By Matt Fotia
The Bears roll on, Noble Park are back in town, East Ringwood and Forest Hill have flown under the radar and we compare one Division Three side with a mid 90’s Newcastle United side – yep, it’s In + Under time.
1. Bears Bandwagon
All aboard!
The Basin are 5-0 and if you aren’t already on the bandwagon, you can join me in jumping on now, with the Bears taking a major scalp on the weekend knocking off Boronia with ease in front of a healthy crowd at Tormore Reserve.
Hawks coach Matt Clark cited that the two sides played similar defensive systems, but noted the Bears had much more speed than the Hawks. Clark has now found the problem, he just needs to find the solution before they next meet.
The Bears hit the Hawks with their speed and ferocity, able to get back in numbers to ensure Boronia couldn’t isolate any of their forwards, whilst they attacked in waves, linking up with handball chains before releasing the likes of Deon Boavida and Michael Cardamone over the top, leaving the Boronia defenders in knots.
Another pleasing aspect for coach Justin Stanton after the game was the maturity his young side showed early in the third quarter. Boronia came out after the main break breathing fire, throwing everything they had at the young Bears, looking to crack their resolve. But the Bears stood firm, absorbed all the Hawks had before hitting them on the counter attack, with a Lachlan Cripps goal sealing the game – albeit in the third term.
Nick Hallo has a lot of admirers and it’s not hard to see why.
The classy on baller hits the ball at speed around the stoppages, has all the skills with his slightly unusually kicking style highly effective and has quality decision making too boot, with the game seeming to slow down whenever he got the ball. Combine that with the early season form of Jackson Drake and Ethan Power, who were both missing on the weekend and the Bears are looking strong.
The only question now is how long this young group can sustain this level.
But for now, get your tickets and jump aboard The Basin bandwagon.
2. No Martin, No Worries.
Heading out to Mullum Mullum is going to be no easy trip in 2021, especially without your marquee player, but Noble Park made it out alive – and with four points – on Saturday, with Steve Hughes’ side now sitting in third spot on the ladder with a handy 3-1 record.
Hughes has professed that his side will get their back half sorted and will stay in games for longer, before they start thinking about piling on the big scores and so far in 2021 it’s worked a treat.
The number two defence in the competition behind Vermont, the Bulls are conceding just 58 points per game as they keep a tight hold on their opponents.
Their midfield isn’t to be scoffed at either, with or without Martin.
Currently the Bulls are – according to PremierData – the number one ranked side for ;
Disposals (318.5 per game)
Kicks (207.8)
Marks (89.5)
and Hardball Gets (68)
Interestingly enough, they’re also the most disciplined side giving away just 18.3 free kicks per game.
Their win on the weekend was buoyed by the return of some VFL listed players, most notably Gary Lok, but some week in, week out Bulls were also prominent, with Jackson Sketcher (29 disposals, 19 contested, 9 clearances) and Thomas Glen (29 disposals, 25 uncontested, 4 rebound 50’s) standing up in Martin’s absence.
The Bulls are looking for a return to finals in 2021 (last appearance was in 2016) and with home games against Rowville and Doncaster coming up in the next three weeks, they’re likely to have banked five wins before their annual Queens Birthday Weekend blockbuster with Balwyn, a fixture that hasn’t been this tantalising in years.
3. Roos Under The Radar
With most eyeballs (mine included) firmly focused on the hot start of Mooroolbark, Park Orchards free wheeling forays, Croydon’s off-season hype/expectation and Mitcham’s surprising opening to 2021, East Ringwood have floated under the radar in Division One, but find themselves in second spot on the ladder after the first five weeks of the season.
The Roos are the number one defence in the competition, conceding just 49.4 points per game, and they’re the only side of the top four to have won more than one game against one of the other 4-1 starters (Mooroolbark, East Ringwood, Park Orchards and Croydon), having knocked off Croydon and Mooroolbark so far this year, as well as going close to defeating the Sharks in Round Three.
Ben Osborne has put together a group with a nice mix of youthful exuberance, players in their peak and steely older heads.
Chris Cerni bleeds Blue and White and has 188 games of senior experience to call on, whilst prized recruit Dale Walker has played well over 200 games of senior footy at some impressively high levels.
James Belo, Josh Weightman are just two of the ’20 somethings’ of which the side is built around, players with a growing level of maturity and remnants youthful flair.
Whilst Eastern Ranges pair Marcus Kane and Jackson Weatherill – the latter of which took a match saving grab to be named BOG on the weekend – have fitted in seamlessly since debuting together against Bayswater a fortnight ago and Sahaf Ali is the name on everyone’s lips, after his incredible start to 2021 ( 3xTIB, 3 Goals) at the ripe old age of 18.
With games against an injury ravaged Mitcham, Lilydale, Upper Ferntree Gully and Montrose to come over the next month it’s not inconceivable that East Ringwood will be 8-1 before the second half of the year.
4. Waverley’s Entertainers
Anyone heard of Kevin Keegan?
Keegan was an English Football star in the 60’s , 70’s and 80’s dazzling the world in his time with clubs such as Newcastle United, Southampton, Liverpool and Hamburger SV.
Post his decorated playing career, Keegan got into management and eventually ended up back at Newcastle United, in the early 90s. He led the Magpies out of the second tier and in their first season back in the Premier League he steered them to a third place finish, with his side known for their attacking play (scoring a league high 82 goals) in that season.
They continued to play this attacking style under Keegan and in the 95/96 season they famously held a 12 point lead over Manchester United before falling away badly at the end of the year. Keegan’s side were affectionally known as “The Entertainers” for their bullish style and mantra of ‘ you score three, we’ll score four’.
What does this have to do with Waverley?
Well they’re seemingly going down the same path.
The Blues average 103 point per game in 2021, including scores of 175 and 121, the highest of anyone in the division, despite their 3-2 record, and it’s becoming obvious that they can move the ball well and enjoy an open game, with their two losses this year coming when they’ve struggled to get the freedom they crave against Donvale and Ferntree Gully.
Matt Perry leads the way in front of the big ones with 18 majors, followed by Tom Langford (9) and Paul Savage (8) and with their next two fixtures pitting them up against Glen Waverley and Fairpark they could put some more big scores on the board.
It’s good to watch, but let’s hope for the Blues sake it doesn’t end the same way it did for Keegan’s Entertainers.
5. Zerba’s Reminder
Remember Forest Hill?
The Zebras were expected to drift a little in 2021, as they went into a mini rebuild following the heartbreaking agony of multiple grand final losses across a five year period from 2013-2017, but after four rounds of the Division Four season, Justin Sciculna’s men have showed they’re not going anywhere.
They’ve jumped to a 3-1 record, with wins over fellow finals aspirants Surrey Park and Chirnside Park and have booted over 100 points in their last three outings (145, 125 and 103). The Zebras dominated the game after quarter time on the weekend, kicking 14 goals to six to hand Surrey Park their first loss for 2021.
Mitch Hanegraaf has claimed some accolades so far this season and rightly so, but he’s not alone for the Zebras, with Elijah Dale (2xBOG in last 3 weeks) and Jake Rowe ( 5 goals and BOG v Surrey Park) also showing their class in recent weeks.
The Zebras have very winnable games against Kilsyth and Croydon North MLOC in the coming weeks, meaning they’ll likely be 5-1 before their match up with Coldstream at home.
They went away for a couple of years, but the Zebras are back in 2021.