By Luke Mathews
Airport West will host Aberfeldie in the annual top-flight Anzac Day clash at Hansen Reserve.
The marquee game has become a permanent fixture on the EDFL calendar with Airport West stepping up to take Avondale Heights’ place this year.
Abers did what they needed to do against Essendon Doutta Stars, scraping over the line by seven points, while Airport West was disappointing in their 207-point loss to Keilor.
Last time out it was the Eagles that caused a boil over at Clifton Park, coming from 22 points down at half time to win by seven points.
One to look out for on Friday is Aberfeldie superstar Sam Paea. The sharpshooter has hit the ground running in 2025 and is averaging 24 disposals and 13.5 contested possessions in his first two games while doing plenty of damage forward of centre.
The Eagles will need to minimise his impact, and that of Aberfeldie's tall forward brigade, if they have any chance of claiming the four points.
After stewing on a disappointing loss for two weeks, expect Airport West to come out firing in what should be an exciting contest.
Deer Park will travel to Maribyrnong Park to take on the Lions for the first time for premiership points.
Both teams managed to bounce back after disappointing first games with Marby thumping East Keilor to the tune of 188 points, while Deer Park defeated Greenvale by 68 points.
The thing to watch on Saturday will be how Marby deals with Deer Park’s dynamic forward line. Jamie Madigan’s side was ruthless in their win against the Jets kicking 23.7 from their 55 inside 50s.
Marby’s backline has been solid in their two games so far, but Saturday will be another tough test.
Essendon Doutta Stars will be at home for the second game running when they host East Keilor.
Douttas have shown plenty of promising signs in their losses to Pascoe Vale and Aberfeldie, while East Keilor has been disappointing in their two games this year.
The one to stop for the Cougars on Saturday will be Michael Kiraly who didn’t miss a beat in his first game for 2025, picking up 32 disposals and 16 contested possession.
The number 12 will be hoping for more of the same and hopefully his side’s first win on Saturday.
Pascoe Vale will be back at Raeburn Reserve to take on Greenvale on Nelson Alexander EDFL Match of the Day.
After opening their season with a win, both sides couldn’t back it up in Round 2 with the Panthers going down to Strathmore, while Greenvale lost to Deer Park.
The two sides last squared off back in Round 14 last year and it was the Panthers' ruthless defence that set up the 72-point win, conceding just the one goal for the entire match.
The ruck battle will be an intriguing watch yet again on Saturday at Raeburn Reserve. Liam Podhajski has had a blistering start to 2025 averaging 40.5 hit outs and 17.5 clearances in his first two games.
He’ll have his work cut out for him on Saturday when he comes up against 2023 Reynolds Medallist Matthew Dennis in what looms as a match-defining battle.
ANZAC DAY TEAMS
AIRPORT WEST v ABERFELDIE
Friday 2:25pm at Hansen Reserve
Full squads
In: Ned Gentile, Tyson Young, Max Rider, Christian Mazza, Luke Sultana, Ned Hawkins, Cooper McMullin.
Out: Joel Brown, Luca Muratore, Billy Barnes, Heath Condon.
In: Jai Bahnert, Konrad Karner, Nic Walsh, Zac Truccolo.
Out: Luke Davis.
By Ben Parker
Taylors Lakes hosts Avondale Heights at Lionheart Reserve in a scintillating clash between two sides looking at finals action.
With the Lions undefeated and the Heights looking to make amends for their narrow loss to Oak Park, a cracking contest is anticipated.
Lion’s guns Marc Lock and Jake Hobbs will be the ones to watch again this week. The duo are averaging 31.5 and 27.5 disposals respectively, and are pivotal players within this hungry Lions team.
Meanwhile, Bailey Williamson will be the one to stop for the Heights. The ball magnet is coming off a 37-disposal game, which included 34 kicks, and will look to use his classy foot skills again to pick apart a robust Lions defence.
Clearly the one to watch in this division this weekend, it should be a cracker.
Moonee Valley will clash with Craigieburn in an intriguing matchup at DS Aitken Reserve.
Both sit with a win and loss to their respective records and will be looking to bank their second wins of the season.
In a winnable game for both sides, shots will be firing early and a hot footy will be buzzing around.
The Eagles are a fascinating team to watch this year. With a stack of talent, they’ve proven over the past few years that their best footy is right up there with the best in the competition.
Can they put it together on a consistent week-to-week basis is the big question. A solid win last week against Roxburgh Park suggests their best footy is not too far away.
Luke Collins will look to assert himself early here. The silky midfielder is one of the Eagles' best, and another strong performance will set his side up well.
Moonee Valley on the other hand are looking to bounce back after last week’s disappointing performance against a red-hot Taylors Lakes.
The Fog will need to bring their best. They’ve also shown glimpses of what they are capable of, but now the challenge is to put it all together for a full four-quarter performance.
Oak Park travels to Tullamarine to take on a winless Demons outfit looking to claim the scalp of arguably one of the competition’s best.
The Dees are coming up against a highly talented and stacked Roos side and will need to bring their absolute best if they want to register a win this week.
They showed some real spirit in their Round 2 matchup against St Albans, trailing by just 12 points at the main break before the Saints kicked away.
Ben Weightman booted six goals for Tulla last week and will require strong attention from the Oak Park defence.
However, it’s hard to see Tullamarine getting over the line here if the Roos bring their best footy. The Roos have proven to so far be one of the top sides of the competition.
Joshua Ksiazek and Lachy Stredwick have started their season of sensationally and will be ones to watch for Oak Park.
West Coburg take on Roxburgh Park at Shore Reserve to close out the round.
Roxy currently sit on the bottom of the ladder at 0-2, and the Burgers are level at a 1-1 position.
The Burgers have had an up and down start to their season, losing convincingly in Round 1, before bouncing back in good fashion against Hillside last week.
Dinny Cleary is the one to watch this week, averaging 11 clearances per game and 16.5 contested possessions.
Roxburgh Park narrowly went down to Craigieburn last week in a much improved performance from Round 1. Look for Cooper McPharlane to continue on with his impressive start to the year, with James Tasiyan another one to watch.
By Evan Tudor
Round 3 of the Strathmore Community Bank Division 2 kicks off with Anzac Day footy at Tenterfield Drive when Burnside Heights takes on Coburg Districts.
Both sides are coming into this match with a win and a loss, placed seventh and sixth respectively.
It was a 23-point win over Hadfield for the Bears two weeks ago, with Jacob Elia kicking four goals to send them into the Easter break with some success.
Coburg Districts felt the bite of the Devils on Good Friday with a 31-point loss.
The Lions hope that they can return to form after a big Round 1 win against Westmeadows, and with Jack McNamara kicking seven in that match, you’d be silly to rule the Lions out of this one.
It was a 37-point win for a different-looking Burnside Heights outfit in these two sides' last meeting in 2024.
The undefeated Rupertswood gets its chance to extend its perfect start to 2025 when it faces East Sunbury at Salesian College on Anzac Day.
Rupertswood was more commanding in victory against Sunbury Kangaroos winning by 31 points following a dominant first quarter.
Fraser Phelan-Smith and Clayton Bonello combined for 13 goals and will no doubt be a handful for the East Sunbury defence.
The Thunder are looking to put their 172-point loss of Westmeadows behind them as they head into this clash.
A confident 66-point win in Round 1 says they are capable of doing big things, but a return to form is much needed in this game.
Anzac Day football in Division Two concludes at Sewell Reserve, as ladder leader Glenroy takes on third-placed Westmeadows.
The Roys are in red-hot form and are undefeated after their first two matches.
They have beaten Burnside Heights and the Northern Saints by 68 and 22 points respectively and look to make it three in a row against the Tigers on Friday.
But will the Tigers spoil the party? After a disappointing Round 1 loss, last year’s runners up returned the following week to score a mammoth 33.14.(212) against East Sunbury.
Highlighted by stars Hugo Jenkins and Mitchell Church who scored 14 goals between them in that Round 2 masterclass, the Tigers look poised for great match against the undefeated Roys side.
Last time these sides met was in Round 14 of 2024, when Glenroy won by 17 points.
Round 3 of Division Two football continues at Keilor Park Recreation Reserve on Saturday when Northern Saints take on Keilor Park.
Currently placed at ninth and with two straight defeats, the Saints are looking to take their first win of the season.
The Saints return from a 22-point loss to Glenroy after having the Easter weekend off.
Tamer Abdallah's side will hope to bring the same energy that saw them kick six first-quarter goals into this match.
Keilor Park will take the momentum of its 31-point Good Friday triumph into this match, hoping Jarod Pontin can get somewhere close to the seven goals he kicked against Coburg Districts.
The other Saturday match of Round 3 will see Martin Reserve host Hadfield's clash against Sunbury Kangaroos.
Both teams are coming off Round 2 losses against Burnside Heights and Rupertswood respectively, and look to improve their forms in this match to try and snare the win.
The Hawks sit fifth on the ladder, with both a win and a loss, hoping that their 11 individual goal kickers of Round 1 can reignite in this match.
The Kangaroos rest last on the competition ladder, and will be hoping their form continues to improve, after they redeemed a 66-point Round 1 loss, for only a 31-point Round 2 loss.
Last time these sides met was in Round 16 of 2024, when the Kangaroos won by 32 points.
ANZAC DAY TEAMS
BURNSIDE HEIGHTS v COBURG DISTRICTS
Friday 2:15pm at Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve
Full squads
In: Jack Wylie, Max Bonello, Dante Iuele, Matthew Stevenson.
Out: Joshua Neralic.
In: Justin Blackley, Taine Beattie, Hugh Wales, Jordan Ashby, William Banks, Jesse Kempen.
Out: Jake Gatto, Ayden Skroce, Damien Cavka.
RUPERTSWOOD v EAST SUNBURY
Friday 2:15pm at Salesian College
Full squads
In: Aaron West, Jack Burnell, Lachlan Nesbitt.
Out: nil.
In: Uriah Matenga, Cody Holden, Thomas Cree, Riley Looker, Riza Gashi, Aaron Flavel, Joel Bonnici.
Out: David Morrice, Connor Gills, Lachlan Brne, Sean Egan, Charlie Spencer.
GLENROY v WESTMEADOWS
Friday 2:30pm at Sewell Reserve
Full squads
In: Addam Maric, Jonathan Roccuzzo, Aaron Kite, James Nader, Jacob Albazi, Michael Di Martino.
Out: Ahmed Assaad, Zac Smith, William Ward.
In: Korey Flavel-Wood, Jordan Taglieri-Sclocchi, Gabriel Guida, Blake Jarram, Jed Shennan, Jackson Iulianella.
Out: Jordan Hollow, Reilly Holmes, Harley Gleeson.
THIS WEEKEND’S FIXTURES
AIRPORT WEST v ABERFELDIE
🎥 Streamer
📻 98.9 North West FM
Friday 2:25pm at Hansen Reserve
ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS v EAST KEILOR
Saturday 2:15pm at Nipper Jordan Oval
MARIBYRNONG PARK v DEER PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Monk Oval
PASCOE VALE v GREENVALE
🎥 Streamer
📻 98.9 North West FM
Saturday 2:15pm at Raeburn Reserve
TAYLORS LAKES v AVONDALE HEIGHTS
Saturday 2:15pm at Lionheart Reserve
CRAIGIEBURN v MOONEE VALLEY
Saturday 2:15pm at DS Aitken Reserve
WEST COBURG v ROXBURGH PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Shore Reserve
TULLAMARINE v OAK PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Leo Dineen Reserve
BURNSIDE HEIGHTS v COBURG DISTRICTS
Friday 2:15pm at Burnside Heights Recreation Reserve
RUPERTSWOOD v EAST SUNBURY
Friday 2:15pm at Salesian College
GLENROY v WESTMEADOWS
Friday 2:30pm at Sewell Reserve
NORTHERN SAINTS v KEILOR PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Keilor Park Recreation Reserve
HADFIELD v SUNBURY KANGAROOS
Saturday 2:15pm at Martin Reserve
