Maribyrnong Park have recorded their first win of the season after a 51-point victory over Essendon Doutta Stars at Monk Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Despite going through the first six weeks winless, they were within a kick of a victory in Round 1 and have been competitive in most of their other games.
Still, with their next meeting with Avondale Heights coming Round 11, this appeared to be their most winnable in their next stretch and they made the most of it.
Marby had six individual goal scorers with Zachary Morris and Tom Stapleton stand out performers.
They come up against an in form Airport West next week.
Following competitive showings against Strathmore and Pascoe Vale, a renewed Airport West side has knocked off 2022 grand finalist Aberfeldie in a convincing 35-point victory.
The Eagles led at every change, with a reintroduced Tyson Young one of their standout performers as expected, while Justin Cappelletti bagged five goals.
Airport West had 10 more scoring shots than Aberfeldie who now sit a game out of finals with a 3-4 record.
They’ve won just one out of their last four games and will have to wait until King’s Birthday Weekend on June 11 to get back on the winner’s list when they face Strathmore.
In other games, Pascoe Vale escaped with a narrow win over the Mores at Raeburn Reserve, while Keilor and East Keilor comfortably dealt with Greenvale and Avondale Heights respectively.
After dropping their first five games of the season, Moonee Valley bagged their second win in a row with a momentum-building 120-point thumping of Glenroy.
The Fog had a competitive first few outings before dropping games to Craigieburn and Hillside by some hefty margins which would have had alarm bells ringing at Ormond Park.
They’ve made the most of some winnable fixtures in the last couple of weeks and will have a chance to win a third when they face Westmeadows next week.
We saw it a few weeks ago, but there has again been some impressive showings in front of goals for the forwards of Rookie Me Division One.
Ben Ryan from Moonee Valley booted a monstrous 10 goals against Glenroy to propel his position in the league goal kicking tally to second.
Craigieburn’s powerhouse John Bellino was on fire, kicking eight of his side’s 19 against Westmeadows, taking his season tally to 16.
Lachie Smart kicked seven goals for Deer Park in their runaway victory over Hillside, making his way to 22 goals on the season.
If there was any doubt cast over the credibility of Northern Saints and Taylors Lakes in being finals contenders in 2023, they’re well and truly abolished following the weekend’s performances.
Northern Saints dismantled the undefeated flag favourites in Oak Park with a comfortable 26-point victory at JP Fawkner Reserve.
The Saints had 11 more scoring shots and created the lead with a 10 goal to six second half.
Khoder Taleb booted six goals while Mohammed Hussein was named best on.
Taylors Lakes meanwhile, defeated a second 2022 finalist in Coburg Districts by 24 points at Lionheart Reserve.
They defeated the Bears in Round 4, but this win against a Lions side who has played some pretty good quality football cements themselves as a side in the mix for September glory.
A seven-goal first quarter set up the victory with Raaf Rachrache (five goals), Vincent Angelone (four goals), and Luke McCormack all key contributors.
With three single-digit and two four-goal losses, Sunbury Kangaroos finally secured that ever elusive first victory in the local derby with East Sunbury.
The Kangaroos were on from the very start, but it was a 13-goal second half that saw the Thunder add just one to the tally which propelled them to a 103-point victory over the local rivals.
It was the win they were after and a swathe of performers on the day suggested as such with Rhys Magin (six goals), Jordan James (four goals), and Mitch Streiff (three goals) all chomping at the bit in front of goals.
Mitch Kook was pivotal out of the back half and earned himself a Nena and Pasadena prize pack.
They’ll face Hadfield next week as they look to make it two wins.
Aberfeldie and Oak Park have firmly established themselves as the teams to beat and it won’t be long before we see them clash for the second time in Round 9.
Abers remain undefeated following their 68-point win over Westmeadows, while Oak Park were too strong for Keilor.
The Kangaroos have just the one loss next to their name which was a two-point loss to Abers in Round 1.
Moonee Valley are a game behind Oak Park with the next best in Marby a further two games behind the Fog.
While still within arms reach of a finals berth come the pointy end of the season, the reliably strong Keilor outfit has slipped to a game out of finals after recording their fifth loss of the season and fourth in a row.
Keilor has lost just four games in total since the introduction of the Premier Women’s competition in 2019 so it’s certainly unprecedented for this venerable side.
They’ll have a chance to bounce back this week against Strathmore who sit on the bottom of the ladder, albeit just a win behind Keilor.
The Demons have gotten their season running with a 54-point victory over Sunbury Lions at Jacana Reserve.
It was positioned as a winnable game for Tulla as the two victories the Lions had were against the now-relegated Pascoe Vale and Sunbury Kangaroos.
The 2022 Division Two premiers led at every change with Courtney Annett kicking three goals in a best on ground effort, with Laura Devlyn-Bennett and Jayde Cook slotting two goals each.
It was the second time we saw this potential grand final preview this season with Greenvale now taking the chocolates in both meetings.
Round 1 saw a comfortable victory, but Douttas have improved in leaps and bounds since then and were able to restrict the final margin to just 13 points.
They were able to keep goal sneak Alisa Magri quiet, but five other goal scorers popped up for the Jets, including Nicolette Paschalis who kicked two more goals, placing her third on the goal kicking tally with 26 goals.
Harmony Mitsos (two goals) was one of the best for Douttas along with Neve Crowley.
Coburg Districts now find themselves two games clear of fifth position following their victory over Sunbury Kangaroos.
Their record sits at 4-2 with Airport West doing a number on them with ease, and a four-goal loss to Aberfeldie 2 no doubt stinging.
Compared to the rest of the top four, their percentage isn’t in great condition with an almost even for and against standing, they should still consider themselves comfortable in the finals mix.
They’ll have a chance to draw even on points with Moonee Valley 2 this coming weekend.
