A COUPLE of early season blockbusters shape Round 2 of the Airport Toyota Women's - Premier competition.
Round 1 produced a couple of interesting results, with Hillside and Oak Park showing they are teams that could be in the mix.
With all four matches close last week, we could see a few more thrillers this Saturday.
After plenty of talk about Oak Park in the pre-season, they backed it up in Round 1, defeating 2019 premier, Aberfeldie.
The Kangaroos’ depth was on show and they did what they were asked of in their first match.
They face another challenge this week against Westmeadows.
The Tigers suffered a first up against Hillside after not taking advantage of the wind at Shark Park.
A loss here would leave them 0-2 and behind the eight ball in what is shaping up as a close competition.
Aberfeldie will be hoping to open its account against Maribyrnong Park.
The Lions showed they belonged in the top division with a solid win first up against Burnside Heights.
The Bears will be hoping to bounce back this week, but it won’t be easy against Keilor.
The Blues did what they needed to in Round 1 against Essendon Doutta Stars and will look to build throughout the season.
Hillside, which looked impressive in Round 1, faces the Stars in the other match.
The Sharks could find themselves 2-0 and set themselves up with a number of tough clashes in the next few weeks.
In Airport Toyota Women’s - Division 1, there were four one-sided games in Round 1.
Hopefully there are some much closer results this time round.
Gisborne made an instant impact in the EDFL with a big win against Airport West.
The Bulldogs have an experienced side and showed that they will be among the teams to beat.
They should go 2-0 this week against Pascoe Vale.
The Panthers, who are looking to build their program back up, struggled in Round 1 against Strathmore.
Will we see an improved performance from the Panthers this week?
The under-strength Sunbury Kangaroos were smashed by Greenvale in Round 1 and the challenges will continue in Round 2 against Moonee Valley.
After the tough first up match, the Kangaroos will be hoping to put out an improved performance.
The Fog was one of the more impressive teams in Round 1 with a big win against Pascoe Vale.
With plenty of depth at the Valley, they will be hard to beat.
Tullamarine was one of the surprise packets of Round 1 for the wrong reasons, going scoreless against Strathmore.
It was a very different performance from what we came to expect in 2019, so hopefully Round 2 will be much better.
The challenge, though, doesn't get easier here, facing Greenvale.
The Jets were the standouts in Round 1 with a 194-point win against the Sunbury Kangaroos.
They’ll be looking to back it up in Round 2 and start the season 2-0.
Airport West had to wait an extra 12 months to make their debut, but it wasn’t the debut they were after.
The Eagles struggled against an experienced Bulldogs side which came away with a solid win.
This week they face Strathmore, which was one of the more impressive sides in Round 1 with a dominant win against Tullamarine.
With 28 scoring shots to zero, the performance was one of the Mores’ best since joining the competition.
In Airport Toyota Women’s - Division 2, the Sunbury Lions made an early impact with a massive win against Westmeadows last week.
Sunbury’s experience shone through against Westmeadows’ second side, which had a tough debut.
The Lions this week face Moonee Valley, which was the other standout team from the opening round.
Maribyrnong Park was the other Division 2 winner in in Round 1, and they could quite easily go 2-0 with a victory against Westmeadows.
Burnside Heights, which put in an encouraging performance last weekend, will fancy its chances against 0-1 Coburg Districts.
THIS WEEKEND’S FIXTURES
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ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS v HILLSIDE
Saturday 11:15am at Buckley Park
BURNSIDE HEIGHTS 1 v KEILOR
Saturday 11:15am at Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve
WESTMEADOWS 1 v OAK PARK
Saturday 11:15am at Willowbrook Reserve
ABERFELDIE v MARIBYRNONG PARK 1
Saturday 2:15pm at Clifton Park
GISBORNE v PASCOE VALE
Saturday 11:15am at Gardiner Reserve
TULLAMARINE v GREENVALE
Saturday 11:15am at Leo Dineen Reserve
MOONEE VALLEY 1 v SUNBURY KANGAROOS
Saturday 11:15am at Ormond Park
AIRPORT WEST v STRATHMORE
Saturday 4:50pm at Etzel St Reserve
BURNSIDE HEIGHTS 2 v COBURG DISTRICTS
Saturday 9:20am at Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve
MOONEE VALLEY 2 v SUNBURY LIONS
Saturday 9:20am at Ormond Park
WESTMEADOWS 2 v MARIBYRNONG PARK 2
Saturday 9:20am at Willowbrook Reserve
