Ahead of your Good Friday fix of footy, we’ve dived into the Yarra Valley Water Vault and taken a quick look at the history behind the two match up’s taking place tomorrow.
Balwyn vs. Blackburn
Head-to-Head
Blackburn: 13
Balwyn: 20
Draws: 0
The ‘Good Friday’ clash with both Blackburn and Balwyn takes place again this season as the opening match of the Premier Division season. The two sides met this time, last year at Blackburn where the Tigers ran away comfortable winners by 61 points with Charlie Haley kicking five majors.
The results were reversed later in the year at Balwyn with the Burners pinching a big upset, in a 40-point win over the Tigers. It was set off the back of an eight-goal first term and Ryan Bathie’s eight goal haul.
The two clubs have met every season since 2007 when Balwyn joined the Eastern Football Netball League. Their first encounter at Morton Park, The Tigers won comfortably by 36 points. Their first ever finals encounter came two years later with Blackburn’s 46-point win putting the club into a Preliminary Final.
Overall, they’ve met six times in the finals, with Blackburn winning four of those games. Their most recent finals encounter occurred in 2019 when the Burners defeated the Tigers by 35 points to make the Grand Final.
Waverley Blues vs. Mulgrave
Head-to-Head
Waverley Blues: 9
Mulgrave: 7
Draws: 0
Waverley Blues and Mulgrave also meet on Good Friday, in their second matches for the season. It will be the first time the two sides have met since the 2017 season.
In 2009, the sides met for the first time in Division Two where Mulgrave kicked eight goals to three in the final term to come from behind and win by 27 points at Mount Waverley Reserve. A year later, they opened Round One again hosted by Waverley when the Lions once again came from behind with a six goal final quarter to win by 13 points.
That year the Lions went on to win the second division premiership, defeating Bayswater by 25 points. Current veteran star Adam Booth happened to be playing that afternoon, thirteen years later, he’s still running out in the red, blue and yellow.
Both clubs remained in the same division, competing against each other until 2017 when the Waverley Blues were relegated to the third division.
Both clubs are expected to be in the finals mix this season making tomorrow’s clash one to watch.