Eastland In + Under – Week Nine

By Matt Fotia

Local football means a lot to all of us and here at the EFNL we’re committed to giving you the analysis it deserves in the weekly Eastland In and Under column, where Media Manager Matt Fotia gives you his three key takeaways from the weekend that was.

1. Give it up for Kyle.

There’s plenty going on in the Premier Division this season, especially in the forward arcs.

Balwyn’s duo of Charlie Haley and Jordan Lisle are giving most teams plenty of headaches, Noble Park are still trying to find the perfect combination despite starring roles from veterans Ziggie Alwan and Shayne Allan, Doncaster East have got some more than handy weapons, as do Rowville, plus South Croydon’s James Wilsen is always a threat.

But after eight rounds it’s hard to look past Doncaster’s Kyle Viccars as the forward of the year thus far, with his 23 goals placing him third on the leaderboard, as the Waverley junior makes the most of limited opportunities.

Weighing 50 kilograms ringing wet and measuring up as around four feet – this is hyperbole if you’re reading Kyle – Viccars has starred across the opening two months of the year for the Sharks, who grabbed a massive win against Rowville on the weekend.

The crafty forward is averaging 13 disposals a game in 2022, to go with 2.6 inside 50’s and 4 score involvements. He’s been named in the Sharks best six times from a possible eight, winning their best on ground twice.

Incredibly his goal scoring output has increased as his disposal count has diminished.

A fortnight ago he kicked all five of his side’s goals in a big loss to Noble Park, despite collecting just eight disposals. On Saturday he had eight touches once again, this time kicking 4.3.

For those playing at home, that’s 9.3 from his last 16 disposals.

Still not impressed? Viccars plays for the 11^th best attack in Division.

Doncaster have exceeded many people’s expectations thus far this season and Kyle Viccars’ ruthless antics are a key part of it.

2. Off the Canvas

It’d been a tough month for Forest Hill.

The Zebras hadn’t won since April 30 – when they comfortably defeated Nunawading – and dealt with some inevitable, if very unfair, stick for going down to Croydon North MLOC the following week.

Things were getting desperate coming into Saturday.

The Zebras had conceded 348 points from their previous three games and were playing a Kilsyth side buoyed by their recent win over Surrey Park and their emergence as a finals contender.

Down by three goals at half time, Justin Scicluna’s group rallied, kicking eight goals to four after the main break to sneak home by two points and break their winless run.

This win wasn’t just big in the context of this season – it put the Zebras back into the top four – but just in general for the club.

Their trials and tribulations over the past eight or nine years have been obvious and a loss on the weekend would have seen them sink to second bottom on the ladder, a place that has proved to be very hard to get out of for other clubs of their stature.

A win next week against Surrey Park will see them pull level on points with the Panthers and likely move all the heat onto them.

Saturday’s second half comeback could be a major turning point, not just for this season, but for years to come.

3. Squaring the ledger

Heathmont kept themselves in the finals picture on Saturday, rolling a resurgent Templestowe by 50 points out at H.E Parker Reserve.

The Jets kicked four goals to one in the first quarter and repeated this dominance in the third term, snagging five majors to Templestowe’s nil.

Joel Burleigh (28 disposals and 2 goals) and Fin Brown (15 and 3) led the way as the Jets won the disposal and contested disposal count, took more intercept marks, had more inside 50’s and laid more effective tackles than the Dockers despite the score line.

The win sees them sit 7^th on the ladder, half a game and percentage behind Boronia (5^th) and The Basin (6^th) and a full four points behind 4^th placed Mulgrave, meaning their finals aspirations still lay in their hands, something they would’ve found hard to believe after their 98-point loss to Boronia a month ago.

The Jets will need to improve massively in games against the top six in the back half of the season if they’re to have any hope of seeing September action. They’ve won just one of those six games – against The Basin – and have lost four of the other five by five goals or more.

Their other loss – to Ringwood – came after they conceded seven of the last eight goals.

By the time they host Knox in Round 15, Heathmont will know their finals fate, as they face South Belgrave, The Basin, Ringwood, Mulgrave, and Boronia in the next five weeks.

These next five weeks will decide whether they’ll be pulling on the boots on August 20, or if they’ll be planning some early spring holidays.