BUNDOORA, VIC. (NFNL HQ). — There are important matches everywhere in the penultimate round of the Northern Football Netball League’s Division 2.
Macleod vs Old Paradians
The match of the round has Old Paradians heading to De Winton Reserve to take on the in-form Macleod.
The Roos had a dominant victory over Panton Hill last week, getting the job done by 63 points. Co-captain Darcy Barden kicked another five goals, taking his season total to 62, averaging just under four goals a game.
Macleod entered Round 16 last week sitting in seventh, and with other results falling their way, ended the round in fifth, so their finals hopes now lie in their own hands, as they are 19 per cent above Fitzroy Stars, with both teams being on 30 points.
Against the Redbacks, Zachary Hudson had 26 disposals, 22 contested possessions, 13 clearances and 196 ranking points. Jack Medley (22 disposals, 14 contested possessions, 7 clearances), Kurt Manuel (22 disposals, 11 contested possessions) and Kobe Brandt (22 disposals, 13 contested possessions) all found plenty of the ball last week and will be aiming to do the same this week.
The Raiders had a huge result last week, walking away from Bill Lawry Oval with a 73-point win over ladder-leading Northcote Park.
Star ruck Connor McDonald had another solid performance, notching up 27 disposals, 18 contested possessions, 13 clearances and 149 ranking points. Mitch Kane (30 disposals, 17 contested possessions and one goal), Noah Whittle (29 disposals, 12 contested possessions, seven tackles and one goal) and Joshua Iacobaccio (29 disposals and 7 contested possessions) were the picks of the bunch in the midfield for the Raiders. They will all be ones to look out for this week.
Fitzroy Stars vs St Mary’s
Fitzroy Stars host St Mary’s in an important clash for both sides’ finals and minor premiership hopes.
Fitzroy Stars got knocked out of the top five last week following a 17-point loss to South Morang. It was inaccurate kicking that let the Stars down, only being down by four points at three-quarter time, but kicking 1.7 to South Morang’s 4.2 in the last quarter.
It meant the Stars fell to sixth, being leapfrogged by Macleod; the two clubs are both on 30 points, as they drew in Round 14. But Macleod has the superior percentage by about 19 per cent, so the Stars will be desperate to win this one, or their finals hopes could be over by the end of the round.
Mingara Clark kicked three goals, and they had some high individual disposal numbers. Kain Proctor (33 disposals, 12 contested possessions and eight clearances), Lachlan Edwards (31 disposals, 14 marks and eight rebound 50s), James Trajkovski (31 disposals, 16 contested possessions and one goal) and Neville Jetta (27 disposals, nine marks and one goal), were all very important in the Stars efforts last week, and will want to replicate that this week.
For the ‘Burra, their chances of finishing first on the ladder and getting the week off in finals are still very much alive. Following their hard-fought victory over Thomastown last week, and Northcote Park’s loss, there is now a three-way tie on points in first place, each team being on 44 points. Northcote Park has the best percentage, then comes the ‘Burra, and South Morang sit in third. Interestingly, none of the three teams play each other in the last two rounds.
The ‘Burra’s match against Thomastown was not at all simple though; they found themselves 30 points down towards the end of the third quarter. They had to dig deep, and managed to kick the last four goals of the game. They hit the front at the 24-minute mark in the last quarter, and put through another one 81 seconds later for good measure.
Huon Macgibbon was the pick of the bunch for St Mary’s, grabbing 20 disposals, 16 contested possessions, seven tackles, seven clearances and a goal. Joshua Carelli (21 disposals, 8 contested possessions), Brayden Apostola (20 disposals, 13 contested possessions) and Ty Kitchell (19 disposals, 8 contested possessions) were all solid through the middle as well and will want to back up their performances.
South Morang vs Panton Hill
South Morang welcome Panton Hill to Mill Park Lakes in another big match for the minor premiership and relegation battles.
The Lions are back to equal points with Northcote Park and St Mary’s, but have the inferior percentage so will need to win both their remaining games, and likely by a bit of margin if they want any chance of finishing on top of the Division 2 table.
The Lions had more of a team performance last week, with 13 of their 23 having at least 15 disposals. Their highest disposal getter was Kobe Van Zwienen, who picked up 22. Davin Cameron (21 disposals, 10 contested possessions and three goals) and Demetrios Constantinou (21 disposals, 11 contested possessions) both had good afternoons themselves and will want to show something similar this week.
For the Redbacks, their survival chances in MC Labour Division 2 are hanging by a thread, being one win and 22 per cent behind Thomastown. They need to win both their games and hope the Bears are defeated in both of their games. It is a big mountain, but the chance is still there.
Whilst they had a tough loss to Macleod this week, they defeated Fitzroy Stars the week before, in what was a big result for the club, so that victory is definitely something they can be inspired by.
Oliver Parks kicked three goals, and in the ruck, Nicholas Parks had 45 hitouts and 10 hitouts to advantage, so those two will be hoping for another big match this week.
Thomastown vs Lower Plenty
Thomastown welcome Lower Plenty to Main St Reserve in the battle of the bears.
For Thomastown, a win would all but seal their survival as they are one win and 22 per cent ahead of Panton Hill at the moment, and if they win and the Redbacks lose, the job is done. Lower Plenty on the other hand, have lost six in a row and have found themselves slip down to eighth following a nail-biting one-point loss to Whittlesea last week. If they won that game, they would be sitting two points clear in fifth right now, this just proves how close the race is for fifth. Their chances at finals aren’t over just yet, but this is a must-win.
James Lucente slotted four goals in Thomastown’s eight-point loss to St Mary’s last week. Zain Yamak had another great performance, notching up 32 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 10 rebound 50s and a goal. He was helped out by Youseph Dib (23 disposals, 16 contested possessions and six clearances), Lawrence Lo Piccolo 22 disposals, 13 contested possessions and seven clearances) and Milad Almatrah (22 disposals and seven rebound 50s). They will all be very important for Thomastown this week.
Lower Plenty found themselves down by 27 points at half-time against Whittlesea last week, managed to get themselves ahead by ten points 20 minutes into the third term, eventually going into the final change with a three-point lead. But fell behind in the last term and eventually fell short at the final hurdle.
Jack Madgen (five goals, 20 disposals, 13 contested possessions) was the pick of the bunch for Lower Plenty, but he is an out this week, which is a big loss. Seth Hill had 54 hitouts and 14 hitouts to advantage, so he will be hoping for another dominant display in the ruck. Jasper Collins (26 disposals, 12 contested possessions and seven clearances) and Jack Hutchison (24 disposals and 13 rebound 50s) found plenty of the ball for Lower Plenty and will want to do the same this week.
The last time these two played each other in Round 9, it was Lower Plenty who got the win by five points at Lower Plenty Oval.
Whittlesea vs Northcote Park
Lastly, Whittlesea welcome Northcote Park to the Showgrounds in another must-win for the Eagles.
After their one-point win over Lower Plenty last week, they moved up above the Bears and into seventh spot on the ladder. They are on 28 points alongside Lower Plenty, but have 2.5 per cent over the Bears and are two points behind Macleod and Fitzroy Stars in fifth and sixth respectively, so they sit in a similar position to Lower Plenty.\
Caden Allen and Paul Higgins both kicked three goals for the Eagles. Mitchell Andrews (23 disposals and five tackles) and Thomas Falls (22 disposals, 15 contested possessions and six clearances) found a fair bit of the footy and will be looking to do something similar this week. Paul Higgins is an out, though for this week, but Angus Smith returns, who has 20 goals for the season.
Northcote Park has plenty of changes coming into this one; Matt Perry will be a welcome inclusion for the Cougars, he is averaging 25.2 disposals and 11.6 contested possessions in his 13 games so far this season. In a game where they will most likely need to win to stay in first place, Perry will be very important.
In their biggest loss of the season so far, James McArdle was a shining light, racking up 28 disposals, 9 marks and 7 rebound 50s. Captain, Dan Tallariti was also very good, getting 25 disposals, 12 contested possessions and 10 marks. Those two will be hoping to have a big output once again.
