13/8/22
| Premier Round 17 | Wins | Wins | Draws | Streak | |
| Vermont | 20 | Balwyn | 15 | 2 | B 2 |
| Norwood | 13 | Doncaster East | 11 | 0 | DE 1 |
| Rowville | 2 | Berwick | 0 | 0 | R 2^ |
| North Ringwood | 4 | Noble Park | 14 | 0 | NP 3 |
| Park Orchards | 0 | Blackburn | 1 | 0 | B 1^ |
| South Croydon | 25 | Doncaster | 25 | 0 | SC 5^ |
It’s pretty much crunch time for Blackburn who are hanging on to sixth place by their fingernails despite three losses in a row. The Panthers’ final two matches are against teams below them, while Norwood must beat two teams above them to have any chance of finals action. And of course, it is still mathematically possible for Vermont to sneak into the top six if Blackburn and Norwood lose both their matches and the Eagles win their last two.
| Division 1 Round 18 | Wins | Wins | Draws | Streak | |
| Bayswater | 14 | East Ringwood | 33 | 1 | ER 3 |
| Beaconsfield | 1 | Lilydale | 0 | 0 | B 1^ |
| Croydon | 8 | Montrose | 15 | 0 | M 4^ |
| Upper FTG | 8 | Mitcham | 9 | 0 | M 3 |
| Wantirna South | 16 | Mooroolbark | 27 | 1 | M 4 |
A simple equation for Croydon and Montrose: win and play finals. Then it gets a little complicated.
If Montrose won by say, 5 points and Wantirna South lost to Mooroolbark by say, 60 points Croydon could jump into fifth despite losing! [SBRD* love this time of year]. If that happens, or Croydon beat Montrose and Wantirna South lose, then Croydon and Montrose would do it all again in the Elimination Final (see below in Divisions 2,3 and 4).
| Division 2 Round 18 | Wins | Wins | Draws | Streak | |
| Knox | 6 | Boronia | 3 | 1 | B 2^ |
| Templestowe | 21 | Heathmont | 10 | 0 | H 3^ |
| South Belgrave | 1 | Oakleigh District | 0 | 0 | SB 1^ |
| East Burwood | 46 | Ringwood | 24 | 1 | EB 1 |
| Mulgrave | 18 | The Basin | 14 | 0 | TB 2 |
East Burwood and Ringwood will meet for the 72nd time and then will do it all again next week in the Qualifying Final; also see below in Division 3 and Division 4. Will bragging rights be more important than not showing your full hand??
| Division 3 Round 18 | Wins | Wins | Draws | Streak | |
| Donvale | 4 | Coldstream | 3 | 0 | C 1 |
| Fairpark | 0 | Scoresby | 3 | 0 | S 3^ |
| Glen Waverley | 1 | Warrandyte | 10 | 0 | W 8^ |
| Whitehorse Prs | 14 | Ferntree Gully | 11 | 0 | FTG 7^ |
| Waverley Blues | Bye |
Donvale and Coldstream meet for the eight time this week and then will do it all again for the ninth time in the first semi next week.
I reckon the two matches in a row thing happens more frequently than statistically probable. (I did ask the SBRD* to investigate but they advised “too busy, preparing for finals” in a rather terse response).
| Division 4 Round 18 | Wins | Wins | Draws | Streak | |
| Surrey Park | 8 | Silvan | 9 | 0 | SP 1 |
| Croydon Nth MLOC | 1 | Kilsyth | 5 | 0 | K 2 |
| Nunawading | 9 | Forest Hill | 35 | 0 | FH 18 |
| Chirnside Park | Bye |
It’s a pretty simple equation for Kilsyth to break a five season finals drought: win. If the Cougars lost by say, 20 points, then Forest Hill would need to beat Nunawading by about 130 points to sneak into fourth place, on percentage.
Surrey Park play Silvan for the 18th time and then will do it all again in the second semi next week!!
Current Streaks: Waverley Blues W15; Oakleigh District L17, Upper Ferntree Gully L17.
All figures are for men’s EFNL matches 1962 – rd16/17 2022.
* Statsbench Research Department
^ Best Winning Streak (BWS) against this week’s opponent.
Acknowledgement: localfootystats.com
© Noel McPhee 2022
