Keilor and Strathmore will have the week off with their Good Friday fixture allocated to Round 3, but there are plenty of tantalising match ups at play.
Kicking the action off as the Nena and Pasadena EDFL Match of the Day is Essendon Doutta Stars hosting Avondale Heights in a game that could see implications down the line.
Both sides have been in the mix to be in the relegation battle in Premier Division and currently sit at one win and one loss, so early wins are crucial for both sides.
Essendon Doutta Stars are coming off a win against Airport West, while Avondale Heights have shown many times that they can mix it with the top sides on their day and had an impressive tight victory against Marby in Round 1.
Greenvale will take on Pascoe Vale with the former losing to East Keilor – who expect to be in the finals mix – and Strathmore. They face another tough match up here.
Pascoe Vale had an impressive off season and knocked off Abers in Round 1, before losing a tight contest to a rampant Keilor outfit.
Darren Bewick’s men can never be written off with an array of strong personnel at his disposal as they’ll strive to show they can compete with the top sides.
Hansen Reserve will play host to Airport West and East Keilor with the Eagles dropping their first two games, and the Cougars winning their first two.
East Keilor hasn't set the world on fire with their two wins but as they say, it doesn’t matter how you get them.
There may be an adjustment period with a number of new recruits taking the field for the Cougars, while Airport West will be adjusting again to the top flight.
The final game of Round 3 will see Maribyrnong Park taking on Aberfeldie under lights at Monk Oval as part of their ‘Footy Festival’.
Abers flexed their muscles against Avondale Heights with a four-quarter performance on ANZAC Day following their Round 1 loss to Pascoe Vale where they showed patches of their best.
Marby have had similar patches that have probably cost them victories in their first two games allowing eight scoring shots in their final quarter thriller in Round 1, before giving up six goals in the third term against East Keilor last week.
If Brad Swain can rally his Lions to a complete performance, there’s no reason we shouldn’t see a thriller under lights on Saturday night.
There’ll be four games in Division One following a pair of Good Friday matches with premiership favourites squaring off to headline the round.
Deer Park will get their first look at the “Shoretress” when they take on West Coburg in what many consider to be a potential grand final preview.
The Burgers have had two commanding wins but will face an unfamiliar, yet lauded opponent in Deer Park who have been adjusting to a new competition under new coach Heath Scotland.
The Lions have also won their first two somewhat comfortably in the end despite St Albans’ challenge, but will get their biggest test so far on Saturday.
Moonee Valley will be looking for their first win of the season against Rupertswood after dropping games to Roxburgh Park and Keilor Park.
With two teams to be relegated in Division One, Moonee Valley has been tipped to be a team in the mix so early wins are critical for the Fog.
It’ll be no easy task on Saturday however, with Rupertswood narrowly missing finals in 2022 and putting up two strong outings thus far against teams touted as finals contenders.
St Albans will take on Westmeadows at Kings Park who showed plenty of fight against Tullamarine on ANZAC Day, but perhaps lacked the experience to run the game out.
It’ll be an interesting match up with a young Westmeadows side showing plenty of speed around the ground, while the physicality and tall timber of Zammy Muhtari’s Saints could slow the Tigers down.
The Saints enjoyed a three-quarter-time lead against Deer Park on Saturday and were hurt by a lack of rotations in the end, but still displayed why many have marked them as a team to watch come September.
The final game will see Glenroy taking on Tullamarine with the Roys coming off two big losses, and Tulla bouncing back with a number of reintroduced personnel.
Dean Young will be looking for a more competitive showing as they fight to get some wins on the board and get off the bottom of the ladder.
What was considered an open competition in the pre-season has proven to be just that through early proceedings.
Northern Saints have started the season 2-0 and will face Burnside Heights who have an even ledger following their loss on ANZAC Eve to Coburg Districts.
Traditionally slow starters, Tamer Abdallah has rallied his troops to victories which have come from a shootout in Round 1, and a bit more of a low-scoring affair in Round 2.
The Bears have given up 80 and 91 points and will be looking to rectify the defensive side of their game to ensure they can keep Northern Saints to a manageable score.
With a combined point differential of -5, the Sunbury Kangaroos currently hold two losses but shouldn’t be too bothered by that as they head into their matchup with Coburg Districts
Leading during both of those games, the Kangaroos have given themselves every chance to win those games and it won’t take much to rectify their fortunes.
For Coburg Districts, they rebounded from a low-scoring loss to win on ANZAC Eve against a fellow 2022-finalist and will be hoping for more of the same.
Oak Park have enjoyed an undefeated start to the season and will take on East Sunbury at John McMahon Reserve.
Mitch Church, Shylo Smith, and playing-coach Aaron Kite have all fired for the Thunder but have conceded 233 points in their first two games.
Oak Park have put solid scores on the board in their first two games but Kite will be hoping to minimise that damage to give their potent offense a chance.
Taylors Lakes and Hadfield round out Division Two action as two sides who have shown inaccuracy throughout the first two games.
Hadfield has put up scores of 38 and 35 so far, kicking 3.17 against Northern Saints.
Taylors Lakes scored 4.12 in their first outing but bounced back last week kicking 17.9, showing why they could be a team that shoots into finals action come September.
For Hadfield, kicking a winnable score will be their sole focus, and if they can minimise Taylors Lakes in the process, that’ll be a win-win.
THIS WEEKEND’S FIXTURES
GREENVALE v PASCOE VALE
Saturday 2:15pm at Greenvale Recreation Reserve
AIRPORT WEST v EAST KEILOR
Saturday 2:15pm at Hansen Reserve
ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS v AVONDALE HEIGHTS
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Saturday 2:15pm at Nipper Jordan Oval
MARIBYRNONG PARK v ABERFELDIE
Saturday 7:00pm at Monk Oval
ST ALBANS v WESTMEADOWS
Saturday 2:15pm at Kings Park Reserve
MOONEE VALLEY v RUPERTSWOOD
Saturday 2:15pm at Ormond Park
GLENROY v TULLAMARINE
Saturday 2:15pm at Sewell Reserve
WEST COBURG v DEER PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Shore Reserve
NORTHERN SAINTS v BURNSIDE HEIGHTS
Saturday 2:15pm at Charles Mutton Reserve
COBURG DISTRICTS v SUNBURY KANGAROOS
Saturday 2:15pm at Cole Reserve
EAST SUNBURY v OAK PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at John McMahon Reserve
TAYLORS LAKES v HADFIELD
Saturday 2:15pm at Lionheart Reserve
