ABERFELDIE v GLENROY
New Venue - Saturday 2:15pm at Jacana Reserve
NOTHING tangible is on the line, but both clubs will have their reasons to put in a good performance here.
For Aberfeldie, who has known for some time now that Keilor will be its opponent in the Qualifying Final, this game serves as one final dress rehearsal for the finals.
Glenroy, on the other hand, would love nothing more than to enter the off-season with some momentum after what has been a long and challenging year.
Aberfeldie’s only losses have come to Keilor throughout the season and most of its wins have been pretty convincing.
With Wilson Berry, Victor Carboni, Luke Blackwell, Josh Cubillo and Kyle Reimers all out of action, Aberfeldie still proved too classy for Pascoe Vale in Round 17, claiming a very impressive 48-point win.
To have beaten a fellow finalist with such ease without at least five automatic best 22 players served as an ominous warning to the rest of the division that the reigning premiers are not to be messed with.
It’s therefore hard to mount a reasonable case for Glenroy to get up.
The only way the Roys could do it is if Aberfeldie coach, Adam Potter, decides to rest a significant amount of his regulars in preparation for Keilor next week.
KEILOR v MARIBYRNONG PARK
Saturday 2:15pm at Keilor Reserve
The exact same narrative applies here as it does for the game above.
Keilor is locked into the minor premiership and will enter the finals series as the team to beat, having gone undefeated to this point of the season.
Last week’s 162-point drubbing of Essendon Doutta Stars stunned all of us.
The Blues were at their relentless best, with 15 different players getting among the 29 goals they scored for the day.
You would think Dean Galea’s bag of six would have secured himself a fourth consecutive goal kicking title, now that he leads Pascoe Vale’s Matthew Watson by 10.
With 59 goals currently to his name, Galea will most likely claim the title with his lowest tally of the four, having kicked totals of 92, 81 and 78 home-and-away goals respectively since 2016.
This game could also decide the Reynolds Medal, as this will be favourite Kane Barbuto’s final chance to poll.
The previous two Reynolds Medallists (Zac Keogh in 2017 and Will Martiniello in 2018) have come from Maribyrnong Park, so if that trend continues this year, then perhaps the likes George Abboud, John McKenzie or Josh Cole will be keen to poll here as well.
ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS v STRATHMORE
Saturday 2:15pm at Nipper Jordan Oval
There is no way of polishing a 162-point loss if you’re Essendon Doutta Stars.
They were horrible at Keilor last week and it was a result that served as another example of just how badly the Stars have dropped off in the second half of the season.
Against another finals-bound opponent here, Kyle Hardingham will be demanding a far better showing, even if the game itself is a dead rubber for both teams.
Strathmore has plenty to take out of last week’s gritty six-point win over Greenvale – a result that guaranteed an Elimination Final date with Pascoe Vale next Sunday at Coburg City Oval.
The Jets, whose season was on the line, pushed Strathmore all day at Lebanon Reserve but the young Mores withstood the pressure and were able to finish strongly.
It will be interesting to see if coach Matthew Horne decides to rest any of his prime movers, given the eight-day break leading into the Pascoe Vale final.
If so, then Douttas might be a chance of claiming an upset.
If not, then the Mores should win this well, especially given their youngsters will enjoy playing on the wide expanses of Nipper Jordan Oval.
AIRPORT WEST v PASCOE VALE
Saturday 2:15pm at Hansen Reserve
Airport West was extremely disappointing with relegation on the line at Avondale Heights last week.
After leading by a goal at quarter time, the Eagles conceded nine goals to one in the second quarter and could never recover.
The result confirmed Airport West’s relegation back to Division 1 after just one season in the topflight.
Therefore, getting up for one final game that doesn’t mean anything could be tricky for Geoff Maddern’s men.
Their approach should be to test their finals-bound opponent and get some momentum leading into the summer, or it could be one last chance to expose some young talent to senior Premier Division footy before heading back down to Division 1.
Whichever way the Eagles decide to go, it shouldn’t matter to Pascoe Vale.
The Panthers were stung on their home deck against Aberfeldie last week and while the result ultimately did not have any bearing on their finals prospects, coach Digby Morrell would not have been impressed.
Of the four finalists, Pascoe Vale is the one that could do with some good momentum heading into September and may therefore look to pile on some damage here.
For what it’s worth, if Dean Galea doesn’t line up for Keilor, then Matthew Watson will be a chance to claim the goal kicking title if he kicks at least 11 goals here.
Before you scoff at such a suggestion, keep in mind that two weeks ago in Strathmore Community Bank Division 2, Burnside Heights full forward Josh Covelli did that exact thing to steal that division’s title from Sunbury Kangaroo, Lachie Baddeley, who did not play in the final round.
So why couldn’t it be a possibility here?
GREENVALE v AVONDALE HEIGHTS
Saturday 2:15pm at Greenvale Recreation Reserve
Neither of these sides will feature in the finals and both are safe from relegation, but this game could still be the most intriguing of the round.
Greenvale is set to miss the finals for the first time since 2014 and last week’s loss to Strathmore would have taken plenty of wind out of their sails.
Since the mid-season break, Greenvale holds a 3-5 record which will be considered well below par, both internally and externally.
It’ll be one of the more fascinating clubs to watch over the summer, as we could see some increased player movement (both coming in and on the way out) up at Section Road.
Avondale Heights has no choice but to be an active player in the transfers market after fighting off relegation for much of 2019.
Their form has been solid of late, having beaten Airport West easily last week and pushing Pascoe Vale all the way the week before, so Donald McDonald’s young side should be feeling confident they can end their season on a high and knock off Greenvale on its home deck.
For Greenvale, a club that heavily prides itself on playing for the jumper, anything but a strong win on home turf will be considered unacceptable, regardless of the fact that this too is a dead rubber.
