MARIBYRNONG PARK v ABERFELDIE
MARIBYRNONG Park’s hard run home continues here with Aberfeldie looking to lock itself into another finals series.
The Gorillas are on a three-game winning streak and can’t afford to let up now, because a loss here more than likely rules out a top two finish.
With some top-liners missing, they were able to take care of business last week against Glenroy with a 12-goal-to-two second half.
Given Marby’s recent woes, Aberfeldie will be feeling good about its chances here, even if it is without some best-22 players come Saturday afternoon.
The Lions are just about shot, yet still have a tiny chance of making finals.
But the signs aren’t looking good, as their four-game losing streak has come against the better sides of the division.
The healthier Aberfeldie should get up.
GREENVALE v KEILOR
The Jets should end up in the final four but need some help to get into the top two come the end of Round 18.
A loss here makes it hard.
The Jets did what they had to do at Coburg City Oval last week but it wasn’t exactly the most convincing of victories.
Brett Stillman was best-on-ground with three goals and Jacob Thompson played his part with two, but the nature of the 38-point win showed that maybe Greenvale’s depth isn’t quite good enough to take the Jets all the way.
Coming up against the form team of the division, it’s hard to pinpoint how an undermanned Greenvale can beat a Keilor side that is seemingly getting better by the week.
Losing gun mid Nick O’Kearney didn’t hamper the Blues at Maribyrnong Park last week, so why would it here against comparable opposition?
AVONDALE HEIGHTS v WEST COBURG - Radio Game
It looks as though percentage could well decide who goes down to Essendon Ford Division 1.
If West Coburg does manage to snare a win… or even draw in this upcoming fortnight, then it could be enough to ensure survival.
The Burgers do have a more favourable run home than Essendon Doutta Stars and of the four combined games in question, this is the one that looks the most winnable for either club.
Last week West Coburg was never really in the hunt against Greenvale but stayed close enough to rise above Douttas on the ladder.
Omar Saad and Ruairi Cleary both kicked two goals while Daniel Archer and Setanta Macaodha played their roles despite the loss.
While their form has been ordinary, there are enough good players at Digby Morrell’s disposal to do some damage here.
If they can put it together for long enough then the Burgers might be able to get it done here.
It’s important they see off the departing Morrell on a good note, and not with relegation.
Avondale Heights was good against Strathmore last week with Tom Russell and Luke Edwards combining for four goals.
Losing Tom Jeffries to VFL duties didn’t help their cause but prime movers Ciaran Sheehan and Mathew Cravino stood tall.
On balance the Heights have a better complement of talent, but a desperate West Coburg outfit that’s fighting for Premier Division survival will be sure to throw everything at this one.
This is sneakily the best game of the round.
PASCOE VALE v GLENROY
Glenroy would love nothing more than to eliminate its local rival from finals contention.
But the Roys’ form against finals contenders hasn’t been great this year and the fact they went down by 89 points to the Panthers back in Round 8 doesn’t bode well here.
Matthew Watson booted nine goals and Gavin Urquhart chipped in with six with Lachie Hansen out of the line-up on that day.
So with similar personnel here, the Panthers will be feeling good about their prospects.
There are two factors playing to Pascoe Vale’s advantage in their quest for an unlikely finals berth.
One is there soft run home (Glenroy and West Coburg), while the other is their somewhat healthy percentage of 133.33.
But that percentage is still 4.8 per cent lower than that of Maribyrnong Park’s, so the Panthers will be keen to get their skates on and kick another big score on Glenroy’s leaky back line.
STRATHMORE v ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS
About a month or so ago, we were quite bullish about Essendon Doutta Stars.
After a shocking start to the season, their form had come good and it culminated with important wins over West Coburg and Avondale Heights.
But that momentum has now come to a halt, with successive heavy losses to Aberfeldie and Pascoe Vale.
They were quite disappointing last week against the Panthers, only managing to muster four goals on home soil.
Their prospects of a third win have dwindled dramatically and with a very hard run home that includes Strathmore this week and Greenvale next week, Douttas might end up relegated after all.
Strathmore was tested by Avondale Heights last week but had enough character to still get the win.
It was their sixth win in a row, with Hamish McIntosh (three goals) and Alex Grima (two) stepping up in key moments.
A big enough win here will go close to guaranteeing a top two finish, so don’t expect the Mores to pull any punches here.
It could get ugly.
