across the board, with Shane Lindsay, Tom Godsell, Kane Murfett, Lachie Brne, Diquan Williams and Lucas Shaw all playing their roles with aplomb across the ground.
Their biggest star, Kamen Ogilvie, didn’t have to do much of the heavy lifting, which would have pleased coach, Glenn Hopkins.
This is non-negotiable for East Sunbury – it’s do or die.
COBURG DISTRICTS v MOONEE VALLEY
Saturday 2:15pm at Cole Reserve
Coburg District coach, Chris Tankard, must be flabbergasted.
When the Lions play well, they look premiership worthy.
But when they don’t, it’s pretty ordinary.
We’ve seen Coburg Districts at both ends of the spectrum this season.
After two weekends off, Districts returned to the field last week and looked a renewed and energetic unit in an impressive 32-point win over Burnside Heights – a side the Lions have struggled to beat in recent times.
Ben Fisher and Michael Osterman will both face their former club in Moonee Valley this week full of confidence after playing solid footy against the Bears, while Tom Gleeson, Tom Lucin and Matthew Vesnaver are all getting back to their usual best at the right time of year.
The Lions’ finals destiny is in their own hands and they must come to the party here against a quality opponent.
Moonee Valley is looking like the next best team in it after Sunbury and its star power came to the fore last week.
Jordan Faba, Cory McGrath, Rocky Ferraro and Braden Padmore all combined for 12 of the Fog’s 15 goals in their cruisy win over the Northern Saints, while the club’s spiritual leader, Ned Wilson played in his first senior game back from a knee reconstruction.
The signs all look good for Shanon Carroll’s men, but this will be a good test.
The Lions proved back in Round 6 they can match Moonee Valley for speed and attacking flare at Ormond Park.
We need to see that again here, only for four quarters this time around, otherwise the Fog will win its eighth game since the start of May.
BURNSIDE HEIGHTS v KEILOR PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve
Burnside Heights was without its focal point in Josh Covelli for the first time this season in last week’s loss at Coburg Districts.
It clearly cost the Bears dearly, as they could only generate eight scoring shots, all of which were goals, for the entire day.
Since the mid-season break, Burnside Heights has only won one of four games and will quickly need to re-capture its spark from earlier in the season if its any chance of winning the fight to finish in second spot and play off for a spot in the grand final.
Luckily, this week’s opponent is Keilor Park, and the Bears will use the opportunity to kick themselves back into some form and potentially improve their percentage, which is currently 16 per cent lower than Moonee Valley’s.
While that’s unfortunate for Keilor Park, you have to give the Devils some plaudits for sticking it out.
Unlike other clubs in similar situations across multiple leagues, Keilor Park keeps showing up each week and keeps showing pride in its famous green and orange sashed jumper.
Their most recent outing was their best of the year, kicking a season-high 6.3-39 against East Sunbury, with skipper Luke Furci booting four.
More of the same here would be pleasing to see, but the Bears will win and win very well.
