ANZAC Day footy will see Aberfeldie host Avondale Heights following the rest of Premier Division action on Saturday.
While many would consider Aberfeldie clear favourites for this contest, we can’t count out the Heights, as despite their slow start to 2022, they managed to keep this contest with the eventual minor premiers to a 13-point margin.
Historically, they’ve shown an innate ability to compete against these top sides and will be buoyed following their two-point triumph to Marby on Saturday in the Battle of the River.
Nick Meese was named their best in this contest last season but it’s unclear whether we’ll see him this year, while Adam Marcon is also in doubt to take the field after rolling his ankle in the warmup for their clash last week against Pascoe Vale.
The Two Blues showed patches of brilliance against the Panthers but were unable to maintain that level of play, they’ll be looking to respond and get a win on the board in 2023.
One of the most anticipated matchups of this weekend’s action will be at Joe Brown Oval when Keilor host Pascoe Vale.
Keilor couldn’t have hoped for a better start following dominant 73-point and 108-point victories against Strathmore and Airport West respectively.
The homecomings of Corey Ellis and Damien Cavka has proved to be incredibly fruitful, as well as the six-goal return of Kane Barbuto last week after missing Good Friday.
17-year-old Keighton Matofai-Forbes has kicked nine goal in two games, as Mick McGuane will be hoping for more forwards complementing Matt Clark as the first look at Pascoe Vale’s forward line with the inclusions of Adam Del Busso, Josh Iacobaccio, and Sunny Brazier looked incredibly potent.
East Keilor will travel to Maribyrnong Park after both teams landed on opposite sides of the scoreboard in tight contests.
Four points separated the Cougars from Greenvale who were boosted by some of the many off-season inclusions like Matty Dennis and Austin Harris.
With both teams holding finals aspirations, it’s been hard to place them in the early parts of the season, so we’ll be watching with a keen eye to see if either side can separate themselves from those we expect to see on the cusp of finals footy.
The Cougars’ opponents in Greenvale mightn’t have come away with a win, but have been equally hard to place in the grand scheme of the competition.
The Jets probably flown under the radar with acquisitions to their list including Judd Brewster, Trent Warren, Jason Kenneth, and Nick Stuhldreier, facing Strathmore will give us a good insight as to how they’ll compete against the reigning premiers.
The Mores bounced back in a big way following their Good Friday defeat and coach Marty Allison will want to carry that momentum to Section Road.
Essendon Doutta Stars suffered that big defeat to Strathmore and will face another side coming off a big loss in Airport West.
The Eagles will want to start their campaign to stay in Premier Division following a couple of short stints in the top flight in recent times with an early win, while Douttas will be after an early-season win with many considering them a relegation contender.
Our two newest sides will contend in the EDFL Match of the Day showcase as Deer Park hosts St Albans.
Both sides triumphed in huge victories last week as this one shapes up to be one of the most intriguing watches in recent EDFL memory.
Deer Park have been considered as a flag favourite from the get go following their dominance in the WRFL over the last decade and boast a smattering of key players, including Todd Elton, Rodney Van Riet, Scott Greenhough, Hisham Kerbatieh, and many more.
The Saints on the other hand have been building, holding a strong focus on developing younger players and building a strong culture. That said, their off-season move has brought along some key recruits such as Victor Micallef and Andre Srour.
We’ll see two ANZAC Day contests with Glenroy hosting West Coburg, and Westmeadows hosting Tullamarine.
Glenroy are coming off a big loss to St Albans and will face stiff opposition in West Coburg, who many predict will be one of the teams to beat in this competition.
Tullamarine suffered a 56-point loss to the Burgers last week and lost key players over the summer, but not as many as Westmeadows who lost 16 of their best 22 who competed in a final last season.
Many expect there to still be a gap between these two sides, but we should get a better insight to that on Tuesday.
Two sides who were on the cusp of finals last year will meet at Salesian College when Rupertswood face Roxburgh Park.
Rupo fell short to Hillside by 15 points last week, while Roxy have had a chequered start to the season following a surprising loss to Craigieburn, and comfortable win over Moonee Valley.
It’s a chance for both sides to make an early statement towards their respective finals tilts in 2023.
Speaking of chequered starts, Craigieburn were triumphant to Roxy on Good Friday but dropped last week’s game to Keilor Park.
Coach Shane Jacobs was bullish on their list prior to the season, stating he believed their list was better than what people might have thought, and they’ll have a chance to show that against Hillside.
The Sharks have had a strong start to their season in which there are some expectations on them to play finals as they’ll travel away from Shark Park for the first time this season.
Meanwhile, Moonee Valley will host Keilor Park in a contest that not many have a firm idea on what to expect.
It shapes up as a chance for both sides to get early wins on the board to avoid the bottom-two relegation.
Burnside Heights under lights against Coburg Districts on ANZAC Eve will headline Round 2 for Division Two.
Following tight contests for both sides falling on opposite sides of the win/loss column, this shapes up to be a potential finals match up as the Bears return home to Tenterfield Drive for the first time in an official fixture following its resurfacing.
The Bears won by three points against Sunbury Kangaroos in Cole Harvey’s first win as senior coach.
While Coburg Districts have been notoriously slow starters, the apparent equality of all sides in this competition will mean the Lions will need to kick into gear and against a side that is touted to be in the finals mix again, Tom Gleeson’s men have a good opportunity here.
East Sunbury are another side returning home after their year in recess in 2022, and will be competing for the Tri-Services Cup against Taylors Lakes.
It’ll be an action-packed day at the venue, but on field will shape as the obvious centrepiece for a variety of reasons.
East Sunbury engaged in a shootout with Northern Saints last week, falling short by 20 points but their big recruits in playing coach Aaron Kite, Mitch Church, and Shylo Smith all starred.
Taylors Lakes will be looking to bounce back after an inaccurate day in front of goal where they kicked 4.12, but come up against one of the premiership favourites in Oak Park.
Speaking of whom, it’ll be a Kangaroo battle when they play host to Sunbury Kangaroos. It wasn’t too long ago they dominated this competition and finished with the perfect season, and showed plenty of the same against the Bears last week.
With quite a different side to that one, they’ll face a tough task against Oak Park who boasted eight different goal scorers against Taylors Lakes.
New recruit Clayton McCartney kicked five alongside Jedd Taylor’s three and showed why they’re the team to beat in the early stages of this season.
The final game is the local rivalry as Hadfield hosts Northern Saints with both teams coming off solid wins.
Khoder Taleb kicked eight for the Saints as their side piled on 37 scoring shots, while Hadfield secured one of the few wins you’ll see this season scoring just 38 points for the day.
Although it was a shortened game, Brett Pitts’ men will want to do more damage on the scoreboard, but showed their defensive nous limiting Coburg Districts to just 32.
THIS WEEKEND’S FIXTURES
GREENVALE v STRATHMORE
Saturday 2:15pm at Greenvale Recreation Reserve
KEILOR v PASCOE VALE
Saturday 2:15pm at Joe Brown Oval
MARIBYRNONG PARK v EAST KEILOR
Saturday 2:15pm at Monk Oval
ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS v AIRPORT WEST
Saturday 2:15pm at Nipper Jordan Oval
ABERFELDIE v AVONDALE HEIGHTS
Tuesday 2:15pm at Clifton Park
DEER PARK v ST ALBANS
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Saturday 2:15pm at John McLeod Reserve
CRAIGIEBURN v HILLSIDE
Saturday 2:15pm at DS Aitken Reserve
MOONEE VALLEY v KEILOR PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Ormond Park
RUPERTSWOOD v ROXBURGH PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Salesian College
GLENROY v WEST COBURG
Tuesday 2:15pm at Sewell Reserve
WESTMEADOWS v TULLAMARINE
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Tuesday 2:15pm at Willowbrook Reserve
HADFIELD v NORTHERN SAINTS
Saturday 2:15pm at Martin Reserve
OAK PARK v SUNBURY KANGAROOS
Saturday 2:15pm at JP Fawkner Reserve
EAST SUNBURY v TAYLORS LAKES
Saturday 2:15pm at John McMahon Reserve
BURNSIDE HEIGHTS v COBURG DISTRICTS
Monday 7:15pm at Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve
