In this week’s Eastland In and Under column, Media Manager Ryan Long gives you his key takeaways from the weekend.
How exciting is Premier Division this year!
We’ve said this multiple times already this year but how good is it to see Premier Division so even this year.
Past the halfway point of the season now, there is still almost nothing separating the top seven sides of the division. Six clubs will make the finals this year but the top six may not be decided until the final week or two of the season.
Vermont, despite a five-goal win on the weekend over Berwick, will be heading into a month of make-or-break, season-defining footy. They host Rowville and Doncaster East before heading to Balwyn and then meeting Doncaster back at Vermont Recreation Reserve.
They’ll be sweating on the return of former Chandler Medallist, Lachlan Johns, amongst others as they enter arguably their most difficult three-week stretch of the season.
Blackburn has won six out of their last eight matches, yet they sit Seventh with a difficult fortnight of games against Balwyn and Noble Park. However, if they manage to break even or even pinch both, they’re set up in an ideal position for another finals series appearance, set to play four of the bottom five sides through the back end of July, into August.
The other interesting aspect is the top-two finish.
Rowville and Noble Park saw first-hand last year, how vital the double chance was in their chances of making the Grand Final. Currently, East Ringwood is a game and percentage on top but they certainly don’t look invincible. Just three weeks ago, Balwyn sat in top position, but a couple of losses have the Tigers dropping back all the way to sixth.
Not impossible to win it from outside the top two but all sides in finals contention right now will be desperate to finish there come Round 18.
Hungry Cougars
Kilsyth has cemented their spot on top of the Division Four ladder with a 31-point win over Surrey Park on the weekend.
With thirty minutes to play, the Cougars led by just four points before kicking four final-term goals while keeping the Panthers goalless. Their experienced players stood up when needed with Sean Currey’s role around the ground in ruck contests paying dividends for Kilsyth. Ryan McNay was spectacular across the afternoon, particularly in his clearance work while Jayden Weichard fought hard all afternoon with Josh Durand paying close attention to him over the afternoon.
A spirited final quarter from Declan Lamb also gave the Cougars a nice lift, with two goals and the game finished with a Nathan Van Vegten Mark of the Year contender!
They were challenged by the Panthers in what was an arm wrestle early. The home side lifted their intensity late in the third quarter to give themselves a chance, but it was the bigger bodies of Kilsyth that outworked the younger Panthers players in tough conditions, hard at the ball all afternoon.
The loss of Jacob Woodfull for the Panthers in the early stages of the second quarter, certainly did them no favours for their ruck stocks. They’ll need to bounce back next week when they host Forest Hill to avoid a fourth consecutive loss.
As for the Cougars, a win on the road against another contending side puts the club in a position where it’s very unlikely to see them missing out on the double chance.
The race for the finals has certainly heated up in recent weeks after Chirnside Park’s win last week. They’re still a game behind fourth-placed Forest Hill with the two sides set to meet once more in Round 14.
Lion Cub’s day out
On Saturday, Fairpark kept their finals hopes alive with a tight seven-point win over Silvan at home.
The seniors’ win capped off a great day for the club with all four Lions teams celebrating wins.
One player that was influential all day was youngster Jay Rankin who kicked a total of 14 goals across two matches. Earlier on Saturday in the Under 19’s, Rankin finished with a total of nine majors, where the Lions came from behind in the final quarter to defeat Blackburn by less than a kick.
He backed it up in the afternoon, playing an influential role for the senior side, booting another five majors. Six games at senior level for the Lions this season, where Rankin has been in the best a total of five times.
The 18-year-old wasn’t the only Lion to stand up on Saturday with some of their experienced talent in the Nied brothers and Joshua Allison also in the best.
Fairpark’s win over Silvan in an eight-point game has the Lions in fifth position on the Division Three ladder.
