By Matt Fotia
Warrandyte’s big man conundrum, the curious case of Blackburn’s home record, Mooroolbark’s big month, plus South Belgrave’s attacking force and closing the gap in Division Four.
1.Using Big Buckets
Warrandyte’s boom recruit ahead of the 2020 non season was ex Vermont and Upper Ferntree Gully forward Ryan Phillips, and in his first month and half for the Bloods he’s been just that – a boom recruit, with 24 goals in six games.
A hulking figure who is usually reliable in front of goal, Phillips is going to get a hold of a defender or two if he and the Bloods stay in this division in the future.
However, due to his lack of agility, compared to East Burwood’s Jai Middleton or Glen Waverley’s Adam Amin, Phillips is prone to being shutdown by some good team defence, which is exactly what happened on Saturday in the first half when East Burwood’s defenders – most notably Max Wills – looked to leave their man and help Ed Rixton out when the ball was pumped in long, creating a two on one situation.
Credit must go to Paul Donahoo, who after giving it another go in the second quarter, decided to move Phillips up the ground and use him as a fulcrum further around the wing, meaning East Burwood’s defence had to change their thought process.
It paid big dividends with the Bloods booting seven goals in the second half to run out fairly comfortable winners and climb into top spot.
Phillips has 17 more goals than the next best at Warrandyte (Michael Cullum – 7 goals) and will be expecting the same treatment from most clubs for the foreseeable future.
So the next step for Donahoo is develop two things; get his forward line working with more versatility like they did on Saturday and get his midfielders to lower their eyes rather than getting ‘Bucket’s centric’.
2.Centre Clearance Crisis
Blackburn currently sit fifth on the Premier Division ladder with a 3-3 record, a game adrift of third and fourth albeit having played one extra match.
Alarmingly, the Panthers are yet to get a win on the board at home, with their new rooms still to be christened.
Whilst some can jokingly suggest that the new rooms are cursed, one stat suggests that the Burners aren’t giving their defenders much chance in front of their home crowd.
Not exactly a massive ground, Morton Park is a prime venue for centre clearance scores, whether that be midfielders bursting out of the centre square to launch from beyond the arc themselves or hitting a target on the lead, it’s very hard for defenders to do much if their opposition get a clean break from the bounce.
In each of their home losses, the Burners have lost the centre clearances.
In Round Two South Croydon had 16 to their nine, in Round Four Balwyn had 12 to their nine and this weekend Noble Park had 12 to their five.
Further to this point in their tight one point win over Doncaster East in Round One, the Burners lost this stat 11 to six.
Their two convincing wins have come against North Ringwood and Doncaster and in both cases they dominated the centre clearances, winning them 12 to seven against the Sharks and 10 to six against the Saints.
Blackburn have some elite midfield talent, with the likes of Ben Daniher, Nicholas Gray and Jason Read all putting up some good clearance numbers, so you can expect this to be reversible, but they’d want to reverse it soon, with home wins becoming more and more crucial in an increasingly even Premier Division season.
3.Mustangs Big Month
How times can change. Just three weeks ago Mooroolbark were absolutely flying, undefeated on top of the ladder, fresh off a strong win over Mitcham away from home.
Fast forward to the present day and the Mustangs have dropped to fifth (below Mitcham) having lost their last three games by a total of 153 points, with their last fortnight particularly bad, kicking just 70 points whilst conceding 220.
Not to suggest any of this is due to being overrated or getting ahead of themselves.
The Mustangs have been hurt by injuries to key players and with the return of the NAB League along with some declining availability from their VFL players, the boys at the Heights have had their depth severely tested.
Leaders Aaron Mullett and Kane Noonan are continuing their incredible 2021 form, but are now being asked to do a lot more of the work as their fellow A Graders watch from afar, either injured or playing elsewhere.
This weekend’s clash with Montrose now looms as a massive one for Brett Lavars men.
Get that steadying win and they’ll be able to refocus ahead of a more winnable three week period, which includes Upper Ferntree Gully, Lilydale and Bayswater.
Lose and the pressure will keep mounting on their depleted list and might turn those winnable games into potential banana skins.
4.Attacking Trident
South Belgrave’s intentions and creditinals were no surprise to anyone in Division Two, and despite a mini wobble, the Saints are in the top four after the first ‘cycle’ of fixtures.
They were scintillating on Saturday, showing no signs of complacency against the Dockers as they piled on a score that gave their percentage a big enough boost to get them back in to the top four, following Boronia’s loss to Ringwood.
Percentage is looming as a deciding factor in the race for the Division Two finals and the Saints are a side that is well placed to be the beneficiaries of it.
They’re the number one attack in the Division, scoring 86.8 points per game and have claims for the best attacking trident in the Division.
Tim Smith leads all comers in the Division with 22 goals from his appearances this year, whilst ex Frankston VFL man Damian Garner is second placed with 17, 11 of those coming on the weekend. Garner played for Premier Division outfit Rowville in 2019 and kicked 23 goals from 17 games, showcasing his ability to find the goals at the higher level. Add in Leigh Odermatt, who is yet to fire a shot this year by his standards, and it’s a trio that will be nigh on impossible to contain.
When the Saints get rolling they’ll be a scary proposition – for anyone – and I can’t wait to see it.
5.Closing the Gap
They might not have sung the song on Saturday afternoon, but Kilsyth and Croydon North MLOC would’ve gone home fairly pleased with their efforts on the weekend, and they have every right too.
In 2019, Kilsyth lost to Silvan by 158 points and 141 points. On Saturday the margin was just 40 points, with the Cougars winning the second quarter 34-19 against the home side, before playing out an entertaining stalemate in the last term.
The KangaRams, fresh off their history making victory, lost to second placed Forest Hill by 64 points, well down on their 2019 margins of 131 and 90.
The KangaRams were especially impressive after halftime where they were able to match it with the Zebras, (72-50) and if you remove their second quarter fade out (27 – 0) the margin would’ve been more than respectable.
Sometimes these performances can mean more than a win.
It’s one thing to beat the sides in your weight division, it’s another to compete with those above it.