By Matt Fotia
It’s well and truly back now everyone.
The Eastern Football Netball League kicked into top gear on the weekend as all five divisions of senior football hit the field, and the product that was produced was of the highest quality, as we saw close shaves, incredible statements and a couple of unexpected finals contenders emerge (already).
Take a deeper dive into it all with this week’s In + Under.
1.Right at Home.
Berwick finally made its EFNL debut on Saturday in front of a packed house at Edwin Flack Reserve.
The Wickers hosted four games with their senior women tackling South Belgrave Lysterfield (and enjoyed a comfortable win) before their Under 19’s took on Noble Park.
Signs weren’t good early with the Bulls youngsters piling on the first 10 goals, but the Wickers settled after half time to finish the stronger of the two sides and after that the boys in Blue and White looked right at home, with their Reserves losing thanks to horrible goal kicking and their senior squad equally at fault, failing to make the most of their dominance in the second half.
Despite their ground being one of – if not the – biggest in the division, Berwick clearly base their game around being contested giants.
Ex Hawthorn Hawk and famous Wicker name Travis Tuck was the epitome of this as his 20 disposal, two goal game included 12 contested disposals whilst his partner in crime Madison Andrews also had 12 contested possessions.
The Wickers won the stat 133-62 according to PremierData and they had 19 contested marks to Noble Park’s 11, with defenders Will Arthurson (Best on Ground) and Michael Riseley key contributors to that stat.
Their contested dominance will ensure the Wickers are competitive in every game they play, but to go to the next level they need to polish up their ball use and utilise their better users, such as classy wingman Anthony Vella, who went at 72% with his 18 touches and Trent Van Hout who had 23 disposals and was effective 82% of the time bounding off half back. Anthony Burr only had the seven touches, but showed signs of what he offers going forward as well.
The Wickers will be pleased that they dispelled the myth that they would be pushovers.
Now they want to show they mean business.
2. Star Power
The results in Premier Division were great to see, with three games decided by under a kick and the other two closer than the score lines suggest and whilst the signs of a tight Premier Division will tantalise all local football fans, the star power on show across the league is just as enticing.
At Edwin Flack, two ex AFL players in Travis Tuck and Kyle Martin went head to head, with Tuck collecting 20 touches, six clearances, two goals and 124 ranking points in his competition debut, whilst Martin – voted as the Top Dog in Premier Division in 2020 – collected 31 touches, kicked a crucial goal, had six clearances as well and finished with 131 ranking points.
At Quambee Reserve it was Robin Nahas – of North Melbourne and Richmond fame – who showed his class, collecting 36 disposals off a half back flank. Within these 36 were 12 rebound 50’s and a goal (151 ranking points). Not to be outdone, Blake Pearson (ex-Port Melbourne and Under 15 state cricketer) booted five goals, had 27 disposals, four clearances and 159 points for the Wooders.
Vermont skipper Lachlan Johns had 36 touches in his side’s lost to Balwyn (along with eight clearances + three goals), whilst Tiger’s boom recruit Jordan Lisle had six marks inside 50 on debut (and three goals).
South Croydon’s father time Daniel King collected 22 touches (five clearances) and Doncaster East big man Zac Clarke had 19 disposals, 10 clearances, 70 (yes 70) hit outs and 219 ranking points on debut for the Lions.
Get ready everyone, it’s going to be a massive year of footy – and I’m ready to geek out on stats.
3. BearCave
We all make mistakes and it’s clear I’ve made one (so far, I’m sure there will be more to come) in my pre-season predictions when I had The Basin finishing in bottom place in Division Two.
The Bears have come out roaring in season 2021 and sit second on the table after another big win, this time over Templestowe to the tune of 107 points, following on from their impressive win over Heathmont in round one. The Bears had two seven goal quarters on the weekend and are the division’s highest scorers so far this year, following on from being the fourth highest scorers in 2019 despite not making finals.
Nicholas Hallo looks like he’s going from strength to strength after a year off, with the 2019 Bears star kicking off his 2021 campaign with two appearances in the best players and a goal to boot on the weekend. Big man Ethan Power joins Hallo in having a hot start, with two best six games to start the year in the ruck, whilst Jackson Drake leads their front half with five majors in two games.
The Bears have another big chance for a win on the weekend when they take on Knox, who sit 0-2 but are expected to push The Basin for one of the finals places. A win on the weekend and Justin Stanton’s men could have already put one foot in the top four, with the chances of a side missing finals after being 3-0 very slim, especially in a division which seems to have such a clear divide within it.
4. Tiggie Train
They’re rolling down at Tigerland.
Mitcham have won all six games across the two weekends of 2021 this season, despite being promoted in 2019 from third place on the Division Two ladder.
The Tigers have been incredible stingey in defence, conceding just 126 points in the two open age grades this year (Reserves + Seniors). Their reserves side have been astonishing, averaging 18 points against a game.
They base their game off of frantic pressure and a high tackle count, which the Media Team experienced first hand in week one, when the Tigers bullied the Devils on ballers in the second half. This style of play is born out of a lack of big men across the field and their sometimes poor ball use (see our 2021 InFocus), but also suits their young list who have energy oozing out of every pore at the moment.
Small forward Lucas Marro is relishing his sides current brand having booted seven goals in two games as the beneficiary of chaotic forward entires and his own defensive work, whilst midfield utility Riley Nicholas has been impressive appearing in the best players in both weeks so far.
Better still for the Tigers, who would’ve probably been aiming at just staying up this year, both of their wins have been upsets with, Wantirna South tipped to improve in 2021 and Montrose coming down from the Premier Division.
They, like The Basin, have a big chance to go 3-0 when they take on bottom placed Upper Ferntree Gully this weekend, but need to be wary of adjusting to contrasting ground dimensions, with Kings Park a lot different to the self proclaimed MCG of the East.
5. Blues Go Bang
No doubt disappointed with their round one loss to Donvale, the Waverley Blues took out their frustration on a young Scoresby side on Saturday, running out 139 point winners to shoot back up the Division Three ladder.
The pre-season premiership favourites dominated each and every quarter (Q1 46-1, Q2 25-8, Q3 48-2, Q4 56-25) on their way to having 50 scoring shots and 12 different goal kickers, with Paul Savage the main man as he slotted six majors.
This was the Waverley Blues we were told to expect.
The coming weekend will provide them another chance to stamp their authority on the competition as they take on fellow finals aspirant Ferntree Gully, who will be hurting after they went down to Warrandyte on the weekend.
Win big there and the Blues will be back in town.