By Eric Forman
Strathmore will look to shore up their spot in the top three for the time being when they host Avondale Heights at Lebanon Reserve.
The Mores are a game clear inside double-chance territory and could potentially move two games clear with Aberfeldie facing Keilor this week.
The Heights, meanwhile, are two games clear in last spot and will need to move quickly if they’re any chance to remain in the top flight.
The last time these sides met, Strathmore won by 103 points with Athan Tsialtas kicking a season-high five goals.
Pascoe Vale will be keen to build on a big win last time out when they take on Deer Park at Raeburn Reserve.
It was a 10-goal win over Strathmore for the Panthers in a dominant display and will be a fourth game in a row for Deer Park against sides in the top five.
They’ve lost the last three by comfortable margins and with Aberfeldie to come, they’ll be keen for an improved outing.
Pascoe Vale won by 27 points the last time these sides met after trailing the Lions at the final change as Jamie Madigan’s men will no doubt draw plenty of confidence from that contest.
Airport West will host East Keilor as they continue their resurgence.
A seven-point win over Aberfeldie was their third for the season, with their first win a 92-point domination the last time they met the Cougars.
East Keilor were restricted to two goals at the final change before kicking some consolation majors in the last quarter, but it was a monster performance from start to finish from the Eagles.
Luca Muratore kicked another bag with five goals, while Anthony Aloi (four goals) and Corey Barbaro (three goals) proved a handful for the Cougars defence.
East Keilor have had one win and two big losses since that game and will be keen for some success.
Greenvale have a chance to move three games clear in the top five when they play Essendon Doutta Stars at Section Road.
The Jets have Strathmore and Pascoe Vale to follow Douttas so a win would give them a good amount of breathing room heading into those contests.
Douttas, meanwhile, face Pascoe Vale, Strathmore, and Keilor in the final three games, so if they’re any chance to play finals, they need to start taking these games.
Greenvale won a low-scoring affair by 13 points the last time they met with Josh Porter booting five goals.
Porter hasn’t played since June 15, so attention may shift to Ben Speight and Ben Bath for the Douttas defence.
Aberfeldie and Keilor will close out the round at Clifton Park.
Abers were within four points of the Blues approaching the end of the third term when these two played in Round 5 before Keilor stormed away to win by 10 goals.
It’ll be a different-looking Aberfeldie side than that contest with key pillars Karl Brown and Brodie Newman notable absences.
Keilor has won six games in a row by more than 100 points since that contest.
A loss for Aberfeldie could see them two games out of double-chance territory come the end of the round.
By Joseph Ibic
Hillside hosts West Coburg at Hillside Recreation Reserve in what looms as the match of the round.
The last time the two sides met was back in Round 2 when Hillside came out on top by just three points in what was a high-scoring thriller.
The Sharks will be hoping for a similar result this time around as they continue to build towards the pointy end of the season.
Hillside are coming off a 29-point win over premiership hopefuls St Albans last week, a win which would no doubt have given them great confidence about defeating West Coburg this weekend.
On the other hand, West Coburg should be fresh as they are coming off the bye and have been in great form recently, having only lost the one match for the season.
Despite the loss last time out, Hillside had to come from behind so it'll be interesting to see if West Coburg make a statement and take back top spot or if Hillside can prove it wasn't a one-off.
Tullamarine will play St Albans at Leo Dineen Reserve.
Tulla were in great form leading into the bye having won their last three games and will be hoping to keep that form going as they hunt for a potential finals berth.
The two sides last met back in Round 7 where St Albans won quite comfortably by 47 points.
Tulla will believe however, that they will go into the match with the better form and as such may be able to cause an upset.
St Albans last two weeks have been difficult seeing them lose to fellow premiership contenders West Coburg and Hillside by over 20 points.
They will however, be confident that they can get back on the winners board this weekend as they take on a side they have already overcome earlier in the year.
Moonee Valley will take on Maribyrnong Park this Saturday at Ormond Park.
The Valley have only won two games out of 10 this year and as such would have to complete a major upset to defeat Marby Park.
These sides met earlier in the year when Marby Park came out victorious by over 100 points and based off of current form, the result may be similar this weekend.
Marby Park will be brimming with confidence as they haven’t lost a game since Round 4.
Their greatest strength so far has been their attacking prowess having scored over 100 points in their last six games and will believe they can continue that form against Moonee Valley this week seeing as they scored 27 goals against The Valley last time they played them.
Rupertswood will host Keilor Park at Salesian College in a much more important clash than thought a few weeks ago.
It’s a battle between the bottom two sides this weekend as both teams seek to move away from the threat of relegation and the wooden spoon.
Rupertswood will fancy their chances of defeating Keilor Park as they beat them last time by 41 points.
However, recent thrashing may give their confidence a bit of a dent leading into the clash.
Keilor Park finally claimed their first win of the season last week defeating Roxburgh Park by 21 points.
The win will give Keilor Park the momentum going into this weekend's match and a win will see them potentially jump off the bottom of the ladder, something that seemed almost impossible a couple of weeks ago.
Roxburgh Park will take on Oak Park at Lakeside Reserve in a twilight fixture.
Roxburgh Park will be desperate to bounce back this weekend after a shock loss to Keilor Park in their previous match.
Roxy had been in reasonably good form before the loss and as such they will be hoping it was just a one off and they'll be back to their best this weekend.
On the other hand, Oak Park are coming off a huge 82-point victory over Craigieburn and will be full of belief that they can claim another win.
The Oakers currently sit in sixth place on the ladder and will be dreaming of a possible finals berth if they continue their current winning form.
Oak Park forward Kane O’Halloran booted five majors taking his season tally to 39 goals, the second most in the competition as he looks the key to Oak Park’s chances of making finals.
By Eric Forman
Coburg Districts continue their fight for fourth spot when they play Glenroy at Sewell Reserve.
The Lions will be keen to bounce back after suffering their first loss by more than 13 points at the hands of Burnside Heights last week.
While their position is precarious at the moment, they could very easily be battling it out for higher spots, especially considering their victory over Taylors Lakes.
Glenroy find themselves second last on the ladder but are another side that’s suffered some close defeats and a percentage of 104 is indicative of that.
It was a 10-point win for Coburg Districts the last time these sides met with Jack McNamara (three goals) and Jasper Lynch (two goals) helping their side overcome a three quarter time deficit.
Local rivals Hadfield and Northern Saints will take each other on at Martin Reserve.
Hadfield took the four points in this contest earlier in the season and are enjoying a much more competitive 2024, sitting a game and percentage out of the four.
That loss was the fourth for Northern Saints to start the season but they’ve since won five of their last six and are building towards another finals appearance.
Michael Pell and Jack Wallace each kicked four goals in their 14-point win against the Saints.
Burnside Heights could reclaim top spot when they face Sunbury Kangaroos at Eric Boardman Reserve.
The Bears got back on the winner’s list after consecutive losses and will face a Kangaroos side that’s lost five of their last seven games.
It’s been a tough slog for Shanon Carroll’s men who are well and truly in the mix for finals, but need to find some more consistent footy.
It was a 24-point Burnside Heights win the last time these sides played with Daniel Hovey the star of the day kicking nine goals.
Westmeadows will look to solidify their spot in the top four when they host East Sunbury.
Westy took the four points in this matchup in Round 1 with a 140-point victory.
THIS WEEKEND’S FIXTURES
ABERFELDIE v KEILOR
Saturday 2:15pm at Clifton Park
GREENVALE v ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS
Saturday 2:15pm at Greenvale Recreation Reserve
STRATHMORE v AVONDALE HEIGHTS
Saturday 2:15pm at Lebanon Reserve
AIRPORT WEST v EAST KEILOR
Saturday 2:15pm at Hansen Reserve
PASCOE VALE v DEER PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Raeburn Reserve
HILLSIDE v WEST COBURG
Saturday 2:15pm at Hillside Recreation Reserve
TULLAMARINE v ST ALBANS
Saturday 2:15pm at Leo Dineen Reserve
RUPERTSWOOD v KEILOR PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Salesian College
MOONEE VALLEY v MARIBYRNONG PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Ormond Park
ROXBURGH PARK v OAK PARK
Saturday 5:00pm at Lakeside Reserve
GLENROY v COBURG DISTRICTS
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Saturday 2:15pm at Sewell Reserve
HADFIELD v NORTHERN SAINTS
Saturday 2:15pm at Martin Reserve
SUNBURY KANGAROOS v BURNSIDE HEIGHTS
Saturday 2:15pm at Eric Boardman Reserve
WESTMEADOWS v EAST SUNBURY
Saturday 2:15pm at Willowbrook Reserve
