By Christopher Kourtis.
The 2024 Division Two Senior Men’s competition is halfway gone, and the ladder is starting to take shape. Have a look at how each team has faired so far.
Boronia:
Ladder position: 1st (8-1)
Percentage: 258.04%
Points for (rank): 947 (1st)
Points against (rank): 367 (1st)
Leading goal kicker: Joshua Begley (28 goals)
Most times in best: Mitch Mellis (8 times)
Boronia has wasted no time in establishing themselves as the most dominant force in the division.
The Hawks opened their account away at Lilydale with a 52 point win and have not looked back since. Standing at 8-1, their only loss came in an away trip to Croydon in Round 6, dropping a 25 point lead at Quarter Time.
The loss stands as an outlier, as Boronia have recorded 100+ point wins on three separate occasions. Holding more than a 130% gap on the nearest opponent in the Waverley Blues, it is no question that the Hawks have the best offence and defence in the league.
The team has been led by Mitch Mellis, who leads the league in disposals and centre clearances, while Joshua Begley currently stands first in the goal kicking leaderboard, topping all major scoring statistics.
Boronia will host Lilydale in their next match.
Final prediction: 1st
Croydon:
Ladder position: 3rd (6-3)
Percentage: 124.32%
Points for (rank): 644 (4th)
Points against (rank): 518 (3rd)
Leading goal kicker: Riley Constantino (19 goals)
Most times in best: Jake Christie, Griffin Evely (5 times)
Rebounding from last season’s relegation, Croydon have worked their way to third place with a 6-3 record.
The Blues would not look out of place further towards the top, however, as they came within one kick in two of their three losses (Templestowe [4 points], Mulgrave [3 points]).
Croydon have built off their defensive prowess this season, boasting the second best points against statistic. Pettinella and Mutsaers are ranked first in various tackle stats across the league, making kicking winning scores against the Blues no easy task.
Croydon stand as the only team to have taken points off the league leaders,Boronia. Holding Boronia’s attack to a single behind in the second quarter, Constantino’s two goals brought the Blues to not their biggest, but certainly their best win of the season so far.
They now turn their attention to hosting East Burwood.
Final prediction: 3rd
East Burwood:
Ladder position: 7th (4-5)
Percentage: 78.56%
Points for (rank): 513 (7th)
Points against (rank): 653 (7th)
Leading goal kicker: Riley Attard (11 goals)
Most times in best: Jordan De Zilwa (5 times)
East Burwood have dropped off from the pack as the season has progressed in 2024.
Starting 0-4, East Burwood had to wait until Round 5 for their first win. Hosting Mulgrave, the Rams emerged 23 point victors.
The win sparked a three game winning streak which ultimately ended at the hands of Heathmont in Round 8.
The Rams will travel to Croydon Park to face the Blues as their next challenge.
Final prediction: 7th
Heathmont:
Ladder position: 8th (2-7)
Percentage: 66.22%
Points for (rank): 396 (10th)
Points against (rank): 598 (6th)
Leading goal kicker: Liam Malone (8 goals)
Most times in best: Nathan Mullenger-McHugh (8 times)
Heathmont started off the season on the right foot, beating The Basin by 27 points in Round 1. Unfortunately, their wins have been few and far between.
Despite having the league’s worst offence, the Jets managed to overcome East Burwood in Round 8. Kicking a score of 12.11-83, East Burwood was held scoreless in the first quarter, seeing the Jets soar to victory.
Despite being only two spots off the bottom, Heathmont are host to one of the league’s brightest sparks in Nathan Mullenger-McHugh. Ranking points are just one of the many statistical categories that Mullenger-McHugh leads the league in, as he looks to pull this team to safety.
Heathmont travel to Batterham Reserve to take on The Basin in their next match.
Final prediction: 8th
Lilydale:
Ladder position: 9th (2-7)
Percentage: 66.06%
Points for (rank): 506 (8th)
Points against (rank): 766 (9th)
Leading goal kicker: Marc Massarotti (11 goals)
Most times in best: Riley Clausen (6 times)
Lilydale are staring down the barrel of a second successive relegation as they find themselves just one spot off the bottom of the Division Two ladder.
Relegated after a winless 2023 season, Lilydale have continued their poor form into 2024. Currently on a four game losing streak, the Falcons have only kicked ten goals on one occasion.
Lilydale have shown they can be competitive in moments, however. Winning back-to-back in Rounds 4 and 5 against Heathmont and The Basin respectively, the foundations for progress are still there.
Riley Clausen has been a big part of this Falcons side, leading ground ball gets across the league and polling best on votes in the most games.
Lilydale travel to Tormore Reserve to face Boronia in their next fixture.
Final prediction: 9th
Mulgrave:
Ladder position: 6th (5-4)
Percentage: 83.64%
Points for (rank): 583 (6th)
Points against (rank): 697 (8th)
Leading goal kicker: Bailey Thompson (14 goals)
Most times in best: Lin Jong (7 times)
Mulgrave have been competitive throughout the entirety of the season so far, barring one stat-shifting result in Round 2.
The Lions fell to league leaders Boronia by 111 points, conceding 20.18-138. The blowout win has massively affected their percentage, placing them at the back of a three team pack that all sit on 20 points.
Mulgrave has proven that their footy can compete with the best, defeating Croydon by three points in Round 7. On the other hand, a 23 point loss to East Burwood (Round 5) and a 49 point loss to Templestowe (Round 9) have shown that the Lions can’t be trusted just yet.
If former Western Bulldogs player Lin Jong can maintain his current form (7 times in best), Mulgrave have the ability to be one of those teams that shake up the finals series, should they get there.
Final prediction: 4th
Ringwood:
Ladder position: 4th (5-4)
Percentage: 123.43%
Points for (rank): 627 (5th)
Points against (rank): 508 (2nd)
Leading goal kicker: Josh Meerkotter (18 goals)
Most times in best: Mitchell Jackson (6 times)
Ringwood got off to a lightning start in the 2024 season but have since failed to take full advantage of the situation.
Wins against Templestowe, East Burwood and Heathmont took the Redbacks to 3-0, yet they are 2-4 since.
It looked like Ringwood were back to winning ways after kicking a season high score of 13.18-96 to trump The Basin, however losses to Mulgrave and Boronia quickly followed.
Josh Matthews leads the league in intercept marks, spearheading the second-best defence in Division Two. The defence has proved to be the foundation that the Redbacks have built upon, but the question remains – is it good enough to reverse this downwards trend that Ringwood are on?
Ringwood will host Templestowe in Round 10.
Final prediction: 6th
Templestowe:
Ladder position: 5th (5-4)
Percentage: 121.57%
Points for (rank): 665 (3rd)
Points against (rank): 547 (5th)
Leading goal kicker: Andrew Fasanella, Alex Brown (14 goals)
Most times in best: Michael Fogarty (6 times)
Templestowe sit mid-table at the halfway point of this season, but their talent around the ground suggests that they should be higher.
Fasanella and Brown have made the Templestowe offence one of the most dynamic forward lines in the league, kicking fourteen goals each. Joshua Warren leads inside 50s this season, making sure that the pair get plenty of supply.
Beau Mitchener has continued to prove himself as the most dominant ruck in the division, leading hit outs by a whopping 117.
Despite this, Templestowe have sometimes faltered, dropping games to Ringwood and East Burwood throughout the first half of the season. The inconsistency calls into question the Dockers’ final credibility.
Templestowe will travel to Jubilee Park to face Ringwood in their next match.
Final prediction: 5th
The Basin:
Ladder position: 10th (0-9)
Percentage: 53.81%
Points for (rank): 426 (9th)
Points against (rank): 801 (10th)
Leading goal kicker: Joel Perry (16 goals)
Most times in best: Hayden Smith, Ethan Power (7 times)
The light at the end of the tunnel seems all too far away for The Basin in 2024.
After avoiding relegation in 2023, the Bears are winless this season. Their closest encounter came in Round 3 against Croydon, where they ultimately fell short by fifteen points.
The Basin have had four losses within 24 points, suggesting they aren’t too far away from playing winning football. On the other hand, their biggest loss came at the hands of Boronia, where Ben Robertson’s 6 goal haul helped open up an 86 point margin at half time, where the final score would show a 106 point deficit.
Barring a miraculous turnaround, the Bears seemingly have one foot in Division Three already.
Their next challenge is Heathmont at home.
Final prediction: 10th
Waverley Blues:
Ladder position: 2nd (8-1)
Percentage: 127.31%
Points for (rank): 690 (2nd)
Points against (rank): 542 (4th)
Leading goal kicker: Josh Williamson (24 goals)
Most times in best: Samuel Hale (7 times)
Waverley know the feeling of playing second fiddle to Boronia all too well, but the Blues are making a case for why they can come out on top this season.
Sharing the same record as the league leaders, only percentage puts the Blues in second place. In what some touted as a Grand Final preview, the Waverley Blues (8.9-57) lost to Boronia (15.14-104) by 47 points.
Despite the result, Waverley are already showing why they have improved from their straight sets exit in the finals last season. Currently on their second four game win streak of the season, the Round 15 clash against Boronia will act as the Blues’ biggest indicator of what they can do in the post-season.
Waverley will host Mulgrave in their next fixture.
Final prediction: 2nd
