With the top three teams all on nine wins and a huge battle for the fourth spot on the line, round 13 action in Northern Football Netball League’s Division 3 is set to be enthralling.
It comes from a weekend that saw some big results for those fighting out for spots in the top four.
The Fitzroy Stars jumped out to a big lead against Old Eltham Collegians at RMIT Sports Oval and led by 21 points at the first break.
They held the lead until the final term, but were unable to finish the job and went down by four points in the NAIDOC Cup, with a Tyson Pickett shot at goal hitting the post late in the game.
“We had the right attitude and intensity and fought the game out, but disappointed we didn’t get the chocolates,” Fitzroy Stars coach Lionel Proctor said.
Jai Burns won the medal for best on the ground and had a massive first half. Proctor also liked the work of Kyle Thomas at halfback for his leadership and his ability to set up plays for his side.
“Great to get the four points in a hard-fought contest and now we have another important game next week,” Old Eltham Collegians coach Matt Sleeman said
Sleeman gave praise to Jack Fitzgerald in the centre and Jeremy Murphy on the wing. He swung Jake Cullen onto Burns late in the second term and thought that the move helped stem the tide.
Kinglake travelled to Waterview Recreation Reserve to tackle Mernda and it was the Demons who led from go to whoa in an impressive win. It sets up a three-way tie at the top of the table with the teams all on nine wins.
The Demons now go to the bye and would fancy their chances of climbing into the top two as they play the five teams currently sitting outside the top four in the run home.
Reservoir and Lalor both were beaten by triple-figure scores on the weekend, but both teams improved on their Round 3 encounters with their respective opponents.
Lalor hosted Laurimar at Lalor Reserve and the Power moved to the top spot on the ladder with a 170-point triumph.
“Good to get the win after a fantastic defensive effort,” Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins said.
Atkins noted that Luke Wilson was enormous with plenty of disposals and three goals, he sits in outright first on the Coaches MVP Award leaderboard.
Angelo Lamanna’s men improved by 37 points from their loss to the Power in April, with Hayden Chapman impressing.
Reservoir journeyed to Heidelberg Park to play Heidelberg West and in a must-win game for the Hawks, they saluted to the tune of 128 points. The Mustangs fared 46 points better than in Round 3 when they went down to Heidelberg West by 174 points.
It was a tough start for Reservoir with three serious injuries by early in the second term. But they persisted, which was highlighted in the fourth term when they kicked two majors.
“The players never quit and I’m really proud of them for playing their hearts out,” Reservoir coach Justin George said. Regular high achievers Robert Holland and Zane Pugliese-Thompson were named among the best.
Marcus Hill excelled for the Hawks along with Zach Tranter in defence, while Billy Wright played his best game for the year.
But it was Nicholas Paton who drew special praise from coach Michael Missen.
“Credit to him for how hard he worked to get back from injury; he is a great leader around the club,” he said.
The four points will be vital for many sides as we head towards Round 13.
Kilmore comes off the bye to lock horns with Reservoir at Crispe Park.
The Blues will go in as firm favourites to win based on overall performances this season as well as their 116-point victory over Reservoir in Round 4 at J.J. Clancy Reserve.
The Mustangs have shown improved performances of late and took it right up to a premiership fancy in Kinglake on their home deck a fortnight ago, so they will aim for a similar output on Saturday.
Kinglake will be looking to return to the winner’s list when hosting Lalor at Kinglake Memorial Oval.
While the Lakers will be the hottest of favourites, the margin will be of interest to both sets of supporters.
The last clash between these teams resulted in a 170-point triumph for Kinglake at Lalor Reserve. Bloods fans would be hoping to continue their improvement from the first half of the season with a deficit of under 150 being a sign of progress.
The Lakers may need a percentage boost to help, as the battle for the top two spots looks like going deep into the regular season; plus this match-up looks to be the easiest for them from now until finals time.
Laurimar will be looking to keep their unbeaten run since the mid-season break alive when hosting the Fitzroy Stars at Laurimar Reserve.
It’s a must-win game for the Power as they look to consolidate their place atop the table.
All the form lines suggest a Laurimar victory, but the Stars went within a kick of upsetting the Turtles last week. Based on that effort, they would go into the clash with a measure of confidence.
The result of the game between Old Eltham Collegians and Heidelberg West at Eltham College will have a huge bearing on the makeup of the final four.
Currently, the Turtles sit a game ahead of the Hawks with a percentage gap of 34. But the Hawks will leapfrog the Turtles if they can win due to the match ratio as the Hawks have a game in hand.
While Michael Missen’s men could lose this week and still play finals, it would be a very tall order indeed to do so, as Heidelberg West still has games against the top three teams in the run home.
Conversely, if the Hawks win, they are right in the hunt for a finals spot, and it would be the fourth straight time that they’ve defeated the Turtles, going all the way back to 2021.
With so much at stake, both teams should be primed for a great contest.
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