Yarra Valley Water Weekend Takeaways

By Ryan Long.

Croydon continue to prove the doubters wrong, South Croydon one-point thriller, and Templestowe's undefeated start in the Women's competition headlines another big round of football.

High-scoring Blues take another big scalp

Croydon continue their impressive start to the year with a 44-point win over Mulgrave on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues put together their highest score in Rhett Jordon’s tenure as senior coach, 16.17 113, defeating the Lions 10.9 69.

Rhett Jordon booted seven on the day, with the likes of Trent Dodd, Ethan Lovell and Luke Sparkes contributing to the scoreboard.

Trailing at quarter-time, a four-goal to one second term swung the momentum Croydon’s way as they extended their lead in both of the last terms.

Matt McKenzie had another important game in the midfield for the Blues. In seven games this season, McKenzie is averaging 25 disposals per game, 117 ranking points on Premier Data.

The Blues' fifth win of the season has Croydon entrenched inside the top five, tied on wins with Lilydale and Waverley Blues. They’ve surprised many from the outside of the four walls, including myself, with a very impressive first half of the season.

Dogs on the board…. Just!

A big sigh of relief at 5:30pm on Saturday came for those down at Cheong Park as South Croydon held on for a one-point victory over South Belgrave.

The Dogs were desperate for their first win of the season, and at Quarter Time, it looked quite certain that they would get it, booting six goals to one. All individual goal kickers in the term as the Dogs doubled the Saints in clearance numbers and Inside 50’s.

Through the next two quarters, the Saints slowly chipped away at the deficit, cutting the margin back to seven points at the final change. Blake Simondson kept the Saints alive with a big last quarter, six disposals, four tackles and a goal.

As the rain poured down late, the Dogs held on by a single point, jumping South Belgrave on the ladder and entering the King’s Birthday weekend break in good spirits.

Jett Latchford was outstanding in the ruck, while Liam Shiels had arguably his best game for the Dogs this season, a massive 15 tackles for the afternoon.

Dockers Senior Women’s make it seven in a row

After a Preliminary Final performance in their first season back in the Senior Women’s competition, Templestowe have set the bar higher in 2026.

The Dockers won their seventh game in a row, creating a two-game buffer on top of the ladder. Their Round Seven win came in this weekend’s Senior Women’s Match of the Round against Upper Ferntree Gully. Heading into the game, it was a one v two battle with Upper Ferntree Gully entering the game with six wins in a row after a one-point Round One loss.

A goal in the opening minute of the game for Upper Ferntree Gully gave the visitors some confidence against an undefeated Dockers outfit.

The next four goals, however, went the way of Templestowe, with the likes of Mai Lim and Summer Keinhuis giving the side plenty of run and creating opportunities for their forwards.

With a 21-point margin at the final break, Templestowe were challenged by a strong opening ten minutes to the final quarter by UFTG. With the margin cut to twelve points, the Dockers were able to shut the game down defensively, finishing as 13-point winners.