An enormous Grand Final rematch sets the tone for what looks to be another important weekend of Northern Football Netball League’s Division 1 action.
Can Bundoora end a streak of five consecutive losses against Heidelberg this weekend at Warringal Park?
Michael Ryan’s men will be bullish on doing so after knocking over second-placed Montmorency on their home track last weekend.
Sam Lloyd played a starring role up forward with a six-goal and 10 Coaches MVP vote performance whilst Hamish Shepheard dominated in the ruck with no Liam Wale-Buxton for the Magpies.
The Bulls have only lost once since Round 6 and now sit both a game clear of fourth-placed North Heidelberg and just four points behind Montmorency.
Bundoora does have a favourable run home, as after this weekend, Hurstbridge is the only current top-five side they need to face a second time, meaning they are in the hot seat to secure a second straight double chance finish to the home and away season.
Their opponents in Heidelberg now have a one-and-a-half game gap on top of the table, having been unbeaten since Round 3.
The likes of Zane Barzen, Matthew Smith, Lachlan Wilson and Jess Gedi continue to star with Barzen picking up 10 Coaches MVP Award votes after a seven-goal performance in last weekend’s win against Greensborough.
The Tigers look arguably in better shape than they did this last year. They are still ranked number two for the most points for and number one for the least points in the competition, and like Bundoora, only have to face one more current top-five side after this weekend.
Their last match with Bundoora saw them break away in the final term to win by 19 points, marking their fifth straight triumph over the Bulls.
But this week’s visitors almost couldn’t be in better form to try and topple the Tigers. Their last victory against the reigning premiers also came at Warringal Park back in 2021. We could see a very competitive performance between these two clubs this weekend.
After a tough fortnight, Montmorency will be eager to get back on the winner’s list against an in-form Hurstbridge outfit at Montmorency Park.
The Magpies sit precariously in second spot having only picked up two points against fellow contenders Heidelberg and Bundoora.
In the defeat to the Bulls last week, Montmorency were kept to their lowest score of the season and their equal lowest points total since the 2022 preliminary final, which ironically was against Bundoora.
Highlights in the loss included Patrick Fitzgerald who slotted three majors, and captain Sam Binion, whose seven Coaches MVP Award vote performance has seen him lead the count with five weeks remaining.
Jonathan Manzoney’s side is now just four points clear of the third-placed Bulls and eight points clear of fourth-placed North Heidelberg, meaning a big final few weeks to the season will be needed if they are to avoid missing out on the double chance.
They face a very in-form Hurstbridge team who have won four of their last five games, including an excellent 90-point victory over winless Whittlesea at home.
In those five matches, 2022 Team of the Year forward Joel Naylor has found a second wind, kicking 26 of his 39 goals in that timeframe, culminating with an outstanding 10-goal effort against the Eagles last week.
Others like Samuel House and Mitchell Hymus have also picked up form in that time span, helping the Bridges jump into fifth place.
This weekend marks the first of three straight meetings for the Bridges against the current top three sides of the competition, and if they pass the tests ahead, they will have well and truly deserved a finals spot.
They did draw with Magpies at Ben Frilay Oval in their last meeting, and with the form line of both sides lately, it could be just as close this time around.
North Heidelberg will be looking to build on an impressive three weeks when they welcome West Preston-Lakeside to Shelley Street Reserve.
Jason Heatley’s men have been back to their goalkicking best in the last fortnight, kicking a combined 246 points in their wins against Hurstbridge and Macleod, which has seen them comfortably have the most points for by any side in the competition.
Majak Daw has led the way with two five-goal bags and has been well supported by Jhye Baddeley-Kelley who’s kicked 14 goals in his five Bulldogs games this season.
However, it’s been Liam Hunt that’s stolen the show in midfield and again while stepping up with no Jesse Tardio, he put together a perfect 10 Coaches MVP Award vote performance last weekend, in his side’s 54-point win over the Roos.
Their opponents in West Preston-Lakeside got back to their best last weekend in a convincing victory over Banyule at home.
Ahmed Saad added to his goal-kicking tally with another four goals, while Alex Federico starred in midfield. He has now been named in his side’s best for five consecutive weeks and has been one of their most consistent players in 2023.
It was the Roosters first win since Round 6, and while finals don’t look like a reality this season, more promising performances like that can be something Luke Giles can build on heading into next year.
The least they will look to do is improve on their 107-point loss to the Bulldogs from Round 5, which saw 14 majors kicked between Brock Chircop and Majak Daw.
Both Banyule and Greensborough will hope to respond to disappointing performances when they meet this weekend at Beverley Road Oval.
The Bears rough patch continued in Round 12 with a 52-point defeat at the hands of West Preston-Lakeside.
After what had been a great first half to the year, Banyule have now lost their last six matches and have slipped to the ninth spot on the ladder, and while they are likely to survive in the top flight this year, they will hope to produce some more convincing performances to round out the campaign.
Despite their late form, Kye Yodgee continues to shine and has now been named as Banyule’s best on in three of their last four contests. Captain Devin McDonald has also been influential for his side and has been a key pillar in the back half.
But they do prepare for a game against an opponent they came agonisingly close to defeating earlier this season, with the Boro just holding on to win by five points at Greensborough War Memorial Park.
That match was a brilliant high-scoring encounter, but the same couldn’t be said in Greensborough’s most recent game, as they kicked just three goals in a 60-point loss to Heidelberg.
With no Jack Johnston, Saade Ghazi’s men struggled to contain the Tigers potent attack, although the likes of Matthew Haynes and Zac Hart rallied hard and produced brilliant performances.
The loss has seen the Boro drop out of the top five and with massive games against Bundoora, North Heidelberg and Hurstbridge to come over the next three weeks, the four points over Banyule on Saturday is a must-have.
Macleod will look to gain some momentum ahead of a big final month when they face Whittlesea at the Showgrounds.
The Roos three-game winning streak came to a crushing end when they went down by 52 points to a rampaging North Heidelberg outfit last weekend.
It was a big dent to their slim finals hopes as they now sit 10 points away from fifth-placed Hurstbridge.
The heavy loss still didn’t impact the great efforts of Michael Hurley and Kurt Manuel who have put together brilliant campaigns for Craig Hayes’ side.
Jack Lipscombe has also been handy for Macleod when available. He has been named in his side’s best in four of his seven games in 2023, including last Saturday against the Bulldogs.
Their opponents in Whittlesea will be aiming for some respectability to round out what’s been a tough campaign.
Eagles coach Wayne Van Der Ross has departed the club, with Paul Higgins set to take the reigns for the remainder of the season.
But there have still been individual highlights for Whittlesea in the previous few weeks. Last Saturday for example saw Christian Prestopino kick five goals for the second time in 2021, while in his first game since May, Northern Knights talent Aleksandr D’Arro was named in the Eagles best for a third time in four games on the weekend.
While breaking their winning drought would be a brilliant achievement, if they can look to at least improve on their 122-point loss to Macleod in Round 5 this season, that will be the first step towards rebuilding some confidence for the near future.
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