Expect the unexpected ahead of what looks to be an entertaining run to the finish in the Northern Football Netball League’s second division.
South Morang will attempt to keep things close against Eltham when they do battle at Mill Park Lakes Reserve.
The Lions slumped to a third loss in the previous four games, after going down to top of the table Diamond Creek by 61 points at home last week.
That was despite some handy inclusions such as Joshua D’Intinosante, Mitchell Kalpakis and Aaron Lazaric. The latter was named in South Morang’s best, with the likes of Adam De Propertis and Gary Moorcorft also standing out in the defeat.
South Morang now drops to fourth as a result of the Round 13 loss and are now just two games clear of sixth-placed Northcote Park.
They will hope to get back on the winner’s list this Saturday against an Eltham outfit who have had to grind out victories of late.
Their latest opponent to keep things competitive was Epping, who actually led by eight points at the main break in their clash at Eltham Central Park before the Panthers kicked seven goals to three in the final two terms to finish as victors for the seventh consecutive week.
Daniel Owen’s four majors proved vital, as did the performance of Jesse Donaldson, whose 10 Coaches MVP Award votes from the weekend has seen him jump into fourth spot on the leaderboard.
But Tim Bongetti’s men will hope to see some of the dominance that was on display from his men earlier in the year.
Their 45-point win over Thomastown a fortnight ago is the only victory they’ve had over 20 points since Round 9. They’ve also averaged just 73.9 points in that five-game span, compared to their opening five matches of the season where they averaged just over 107 points a game.
This is expected to be another game that impacts the final look of the top five.
Both Thomastown and Northcote Park will be eying off a return to the winner’s list ahead of their crucial match at Main Street Recreation Reserve.
Losses from both these teams last weekend has seen them sit outside the top five, meaning a victory will be vital for either side’s finals hopes.
After a terrific performance against South Morang in Round 11, the Bears have suffered two disappointing defeats, most recently to Watsonia away from home.
The shining light in the loss was again Lawrence Lopiccolo who has now risen into the top five of the Coaches MVP Award leaderboard and has been named in his side’s best in eight of his 13 games in 2023.
Todd Hughes’ solid form since returning to the senior side has also continued, with eight majors from his three games so far, Captain Anthony Capeci has also kicked goals in every game since Round 7 and has 25 for the campaign.
They’ll need to be firing on all cylinders if they’re to get over a Northcote Park side just as desperate as them to grab four points.
The Cougars had their chances against St Mary’s in Round 13, with scores level between the two sides at three-quarter time, before the Burra burst through to win by eight points.
James Tadd was again superb in what has been a brilliant patch of form for the 2023 recruit, while despite finishing with 1.5, Alex Boyse illustrated just how dangerous he can be up forward when he starts to get going.
Stephen Saddington’s men are still one of three teams yet to score 900 points in 2023 and their task of kicking a winning score will be made tougher by facing the fourth-best-ranked defensive side in the competition on Saturday.
But Northcote Park has conceded fewer points than the Bears and did defeat them by 16 points in Round 5 suggesting a more evenly poised match can be expected.
Epping will hope their improved form of late can turn into a win when they take on a fired-up Watsonia at Epping Recreation Reserve.
The Blues pushed last year’s Grand Finalists to their limit in Round 13, leading by eight points at halftime before falling by 19 points.
They also trailed by just four points at three-quarter time in their last clash with Watsonia in Round 5 before conceding the final six goals of the match.
Epping’s two best players that night were Damon Hollow and Matthew Mikic, who featured in their side’s loss to Eltham and will be looked upon to play similar roles this weekend.
Daniel Rakhlin has also kicked multiple goals in three of his last four games, taking his season tally to 19, while Leigh Judd has been named in his side’s best in eight of 13 games.
All signs lead to another competitive effort against the Saints on Saturday, but after suddenly jumping into the fifth spot following their triumph over Thomastown, Watsonia has hit a second wind.
George Lattouf’s side led at each break in the victory over the Bears and moved into the top five despite failing to beat a side above them so far in 2023.
The key to their side’s success has certainly been competition-leading goalkicker James Lucente who is not only kicking goals but is starting to get the coach’s attention also, as he currently sits third in the MVP Award race.
But if they’re to make an appearance in September, the Saints will need nothing short of four points on Saturday, as they still have to face South Morang, Eltham, Northcote Park and Diamond Creek to round out the season, making for a huge finish.
Epping has plenty to play for too, particularly after Lower Plenty’s win last week, as they have moved to the bottom of the ladder.
Plenty of attention will be on Panton Hill’s response to their shock loss last week when they host top-of-the-table Diamond Creek at A.E. Cracknell Reserve.
A late attempted comeback couldn’t stop an inspired Lower Plenty outfit, who picked up their first win of the campaign after defeating the Redbacks by four points.
That was despite Riley Livingstone proving almost impossible to stop inside 50, kicking eight majors and nearly singlehandedly winning the match for his side.
Livingstone has 31 goals for the season and incredibly, has kicked just over 46% of Panton Hill’s total majors since Round 9.
Other efforts from Nicholas and Oliver Parks were impressive in the loss to the Bears, but they’ll need all 22 players to contribute if they’re to defeat Diamond Creek and move back up from the eighth spot.
Simon Amore’s side is still the only team to defeat the Creekers’ in 2023 after a shock win in Round 5, but this Diamond Creek side has gone to another level since that loss.
It was again highlighted in a dominant 61-point win over South Morang away from home last week, where they registered 28 scoring shots or more for a fourth consecutive week.
This time it was the likes of Tyler Barnes and Sage Dicello finding the big sticks with three apiece, complimenting the performances of Jacob Booth and Mitch Tobin well.
Another win on the weekend will equal Diamond Creek’s win tally from the 2022 home and away campaign and if they back that up with a triumph over Eltham the following week, they will equal their points tally in 2017 where they reached the Grand Final.
The Redbacks will be determined to respond to last week, but it would be a monumental effort to topple the red-hot Creekers.
The newly third-placed St Mary’s can make it five wins from their last six matches if they can defeat Lower Plenty at Whatmough Park.
The Burra rallied hard to defeat Northcote Park in last week’s Match of the Day, and their efforts were rewarded by moving up to third position.
While Joshua Carelli’s final term heroics were rightly credited with the win, the work of Jack Bianchin and Lachlan Read also played big roles in securing the victory.
St Mary’s are now in an excellent position to book their first-ever appearance in the Division 2 finals series, with Diamond Creek being the only current top-five side they have to face in the run home.
But they’ll need to stay focused on the task at hand and ensure they pick up the four points against the drought breakers in Lower Plenty last week.
In their best performance of the season to date, Phil Plunkett’s men held on to win by four points over Panton Hill and end a 14-game losing streak.
It was a genuine team effort, with three majors each to Liam Riley and Jed Wallace as well as terrific games from Jordan Sacco and Brixton Timewell helping Lower Plenty off the bottom of the ladder.
With some much-needed confidence, the Bears will look to make a charge towards survival.
