EAST SUNBURY v MOONEE VALLEY
Saturday 2:15pm at John McMahon Reserve
NEITHER East Sunbury nor Moonee Valley would have been impressed with what they dished up last week.
By no means did either side get disgraced, but they were exposed.
The Thunder stayed with the Northern Saints for three quarters before falling away in the last at Charles Mutton Reserve, giving away five goals to two in the final term to go down by 31 points.
It was a loss East Sunbury could not afford, as it now sits 12 premiership points off finals pace with four rounds to come.
Moonee Valley’s 20-point loss at Coburg Districts was a little more bewildering.
In a very low-scoring game, the Fog didn’t fire a shot, only kicking three goals for the entire game.
In the context of Moonee Valley’s season to date, it looks like an aberration and coach Shanon Carroll will be keen to keep it that way.
Back in Round 5 the Valley produced one of its best performances of the year, easily accounting for East Sunbury by 60 points at Ormond Park.
If the Fog can release its abundance of playmakers across the wide expanses of John McMahon Reserve, then they should have the finishing quality to overpower the Thunder here, but winning games at East Sunbury is hard for teams like Moonee Valley who are more accustomed to smaller decks.
HADFIELD v COBURG DISTRICTS
Saturday 2:15pm at Martin Reserve
Coburg Districts is stringing together a very nice run of form that has many of us re-thinking its place in the premiership race.
In the space of seven days, the Lions have claimed the scalps of both Burnside Heights and Moonee Valley, the two teams most believe are the main challengers to the Sunbury Kangaroos for this year’s flag.
The ‘two Toms’, Gleeson and Lucin, have helped settle the Lions in recent weeks and both are leading from the front with their usual quality in midfield and up forward.
We’ve also seen improvement from Ben Fisher and Matthew Vesnaver, while Ricky McGill, one of Strathmore Community Bank Division 2’s more celebrated defenders, has suddenly become an important attacking threat for the Lions with 10 goals to his name for the year as well.
If Districts can keep this up, it’ll not only enter the finals in good form, but it could be the team that gives the Sunbury Kangaroos the most trouble.
Hadfield will need to bring the heat for the full four quarters if it is any chance of pulling off an upset.
The Hawks typically don’t get blown out, but they are prone to going missing for quarters at a time.
Coming off a bye, expect Hadfield to press hard on Coburg Districts and try to shut down the likes of Lucin and Gleeson.
Getting a win seems unlikely but keeping it tight is certainly within Hadfield’s reach.
KEILOR PARK v SUNBURY KANGAROOS
Saturday 2:15pm at Keilor Park Reserve
After two weekends spent watching on the sidelines, Division 2’s benchmark team will return to the field this weekend.
The Sunbury Kangaroos have done well to keep their destiny in their own hands, and they are now all but guaranteed to claim the minor premiership thanks to their monstrous percentage.
Back in Round 5, Sunbury showed no mercy as it piled on 48 goals to hand Keilor Park a whopping 297-point loss.
Lachie Baddeley and Josh Burgess both kicked 11 goals as 11 other team mates also hit the scoreboard at Eric Boardman Reserve.
They both are still in the running to claim the Division 2 goal kicking title and will be itching to get back out there after the double-bye, so there is a chance this game could be just as ugly as Round 5.
For Keilor Park, the only real way to measure its improvement is to look at its points-for totals each week.
The Devils have produced three of their four biggest scores for the entire year in their last three outings.
Last week’s 6.5-41 effort at Burnside Heights was a season high.
Coach John Mangos really couldn’t ask for much more than that and regardless of how many goals are scored the other way this weekend, the Devils should be aiming to improve their attacking game even more against what looks to be the best team in it.
