By Tash Gunawardana
Premier Women’s:
Donvale Black vs Vermont: Donvale Black resumes its season against Vermont at Donvale Reserve. Vermont (played 10 matches, won five and lost five) is currently second last on the ladder, whereas Donvale Black (played nine matches, won two and lost seven) lingers in last. Donvale Black’s defence will need to be at their best if they are any chance of stopping Premier leading goal kicker Evie Allman, who has 23 goals for season 2021 Tip: Vermont
Chirnside Park Black vs South Croydon Blue: Chirnside Park Black and South Croydon Blue will playoff in the Premier Women’s match of the round at Kimberley Reserve. On the ladder, both teams are equal second with South Croydon Blue ahead on percentage in second and Chirnside Park Black in third. The game for Chirnside Park Black will be won by their defensive stocks because they will need to stop the powerful scoring of Katie Shanahan (second on the goal kicking list) with 14 goals and Jaimee Field (sixth on the goal kicking list) with 10 goals. Also, South Croydon Blue have three players that have kicked a handful of goals including Katie Prendergast and Taylah Black with eight goals each and Tanikka Martin with seven goals. If Chirnside Park Black stop the powerful scoring of South Croydon Blue than they might be able to bring home the victory considering they have the home ground advantage too. Whichever team wins on Saturday, they will go outright second on the ladder with five wins. Tip: South Croydon Blue
Blackburn Black – bye
Division One Women’s:
Rowville vs Boronia Brown: Rowville hosts Boronia Brown at Seebeck Oval. Boronia Brown currently sits in sixth place (equal fourth alongside Park Orchards and Berwick) and a win over Rowville this weekend could mean they could climb as high as fourth or fifth if other results go their way. It has been a tough season for Rowville, as they have only managed two wins and are second last. On their home deck, it will be interesting to see if the home ground advantage helps Rowville to pull off an unlikely win over Boronia Brown. Tip: Boronia Brown
Park Orchards vs SBL Wolves: SBL Wolves travel to Stintons Reserve to play against Park Orchards. The last time the two sides met was way back in Round 6 of this season and SBL Wolves won by 26-points at Belgrave South Recreation Reserve, so Park Orchards will hope that SBL Wolves will not be able to come away with a 2-0 record for the year. Isabelle Pollock was the standout in Round 6 for Park Orchards with three goals and she is Park Orchards leading goal scorer with 14 goals, so Park Orchards will be hoping for another huge game from her on Saturday, but they will need other players to step up if they are chance of defeating SBL Wolves for the first time this season. SBL Wolves had six individual goal kickers in the two sides last meeting, and they hope they can spread the goal scoring load once again. Tip: Park Orchards
Ferntree Gully vs Berwick: A mouth-watering clash awaits us at Wally Tew Reserve between the top of the ladder Ferntree Gully and the fifth placed Berwick. Berwick have a lot on the line, they must keep on winning if they want to keep in touch with the top four and have a chance of playing finals with three rounds left. On the other hand, Ferntree Gully will feature in finals action this season as they have nine wins and have only dropped one game.
Ahead of the highly anticipated game, Ferntree Gully women’s coach Tim Cavanagh provided his thoughts on Berwick.
“We’re expecting a really hard-fought outing this weekend vs Berwick,” he said.
“Knowing they are in the mix for the top four we expect that they’ll bring a finals type intensity to the game, and we’ll have to be at our best to get the win.
“They had a pretty convincing win the other week against Boronia, who we know are a good side, so we know at their best Berwick are a very good team not to be taken lightly.”
Cavanagh expects the game to be won at the contest due to rain being forecasted on Saturday.
“We pride ourselves on this area of the game, being first to the footy and winning the contested possessions, so hopefully we bring that same energy again this week,” he continued.
“No doubt with the expected conditions winning contested ball will be absolutely pivotal to who’s on top at the final siren.”
Cavanagh said that “we are just stoked to be playing again on Saturday after another lockdown.
“Our group genuinely love spending time together, and love competing, so just to have that opportunity back we are bloody rapt.
“We were a bit anxious about what might happen to the season after this lockdown, and all breathed a sigh of relief with things opening back up this week and with the positive announcements from the EFNL,” he further explained. “So, we’ll be absolutely jumping out of our skins to play again come Saturday given it would have been three weeks since our last game.”
Berwick coach, Matt De Poilly also shared his thoughts ahead of the big game.
“Really looking forward to being back again,” he continued.
“Last time we played Ferntree Gully they taught us a few lessons so we’re looking to rectify that.
“The game will be won on effort and energy this week, after three days’ notice the girls are just eager to be playing again.” Tip: Ferntree Gully
East Ringwood vs North Ringwood: It’s the battle of the east and north of Ringwood, as East Ringwood take on North Ringwood at East Ringwood Reserve. Both teams have the equal number of wins with two and North Ringwood are above East Ringwood purely based on percentage in eighth whilst East Ringwood is last. The two sides played last in round five and East Ringwood came away with the nine-point triumph in what a hard-fought game. East Ringwood and North Ringwood are evenly matched, so expect this match to go down to wire once again like in round five. Tip: North Ringwood
Whitehorse Suns vs The Basin: Whitehorse Suns will look to resume its season after another lockdown with a victory over the second placed The Basin at Springfield Park. The match will be won in attack because both teams have players who are in the top five goal kickers in Division One including current goal kicking leader, The Basin’s Julia Baker with 30 goals, third is Whitehorse Suns’ Isabella Gietzmann with 21 goals and fourth is Michaela Holford-Moss. With these players, expect this game to be a strong attacking game of women’s football. Tip: The Basin
Division Two Women’s:
Knox vs Montrose: Knox and Montrose will meet at Knox Gardens Reserve. Knox will hope Jorja Alexander will have her kicking boots on, as she currently leads the goal kicking for them with seven goals and they will also need Kristen O’Neill (currently six goals) to have an impact. For Montrose, they will need Katie Cameron (seven goals), Kayla Eslick (five goals) and Rachel Hardy (five goals) to score goals because they have been their go to forward targets all season. Knox are currently third on the ladder and Montrose fifth, so a win for Knox will mean they will be able to remain in third and keep Heathmont at bay whereas if Montrose secure the victory, they will be able to go equal third with Knox and Heathmont. A lot is on the line come Saturday with only three rounds left. Tip: Knox
Kilsyth vs Heathmont: A high quality contest awaits us at Pinks Reserve, as the second placed Kilsyth hosts the fourth placed Heathmont. Kilsyth will head into the match as favourites but do not be surprised if Heathmont bring home the four points. Kilsyth has the competitions third leading goal kicker Elise Hoole in their team, and she has 10 goals, so they will need her to have a day out along with Lucy Milkeraitis, Shae Dale, and Brooke Stephenson-Fuss. Heathmont’s defensive stocks will have their hands full if they do not stand strong from the start of the match, as Kilsyth have many players who can score heavily. Tip: Kilsyth
Ringwood vs Surrey Park: Surrey Park will look to cause an unlikely upset and be the first team to defeat Ringwood this season at Jubilee Park. While it seems like a tough task on paper for Surrey Park, big upsets have happened before in footy and who knows the bottom placed team could breakthrough with the victory. Tip: Ringwood
Division Three:
Croydon North MLOC vs Coldstream: Croydon North MLOC hosts Coldstream at Hughes Park. It looks like this match will be a completely one-sided affair considering Croydon North MLOC has six wins and Coldstream have only managed two wins for the year. Coldstream will need to play the best football they have all season and kick a winning score if they are any chance are toppling Croydon North MLOC. Goals have been hard to come by Coldstream, so if they fix this up than the result may work in their favour. Also, Coldstream will need to halt the scoring impact of Croydon North MLOC’s forward duo Gabrielle Zappia and Hailee Stokes, they have 16 goals each. Tip: Croydon North
South Croydon Red vs Blackburn Red: It is the top of the table clash in Division Three with South Croydon Red (first) taking on Blackburn Red (second). South Croydon Red brought home the chocolates by eight points when the two sides last met in round two. If there round two clash and season form is anything to go by, we are in for one of a hell of a contest. Tip: South Croydon Red
Chirnside Park Gold vs FairPark: Chirnside Park Gold will look to secure their eight victory of the season over FairPark at Kimberley Reserve. FairPark will go a long way to winning if they stop Division Three goal kicking leader Meghan Stephens who currently has 19 goals, fourth – Rachael Palmer has 14 goals and sixth – Sarah Jones has 11 goals. If FairPark’s defence stands up to Chirnside Park Gold’s solid attack, then we could be in for a close encounter or FairPark could even win. Tip: Chirnside Park Gold
Boronia Gold – bye