The top flight’s path to premiership glory commences this weekend after a refreshing pre-finals bye!
Both games will be played on Sunday with plenty on the line.
KEILOR v PASCOE VALE
Sunday 2:15pm at Coburg City Oval
Keilor will be looking to replicate their incredible 2019 season as they face Pascoe Vale in their bid to remain undefeated and book the first spot in the Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division Grand Final.
Coburg City Oval will host the sides and what will be the third time these two have met with Keilor taking the two victories in starkly contrasting games.
The Panthers were able to stick with the Blues in their Round 2 clash which ultimately saw Keilor win by 12 points.
Pascoe Vale took a two-point lead into the main break as Keilor exited half time showing their propensity to get looks on the goal face, but weren’t able to capitalise kicking 4.7.
Their lead was 14 points at the final change which they would be able to maintain in the high-scoring affair.
Keilor had a range of contributors in front of goal with the newly reformed Nick O’Kearney, Corey Ellis, and Damien Cavka putting the league on notice with high-quality outputs.
Pascoe Vale boasted six multiple goal scorers on the day which would contrast their second meeting with Keilor in Round 10 where they only managed six goals for the game in a dominant display from the flag-favourites.
Keilor piled on seven first-quarter goals through torrential rain and would extend on their 41-point quarter-time lead to win by 59 points in a forgettable day for Pascoe Vale.
The Blues restricted Pascoe Vale’s transition which was already made tougher by the conditions and finished with 19 more scoring shots.
Since that loss, Pascoe Vale had a horrid run with injuries and dropped games to Greenvale, Airport West, and Strathmore, but they were able to persevere and do enough to hold second spot as they had for much of the season.
With players returning from those injuries and two big wins to round out the season, you can expect Pascoe Vale to perform more like their first contest with Keilor and give themselves the best opportunity possible to reach their first Grand Final since their B Grade flag in 2011.
STRATHMORE v EAST KEILOR
Sunday 2:15pm at Sewell Reserve
Over at Sewell Reserve on Sunday, the season is on the line for Strathmore and East Keilor who do battle in the eliminator.
Strathmore’s second half of the season has been similar to that of 2022 where they’ve started to play more consistent footy with as close to their best 22 out on the park.
East Keilor meanwhile, have been somewhat inconsistent with form and availability.
If the pre-finals bye was going to serve any side the best, it’d be the Cougars.
They made it pretty clear that there was a large amount of unavailability at Overland Reserve with a couple of Reserves forfeits, but they’re expected to welcome back a number of key players into the senior side to take part in the finals.
The two meetings between these sides have been split down the middle with East Keilor taking a close victory in Round 5, and Strathmore putting up a dominant display in Round 14.
Their first meeting was a tight contest throughout the day as Strathmore would have been ruing their inaccuracy in front of goal kicking 8.9 in the second half compared to East Keilor’s 9.2.
George Nabbout and Frank Campisi kicked 10 of the Cougars’ 16 goals, while Mitch Purcell booted four majors for the Mores.
Strathmore looked like the reigning premiers we expected in their second clash controlling the game from the outset and disallowing East Keilor to make a run to get back into the game.
Tom Condon returned for that clash and kicked a vital four goals in a day their forwards applied 13 more scoring shots than East Keilor.
While Strathmore seem to have the upper hand leading into this contest, East Keilor’s unpredictability with their exciting brand can’t be discounted.
If they can get their full side on the park, you can expect this game to be incredibly exciting to watch.
