Another big weekend of Eastern Football Netball League football coming at you, as Berwick and North Ringwood look for two wins on the bounce, East Ringwood look to upset Mooroolbark and the Zebras eye off Surrey Park.
Berwick v North Ringwood
Both Berwick and North Ringwood are expected to finish closer to the bottom of the ladder than the top, but this weekend offers both sides an opportunity to grab two wins on the bounce and build some early season momentum in an extremely even Premier Division.
The Wickers dominated the contested ball in their away win over Balwyn last weekend, a trend that’s began to appear over their first three weeks in the competition, with Berwick currently the 5th ranked contested disposal side with 105.3 per game.
Travis Tuck (12.5 per game), Madison Andrews (11.7) and Josh Burgess (8.3) are the main perpetrators for the Wickers, giving them the hard edge that helped them outlast Balwyn in round three.
They play a side with a contrasting focus in North Ringwood, who have put forward a fairly open and attacking gameplan thus far in 2021.
The Saints have kicked 25 goals across their two outings this season, four more goals per game (on average) than the Wickers.
Playing coach Robin Nahas is a key pin in their ball movement, with the former forward pocket playing off the half back flank for the Saints, averaging 35.5 disposals a game.
Of his 71 touches in 2021, only eight have been contested and only 10 have been handballs. With a disposal efficiency of 70% so far this season, it wouldn’t be Clint Evans worst idea to send a defensive forward Nahas’ way.
Momentum is technically with Berwick, given the enormity of their win, but the dimensions of Edwin Flack actually suit the away side more and I think North Ringwood will benefit from the Wickers coming off last weekend slightly more battered and bruised.
Matt Fotia
Will the Saints get on the winners list this weekend? Photo – Field of View
South Croydon v Rowville
Given Balwyn’s trip to Morton Park this clash will sneak under the radar somewhat, but it’s eerily similar. A 2-1 outfit coming up against a side with just the one win and giving us a sporadic start to the season.
The Dogs were out possessed by Noble Park last weekend, with the Bulls controlling the ball enough to work their way through the high pressure game of the Doggies.
This is highlighted by the marking stats, which had Noble Park coming out on top with 82 marks to 71, the first time in 2021 the Dogs have lost this stat. However South Croydon still managed to take more intercept marks, something they’ve done well all season, ranked first with 22.7 intercept marks per game.
Dylan Marshall (3 per game), James Crowle (3), Max Warren (2.3) and ruckman Max King (2.7) have been key to South Croydon stopping opponents attacks and kickstarting their own this season and they could be in for another big day.
Rowville have played a high handball game this year, having 287 in their first two games the most(per game) of any side in the division. This style is glorious when it comes off, but can in turn invite pressure and go to water if executed poorly (think Western Bulldogs v Richmond last weekend).
If the Dogs pressure can take down the Hawks handball chains, you’ll see some high intercept marking numbers from the aforementioned quartet, with under pressure panic entries their bread and butter.
Conversely, if Rowville can continue their clearance dominance (46.5 per game, #1 rank), they can catch the Dogs defenders in one on one battles, much like Noble Park did last weekend. Lachlan McDonald (8 per game) and Brooke Coleclough (7) will lead the charge on this one.
Personally, I really like the Dogs in 2021 and think they’ll have too much for a young Rowville side at home despite the return of Nik Schoenmakers and Riley D’Arcy.
Matt Fotia
East Ringwood v Mooroolbark
Mooroolbark were expected to improve in 2021, but I doubt anyone externally saw them having this kind of start in season 2021, the last remaining undefeated side in the EFNL’s second tier.
The Mustangs are averaging 99 points per game and have dismissed all that have come before them this year, with Mitcham’s 36 point loss the closest a side has come to the new and improved Mustangs in 2021.
Aaron Mullett was at his damaging best last weekend with eight majors, with he and Marcus Baxter combining for 26 goals so far this season. Mid sized defender Shane Kennedy has been a key cog down back for the ‘stangs, with his intercept marking and mobility seeing him named in their best each week, along with midfielder Kane Noonan (3 times in best) who provides drive by foot and grunt inside the contest.
Their opponents East Ringwood have gone about their work fairly quietly in season 2021, but have already shown they’re good for an upset and will be first ‘proper’ premiership contender the Mustangs have come up against.
They have experience in Cerni, Walker, Belo and Weightman along with youth in Kane, Weatherill and the ever impressive Sahaf Ali, who once again appeared in the Roos best on the weekend.
Games at the pouch have been been low scoring so far this season and the Roos play the ground well, but I think Mooroolbark are just too hot to handle at this very moment.
Matt Fotia
South Belgrave v Ringwood
Two high-flying teams will battle it out this Saturday, as second placed Ringwood comes up against fourth placed South Belgrave. With both teams in finals contention at this early stage of the season, they’ll be looking to consolidate their spot on the ladder by grabbing a win against one of their closest rivals.
Ringwood, coming off a 46-point drubbing of Mulgrave, will be keen to see more from Trent Farmer, who has been named in his sides best every week (he’s played) of the season thus far, and is a threat to any side given his pedigree.
For South Belgrave, this week is a chance to make a statement against a strong top-two side in the competition. Having lost two on the trot, they’ll be hoping Cayden Black, best on ground in both losing efforts, can this time lift his side over Ringwood, and will be buoyed by the return of Tim Smith.
Whilst the Saints don’t take losing well, I think they’ll have to get used to it once more, with Ringwood too hard to tip against.
Mitch Turner
Mulgrave v Knox
Mulgrave and Knox find themselves both close to the bottom of the ladder. With each team having a great opportunity to notch up their second win for the season, the stakes could not be higher. A win means finals contention is well and truly in sight, a loss means being firmly planted in second-last place with just one win from five matches and set to battle it out with the likes of Templestowe to stave off relegation.
Connor Tilyard and Adam Booth have been shining lights for Mulgrave so far this season, being named in their sides best on ground four and three times respectively, notably these players are at contrasting stages of their careers, with Booth closing in on his 40th birthday and Tilyard making his early steps into Senior Football.
Knox has finally found some form, winning its last match against wooden-spooner Templestowe, and the club faithful will be hoping that their big win last week will help carry some momentum over into this match as they try to produce consecutive wins.
The Falcons managed to spread the love when it came to goalkickers last weekend and will be hoping they can recreate that against the Lions.
Both sides have managed their only wins against Templestowe and have struggled equally against Boronia and Ringwood, making them tough to split.
Saying that, I’m leaning towards Knox – just.
Mitch Turner
Donvale v Scoresby
The Scoresby Magpies will be looking for an opportunity to build some real momentum this week. Coming off a one point win over the fancied Warrandyte, the side plays eighth placed Donvale and will be looking to put together a clinical performance and make it three wins in a row, ideally channelling their highly accurate goal-kicking from last weekend.
For Donvale, the season hasn’t exactly gone to plan.
With two big losses in a row at the hands of East Burwood and then Ferntree Gully, this side needs to find a way to get something going before their final’s hopes disappear very early on in the season and recapture the form that saw them overturn Waverley Blues in round one.
Kyle Wignell has been in his sides top three performers every week and will be looking for some help from his teammates if they’re going to snare the four points this weekend.
Both sides form lines might be a bit misleading, but that’s all we’ve got to work with, so I’ll go with the sharp shooting Scoresby side.
Mitch Turner
Waverley Blues v East Burwood
Both of these teams will go into the matchup with some level of confidence as the Blues will be coming off of a 22 point win against Whitehorse and the Rams will be refreshed and ready to go after a bye last weekend to go along with their undefeated start.
This fixture will be a good opportunity for both sides to really see where they’re at and understand how much work is needed to really contest and win some finals later on in the season.
The Blues will be looking to assert their dominant first quarter of attacking football, just as they did against Whitehorse, kicking 6.1 to 0.1 in their bounce back win last weekend.
The bye could not have come at a better time for the Rams as they would have gotten the sufficient rest needed to prepare for the Blues in a game where the intensity and defensive structure of both sides will be immense.
However, the momentum and form of the Blues might just ensure that they get the four points in what could be technically be considered an upset at Mount Waverley.
Arian Odza
Coldstream v Croydon North MLOC
The KangaRams have had a tough start to the season in Division Four as they have struggled to implement their game style and remain winless after three rounds of footy.
The KangaRams are coming off of a thrashing to the Surrey Park Panthers where the final margin was 215 points and the side was unable to score a goal, concluding the afternoon at Surrey Park Reserve with a miserable four behinds.
Looking to bounce back the KangaRams have arguably the toughest challenge in the Division coming up against the Coldstream Cougars that are currently sitting first on the ladder.
The Cougars, however, will be going into the match full of confidence after dominating Silvan, keeping their winning streak alive, with standout performances from Cameron Shield and Darcy Carrigan, booting three goals each from the midfield.
The Cougars will be looking to start the first quarter off with more of a flow of possession and impact on the scoreboard as the side had kicked a single goal against Silvan in the first term. Yet, the impact to the scoreboard was ensured in the second term increasing the margin to 40 points by half time.
This one has a high chance of being heavily one-sided, therefore, the Cougars can use it as a chance at increasing their percentage to assert themselves even further at the top of the ladder.
Arian Odza
Forest Hill v Surrey Park
The Zebras will take on the Panthers at home where second v third will be aiming to attain a crucial four points that can impact the ladder and standings in a significant manner.
The Zebras will be buzzing full of confidence after a dominant win against the Chirnside Park where the brilliant use of the football by Jack Borrack and forward presence of Mitchell Hanegraaf ensured the win. It was the second nine goal haul in a row for Hanegraaf in two weeks as he establishes himself as one of the key figures in the division.
The Panthers will be looking to stabilise their position in Division Four, coming off of a substantial win against the KangaRams in which the side had more than ten different goal scorers and had kicked 32 goals to none.
The Panther’s percentage of 438.39 is extremely high and this will not want to be affected against the Zebras, ensuring that a significant defensive effort will be needed once again to ensure that the Zebras aren’t able to implement their game style.
Expecting it to be quite an interesting matchup but think Zebras might get over the line in a close one.
Arian Odza
