By Tash Gunawardana
Premier Division:
Mount Evelyn vs Eastern Devils: Mount Evelyn hosts the undefeated Eastern Devils at Mount Evelyn Reserve on Saturday. It will take Mount Evelyn’s best to topple the ladder leaders Eastern Devils, but they do have the home ground advantage working in their favour. Mount Evelyn will go a long way to winning the match if they stop the influence of Eastern Devils forward Shelley Beggs who is third on the Premier Women’s Division goalkicking leader board.
Tip: Eastern Devils
South Croydon vs SBL Wolves: SBL Wolves travels to Cheong Park to play South Croydon. South Croydon are currently third on the ladder and if they win Saturday on their home deck than they could move to second on the ladder or equal second depending on how other results go across the league.
South Croydon – “We were outclassed in stages last week against a very talented Devils side,” Coach Simon Hammersley said. “Their skills were incredible, and certainly leaves us some work to do in trying to close the gap.”
“SBL this week on our home deck will be another challenge after they beat us up the hill earlier in the year. The division is so even, so we must be at our best every week and keep working on improving our brand of footy in every game.”
Tip: South Croydon
Premier B:
Boronia vs Vermont: Boronia and Vermont face each other for what is the Premier and Premier B crossover match at Tormore Reserve. In Premier B, Boronia are currently fourth on the ladder with three wins and in Premier, Vermont sits second with five wins hoping to create some extra breathing space from third placed South Croydon.
Vermont – “We’re keen to atone for last week’s loss and will be wary of Boronia who had a good win last week,” Coach Tim Da Silveria said.
Tip: Vermont
Donvale vs Ferntree Gully: Second placed Donvale tackles the last placed Ferntree Gully at Donvale Reserve. Donvale will head into the match as huge favourites as Ferntree Gully are winless in 2022 and it is hard to see where their first win will come from. Ferntree Gully’s defence will need to stand tall and strong as they will have powerful Donvale forward duo Jasmine D’Amato and Monica Latino to deal with.
Ferntree Gully – “Looking forward to playing Donvale at their ground this week, a venue we’ve never played at before,” Coach Tim Cavanagh said. “We played some really good footy last week vs Boronia and we’re confident we’ll take that good form in to this week’s game and give it a real shake.”
Tip: Donvale
Whitehorse vs The Basin: Whitehorse plays against The Basin at Springfield Park, and this looks like it will be the Premier B match of the round with top of the table The Basin tackling the third placed Whitehorse. Based off both teams form in 2022, all we can say is this will be a great spectacle of women’s footy, and we cannot wait for Saturday!
Whitehorse’s defensive structure will need to bring their A-game, as they will need try and put a halt to The Basin’s and current goal kicking leader Julia Baker who has kicked 27 goals this season and nine last weekend.
The Basin – “Playing under lights this week against Whitehorse,” Captain Julia Baker said. “After a great four quarter performance last week against Donvale, we are keen to continue that form this week. Whitehorse have a few key players and shutting them down will be pivotal if we want to win this clash.”
Tip: The Basin
Division One Women’s:
Blackburn vs Beaconsfield: Blackburn and Beaconsfield clash at Morton Park. Blackburn are winless this season and they will be eager to notch up their first win on their home turf against Beaconsfield, but they will need put their best foot forward to do so as Beaconsfield are fourth on the Division One ladder with two wins and a draw. Stranger things have happened in footy, so who knows maybe an upset is on the cards. Do you think Blackburn can cause an upset?
Tip: Beaconsfield
Rowville vs Ringwood: The undefeated Rowville hosts the sixth placed Ringwood at Seebeck Oval. Rowville have showed all season long that they are the premier team in Division One with their ball movement, the way they play up forward and down back. They also have the current Division One goal kicking leader Danielle Brotto who has had a stellar season with 16 goals.
Tip: Rowville
Chirnside Park vs North Ringwood: North Ringwood travels to Kimberley Reserve to play Chirnside Park on Saturday afternoon. Expect Chirnside Park to take it up to North Ringwood as they are playing on their home ground, and they know if they are victorious on Saturday then they could be one game away from North Ringwood on the ladder.
North Ringwood – “This week we face Chirnside Park ahead of a two-week break,” Coach Jules Hanson said. “We are keen to secure the four points against a team we respect in a very even competition.”
Tip: North Ringwood
Park Orchards – BYE
Division Two Women’s:
Heathmont vs Knox: The undefeated Knox take on Heathmont at HE Parker Reserve. Knox has two players in the top five Division Two leading goal kickers including Jorja Alexander (12 goals and third) and Ashleigh Hall (7 goals and fourth). They also have three other players in the Division Two top 20 goal kicking table, so Heathmont will need to stand tall and strong defensively if they are any chance of winning or coming even close to Knox. If one forward is down for Knox, they have another forward to stand up. Knox have plenty of forwards who can kick goals when needed making them a formidable side and the Premier team in Division Two.
Heathmont – “After last week’s incredible win with only 16 players we come up against the strongest team in our division,” coach Kane Mactier said. “We were very competitive last time around and have full confidence that we will challenge Knox again.”
Knox – “Last week’s game vs Surrey Park was tough and proved there wasn’t much between the two teams,” Coach PJ said. “I was really impressed with Ella Ritchie’s game in the back half and Nikki Whitten’s game in the midfield. This week we have Heathmont who have scored more goals against us than any other team in a game this season and we will have to be at our best to push for another win.”
Tip: Knox
Montrose vs Surrey Park: Montrose tackles Surrey Park at Montrose Recreation Reserve and will be hoping they can get back on the winners list in front of their home faithful and record their second win of the season over Surrey Park. Surrey Park know that plenty is on the line for them and if they win on Saturday, they could go equal second with East Ringwood dependent upon other results in the competition.
Montrose: “Unfortunately, we came up very short against a dominant and well drilled side in East Ringwood, who are my pick for the best in the competition at the moment – strong right across the ground.
“We’ve got to pick ourselves up again, much like we did from a similar loss in Round One against Knox. Surrey Park, even though they haven’t been as dominant as they were at the start of the season, will come out firing again.”
Tip: Surrey Park
Kilsyth vs East Ringwood: A top four clash is taking place at Pinks Reserve between East Ringwood and Kilsyth. Kilsyth’s team will need to have a plan in place to stop the scoring power of East Ringwood as East Ringwood has the two Division Two goal kicking leaders including first placed Nicola Davidson (17 goals) and second placed Hayley Thompson (13 goals) respectively. It will take Kilsyth’s best to stop East Ringwood, but if they have belief then who knows they could hand East Ringwood their third loss of the season.
Kilsyth – “We had a poor start last week against Heathmont,” Coach Clint Martin said. “It’s something we’re working on. We are home this week to a polished East Ringwood outfit. They are a high scoring side with plenty of run. The girls are looking to improve on last week’s performance.”
East Ringwood – “We’ve been in some great form lately and football is a lot of fun when you’re winning,” Coach Adrian Fittolani said. “There’s no room for complacency though. Kilsyth will be stung after last week’s loss will be and looking to right their ledger. We need to bring it, no doubt.”
Tip: East Ringwood
Division Three Women’s:
East Burwood vs Croydon North MLOC: East Burwood Reserve hosts the Division Three top of the table clash on Saturday between East Burwood and Croydon North MLOC. All we can say is bring on Saturday, as this clash will be mouth-watering between two high quality and the premier teams. Both teams have powerful forward lines, so we should expect a high scoring and finals type contest. East Burwood will get the win but only just because of the home ground advantage.
East Burwood – “Really looking forward to a good match up this weekend,” Coach Ali Rock said. “We know Croydon North MLOC will bring a tough competition and we are looking forward to playing them for the second time this season.”
Tip: East Burwood
Fairpark vs Mooroolbark: Fairpark hosts Mooroolbark at Fairpark Reserve. It is the bottom of the table match between two sides that have struggled all season long, with Mooroolbark still yet to win this season and Fairpark only securing one win this season. The contest will be evenly matched, so expect a tight game.
Tip: Fairpark
Nunawading vs Coldstream: Nunawading faces off against Coldstream at Koonung Reserve. Both teams are on the same number of wins with three, but Coldstream boasts a higher percentage of 90.53 compared to Nunawading’s low percentage of 43.13. Expect this match to be relatively close, as on paper the two teams are quite even.
Tip: Nunawading
Mitcham – BYE
Division Four Women’s
Boronia Gold vs Vermont Gold: Boronia Gold takes on Vermont Gold at Tormore Reserve. Vermont Gold currently sitting atop of the ladder and with six wins and one loss and Boronia Gold are sitting at the bottom with no wins. Based off the ladder and on form this season, you would say that Vermont Gold will cruise to an easy victory but never count out Boronia Gold on their home ground. Can Boronia Gold secure their first win of the season?
Vermont Gold – “Looking forward to seeing how much the development team has improved since our round 3 game against Boronia,” Coach Brett Munyard said.
Tip: Vermont Gold
The Basin Green vs Eastern Devils Black: The Basin Green plays on their home ground at The Batterham Reserve against Eastern Devils Black. Expect The Basin Green to come out with fight and fury because they know that if they defeat Eastern Devils Black then they can move to equal second with Eastern Devils Black and share the same number of wins with them. Eastern Devils Black know that they will need to be on their guard as a result, but they have a lot on the line too as a win on Saturday could make them equal first with The Basin depending on how other results go in Division Four.
The Basin Green – “This week’s game presents us with a big challenge as we face another top side,” Coach Kirsty McConnell said. “We are yet to play the Devils, but we also know that by focusing on our agenda and our goals, we can find success within our ongoing development and growth as a group.”
Tip: Eastern Devils Black
South Croydon Red vs SBL Wolves Teal: South Croydon Red hosts SBL Wolves Teal at Cheong Park. It should be an easy victory for South Croydon Red as they know that a win this round could help them move to equal second alongside with Eastern Devils Black if other results go their way. South Croydon Red should head into the match as heavy favourites, but do not underestimate SBL Wolves Teal as upsets do occur.
Tip: South Croydon Red
