Past the bend and into the final stretch.
Each remaining game of the EFNL season has added meaning as we close in on finals – and relegation – across all divisions.
Get some help deciphering it all in the Weekend Preview.
South Croydon vs Balwyn
A colossal Premier division clash sees South Croydon host the red-hot Balwyn Tigers at Cheong Park.
Balwyn has been arguably the most impressive side coming out of the mid-season break, winning three in a row, averaging over 16 goals a game in that period. Their forward line has been firing on all cylinders, making life very difficult for opposition defenders. Since the bye, the Tigers big three have kicked a combined 35 goals between them, Charlie Haley (17), Jeff Gobbels (10), Jordan Lisle (8).
One third of Balwyn’s holy trinity.
The trio has had a combined total of 31 marks inside Balwyn’s forward 50 in wins against Noble Park, Rowville and Doncaster.
Not only are the Tigers finding plenty of avenues to goal, but they’ve also tightened up their backline with Kris Pendlebury back from injury and Tom Freeman also returning from VFL level. They’ve created plenty of drive off the half back and been another reason why Balwyn’s ball movement has been so hard for opposition teams to halt.
Sitting fifth on the ladder, the Tigers have put plenty of pressure on the four teams ahead of them as they appear to be the only side outside the top four with a chance to make the finals.
While Balwyn’s recent form has been one to marvel at, the Bulldogs have been a little shakier coming out of the bye. Losses to other finals contenders in Vermont and Norwood see South Croydon’s position inside the top four a little less stable, sitting fourth with a record of 6-3.
Jordan Walker was a shining light for the Dogs in their loss to Norwood, racking up 31 disposals along with 13 clearances. Thomas Schinck was also impressive down back with four marks, three tackles and going at a disposal efficiency of 90 per cent. Schinck will likely have the job on either Lisle or Haley this weekend.
Averaging 79.3 points per game, South Croydon is still the number one attacking side in Premier division this year. The Bulldogs had three more goal kickers than the Tigers the last time these sides met in Round 5 where a five-goal final term led South Croydon to a 31-point win. James Wilsen who’s been their most dangerous player up forward kicked four while the Tigers were held to just five for the entire afternoon.
The clear difference since then has been the form of Balwyn’s forward line and their delivery to those key targets inside forward 50.
Certainly, one of the tougher games to tip this weekend. With the Dogs having an unbeaten record at home this year, I’ll be leaning towards South Croydon in a close one, trusting their defensive setup.
Ryan Long
Doncaster v North Ringwood
A massive game in the Premier Division relegation battle as two of the five (six if you include an out of form Blackburn) clubs looking to avoid the drop to Division One meet at Schramms Reserve.
A win to Doncaster – who won three on the bounce either side of the most recent lockdown – would put them two games ahead of the Saints, and very likely create the same buffer with Doncaster East (away to Noble Park) and Berwick (home to Norwood).
The Sharks three game winning streak ground to a halt against last weekend when they met the form side of the Division Balwyn, with Doncaster unable to contain the holy trinity of Jeff Gobbels (5 goals and 23 disposals), Charlie Haley (4 goals and 15 disposals) and Jordan Lisle (4 goals and 16 disposals) or stop the flow of uncontested footy for the Tigers, who had 266 uncontested disposals and 84 uncontested marks.
Stewart Kemperman’s boys will be looking forward to getting back on home soil tomorrow afternoon. The Sharks have been markedly better when playing at home this season, particularly in the last five to six weeks of action.
In their three wins, all at home, they’ve averaged 17.33 scoring shots against and 40.33 inside 50’s, well down on their season averages, with their system and game-style much more suited to their home track.
Their opponents are coming off their best performance of the year to date, overcoming the aforementioned Blackburn side at Morton Park, despite winning only two areas of the game – other than the scoreboard – clearances and rebound 50’s.
North Ringwood were plus nine for total clearances (38-29), plus one for centre clearances (8-7), plus seven for around the ground stoppages (22-15) and plus five for hit-outs to advantage.
Harvey Chinn (6), Liam Taylor (7) and, clubhouse leader with over 40 for the season, Jack Whelan (6) were the main exponents of the uncharacteristic clearance dominance. The Saints are ranked 10th with an average of 31.3 per game for season 2021.
They’ll be looking to build on this ranking, as well as their contested disposal numbers (ranked 7th – 94.6) and hard ball gets (ranked 10th – 34.6) as they look to build on the win and compliment their outside gam (ranked first for rebound 50’s – 37.8) and marking prowess (ranked 3rd contested marks – 14).
Despite the clear areas of focus for the Saints, I think the Sharks home ground knowledge will be enough for them to go two games clear of the drop.
Matt Fotia
Croydon v Park Orchards
Two premiership contenders face off yet again as Park Orchards takes the trip down to face Croydon.
It was a massive 105-66 win for the Blues last time around at the best BMX track in Victoria, with four goals from experienced star Billy Dickson the difference as well as two for Prior, Hehir and Constantino.
Since then Croydon have lost two more matches (against East Ringwood and Montrose) whilst the Sharks have gone on a six game winning streak, including an extremely scrappy but great win over East Ringwood at Stintons.
The Sharks attack has been fortissimo in 2021, averaging a Division One high 106.1 points per game, with the 44 points they scored last weekend their lowest in 2021. Croydon on the other hand are only averaging 77.9 points per game in 2021.
Despite this low scoring, they still boast the equal top goalscorer in Division One, with young superstar Riley Constantino averaging just under three goals a game in 2021 (29 goals in total).
Park Orchards though have five players in the top 15 goalkickers, including another young star in Connor Hickey (25 goals), Josh Voogd (19), the experienced Michael Philp (19), Kane Keppel (18) and Michael Prosenak (18 in only four games).
They both also have great defences, with Croydon only conceding 58 points per game (third best) and Park Orchards having the best defence in Division One (51 points per game). Both also have talented midfielders as well.
This will all come down to who can get the ball out of the middle first and supply it into their best forward quickly and if they can take advantage of their chances.
But having been on a hot streak recently, coming off a good, scrappy win up at Stintons against second placed East Ringwood, I’m tipping the Sharks to get the chocolates this time.
Josh Ward
The Basin vs Ringwood
It’s a top of the table blockbuster this Saturday at Batterham Reserve as the Bears and Redbacks meet for the second time this year.
The Basin won the first five games of the season before Ringwood brought them back to earth with a commanding 53-point win at Jubilee Park. There aren’t many sides that can match the Redbacks on such a big ground. They have plenty of star power up forward such as the Farmer brothers and Declan Hill who can help create big scorelines.
Despite having their lowest score of the season in last week’s win over South Belgrave, Ringwood has arguably the most firepower up forward in the division. They averaged 82.6 points per game before last week’s win in poor conditions resulting in the Redbacks kicking just five goals for the afternoon.
The Redbacks have been able to put a stranglehold on teams once they have a strong lead. It’s something they did well against the Saints, proving they have great versatility to shut down a very strong offensive side, keeping them to just one goal in the first three quarters.
For the Bears, it’s no secret that their biggest strength has been their tight-knit defence that’s conceded just 480 points in 10 matches, an average of 48 per game.
Since the break, they haven’t quite been at their best, they’re coming off back to back losses against South Belgrave and Boronia. However, the two losses were only by a combined total of 16 points so there shouldn’t be any deep concerns at the Bear cave right now.
In last week’s loss to the Hawks, the game was a real grind for most of the afternoon highlighting the importance of winning the clearances. The Basin wasn’t able to get their running game going, a total of 39 stoppages in the final term playing a part in that. That along with missing some gettable set shots played a part in why they couldn’t pinch their eight wins of the year.
Nick Hallo and Jayden Gee have had fantastic seasons to date but for the Bears to have any chance of knocking off the Redbacks this weekend, they’ll need as many contributors as they can get in the middle of the ground.
Like many others, Ringwood is my tip for the flag in Division Two, their consistent brand of football makes it hard to bet against. Expect them to win this weekend but by a much lesser margin than the 53-point belting earlier this year.
Ryan Long
Warrandyte v Scoresby
The only side to come away with the chocolates against Warrandyte so far in 2021, Scoresby, is back on the hunt for more delicious dairy milk goodness, this time at the blood-bank.
The Magpies stole a one point win over Warrandyte back in Round Four, thanks to some accurate goal kicking and a strong defensive work by the Magpies.
Defence has been the strength of Scoresby in their unique 2021 campaign, which sees them in fifth with a percentage well under 100.
Outside of their Round Two pumping to the Waverley Blues, they’ve been very good down back, with the Blues score of 12.17(89) a fortnight ago the biggest total they’ve conceded since that bad day out at Mount Waverley Reserve.
It also won’t be a surprise to anyone that Magpie stalwart and competition star Paul Chadwick has been key to Scoresby’s success this year.
He’s been red-hot since the three week rest, second best on ground against Glen Waverley before two ‘BOG’ performances in his last two hit outs.
Warrandyte have been ominous since their loss to the Magpies with their own poor goal kicking the only thing that has given certain sides – 9.13 v Fairpark, 12.15 v East Burwood – hope in the rounds since.
Their spread of talent and consistency has been their main strength this season, with no Warrandyte player appearing in the best players more than four times, as well as an impressive 25 players appearing at least once.
Ryan Phillips continues to be the main man in the forward arc, up to 30 goals for 2021, but the Bloods have become less ‘Buckets Centric’ in recent weeks, with Michael Cullum (13), Luke Dunn (9) and Quinn Clark (9) all providing enough of a threat for their opponents to be conscious of them, rather than Phillips.
The Bloods are now the number one attacking and defensive units in the division and have put second placed Ferntree Gully to the sword on two occasions.
This, along with Scoresby’s relative inexperience, should see them win and win comfortably.
Matt Fotia
Silvan v Chirnside Park
It’s the battle for fourth spot in Division Four as Chirnside Park takes the trek to the Yarra Ranges as they face Silvan.
The Panthers got the chocolates last time around at Kimberley Drive, winning in a close and low scoring encounter (46-42) thanks to three goals from star forward Daniel Beddome.
Since then both have looked slightly shaky, with both winning two and losing two since that Round five clash (all those losses against Surrey Park, Coldstream and Forest Hill).
Silvan have made the cattery a fortress, only losing once in 2021 at their home (against top of the table Coldstream).
The Panthers do have a good away record, losing only once away from home (against Forest Hill). However they’re yet to play against Surrey Park, Silvan and Coldstream away.
Both have exciting attacking sides too, with Silvan averaging 93.7 points per game (fourth best), led by experienced star Leigh Kimpton (30 goals) and supported well by young Lachlan Lynch (20) and Matthew Low (19).
Chirnside Park on the other hand average 81 points per game (fifth best), led by former Wantirna South forward Daniel Beddome (18 goals) and supported by Ben Slattery (13) and Samuel King (11).
Their defences are solid too, with Silvan conceding 75 points per game and Chirnside Park conceding 71.8 points per game in 2021.
Chirnside Park though have been more solid in defence since the break, conceding 60 points per game the last three games compared to 81 points per game in the last three for Silvan.
This is a very tough one to pick. Both sides are vying for that fourth spot to make the 2021 finals. But having only lost once at the Cattery in 2021 (against red hot Coldstream) and following a good win last weekend, I’m tipping the Cats to even the ledger and get the win.
Josh Ward