Round 9 Previews
Football
Avoca v Maldon
After a week’s rest, Avoca are coming off their first victory of the season will be hoping to continue to back up their success when they host sixth placed Maldon at the Avoca Public Park on Saturday.
It will be a tough contest though as the Bombers are also coming off a very good victory over Dunolly, but it was only in the second term where they overwhelmed the Eagles.
There have been many good contests between Avoca and Maldon over the years with the Bombers having the upper hand in thirteen of the twenty four games played, including victories in the last two games played.
Avoca will be eager to get back on winning terms and with the week’s rest will be hoping to have some key players back in the team that faces the Bombers.
The form line this season indicates a victory for Maldon, but now that the Bulldogs have tasted success, it would not be a surprise to see them upset the Bombers,
Navarre v Carisbrook
Navarre host Carisbrook on Saturday and will look to bounce back from a disappointing performance against Harcourt in Round eight.
The Grasshoppers and the Redbacks have played some memorable contests over the years including several Grand Finals.
The current form indicates that both teams appear to have dropped away a bit this season, but Carisbrook has still only lost two games and sit in third position on the ladder. Most seasons the Redbacks are winning games by exorbitant amounts, however, they have had many close games to date in season 2024.
Navarre have only won two games for the season and both were over winless at the time Avoca and Campbells Creek and as a result sit in tenth position on the ladder.
The match up between Carisbrook forward Tim Rinaldi and Navarre’s Jayden Fowkes could be a highlight of the game, and Carisbrook will be
hoping to see Dean Chester return to the forward line after missing against Talbot.
Navarre Coach, Jack Jess will be hoping Chester plays as there has been many spirited contests between the Brothers in Law.
Carisbrook favoured to win.
Trentham v Newstead
Newstead has a particularly tough challenge ahead of them when they travel to Trentham to meet the Saints on the rebound.
The Saints lost only their second game of the season in Round eight when they had a lapse in concentration in the second term and allowed the Swans to set up their victory by kicking six goals to two to see the Saints trail at half time by sixteen points. They could not overcome the home team and as a result now sit in fourth position on the ladder.
The Natte-Bealiba defence did a stellar job in restricting leading goalkicker James Regan to just three goals which played a key role in the Saints loss.
Joel Cowan and Jake Keogh are having consistent season’s once against and will no doubt again prove difficult to stop when they meet the Newstead team this week.
The Newstead defence had difficulty curtailing Giants Coach Damian Cupido last week allowing him to slot eight goals and it will be a similar chore this round against Regan and Keogh.
Trentham to bounce back strongly.
Talbot V Dunolly
It’s the quintessential eight-pointer at Talbot Recreation Reserve on Saturday when Talbot and Dunolly meet.
There’s plenty at stake for the winner here — the Hawks could perhaps bounce back into the top eight depending on results, while the Eagles will be able to keep their top four hopes alive, as well as perhaps sitting three games clear of the chasing pack in the top eight.
Certainly, both teams will be looking to turn around form slumps, despite having been quite competitive.
Talbot were left to rue a very slow start in their round eight clash against Carisbrook two weeks ago, and despite reducing a 37-point quarter time deficit to just 18 by the final change, they simply ran out of legs and lost by 33 points.
Meantime, Dunolly had a very close clash with Maldon, but it was their second quarter which was their undoing as the Dons kicked five goals to one, eventually losing by 14 points.
Both clubs are currently carrying significant losing runs, with the Eagles having lost three games on the trot, all to quality opposition in the Maryborough Giants, Natte Bealiba and Maldon, while the same could be said of the Hawks’ five-game losing run, which has seen them come up against Lexton, Natte, Trentham, Harcourt and Carisbrook.
With plenty on the line in the context of both clubs’ 2024 season, expect this one to go right down to the wire.
Maryborough Giants V Natte Bealiba
It’s a big clash for the Maryborough Giants as they look to take their improved form to the red-hot Natte Bealiba at Hedges Oval on Saturday.
The Giants would be an interesting read on the MCDFNL power rankings ladder — certainly, they are currently playing better than eighth and a percentage of 81.8 suggests.
That included a big win over Newstead in their last start, which saw coach Damian Cupido unleashed for his first full game of the season, kicking eight goals and helping the Giants to their third consecutive win.
They’ll be hoping to upset the applecart of Natte, who are in some serious form.
Not even a slow start against Trentham could stop the Swans, who recovered from conceding four of the first five goals to hit the front by half time, then powered away in the last quarter to eventually win by 19 points.
The Swans are still one of two unbeaten teams, alongside Harcourt, and will be able to leapfrog the Lions to the top of the ladder thanks to their superior percentage if they can take care of the Giants.
However, the Giants are playing with supreme confidence at the moment, and they’ll certainly prove to be a significant roadblock, especially given their form against the likes of Dunolly and Carisbrook.
Campbells Creek V Lexton
Campbells Creek put in a very respectable effort against Avoca, and will be hoping to repeat the dose and give Lexton some trouble at Campbells Creek Recreation Reserve.
Certainly, they gave Avoca quite the fright in the opening quarter when they were able to score four goals to two to lead by 12 points at the opening change, as a Joel Wootton-inspired spell helped Creek stay in the game.
Nevertheless, it’s another step in the right direction for Creek under Matt Manning, as they look to continue building competitiveness.
However, Lexton will present a challenge as they look to get a result which reflects their standing as a top four challenger.
The Tigers have been involved in a number of close games this season, and currently sit at a percentage of 99.6.
Of the top six teams, the Tigers have by far the lowest percentage, with the next lowest sixth-placed Maldon at 148.4.
Lexton will also be hoping to get their offense in order this weekend, having scored just 65.4 points per game this season, although this has included a haul of 124 points in their last start against Newstead in round seven.
It’s worth noting that despite their struggles last season, Creek had one of their most competitive performances last year against the Tigers, kicking five goals in a 103-point loss.
Netball
Talbot V Dunolly
One of Talbot or Dunolly will have the chance to move away from the wooden spoon race this week, while simultaneously keeping alive their chances of finals.
Depending on results, a Talbot win could move them to within one game of the top eight, while a Dunolly win would almost certainly move them off the bottom of the ladder, with a higher percentage than Campbells Creek.
Both teams had a good crack at higher ranked opponents in their last meeting before the King’s Birthday bye.
Talbot were good value agianst Carisbrook for three quarters, and were still just 13 goals behind at the last change, but the class of the Redbacks was telling as they were able to shoot clear and eventually win by 25 goals.
It was another step in the right direction for the Hawks, who have clearly improved this season, even if the more regular occurrance of victory hasn’t quite been forthcoming as of yet.
Meantime, Dunolly were able to put together their best offensive salvo against Maldon, scoring 45 goals, but weren’t quite able to overcome the Dons, who moved to sixth with a six-goal win.
Nevertheless, with such a young lineup, the Eagles have battled hard in many games this season, and they’ll be hoping for a win to show that they are moving forward in the right direction themselves.
Maryborough Giants V Natte Bealiba
The game of the round sees the unbeaten Maryborough Giants take on third-placed Natte Bealiba, with plenty on the line.
Both teams have had just the one loss between them so far this season, and a spot in the top two is well and truly on the line, given Natte’s superior percentage.
The Giants have continued to hum along very well throughout the season, and did enough to defeat Newstead by 20 goals in their last game before the bye, albeit losing a tiny bit of ground to Avoca in the race for the minor premiership.
Natte will be the unbeaten team’s toughest test so far — especially with the form the Swans have shown over their last six games.
The Swans are currently firing on all cylinders offensively, and were able to put 74 goals past Trentham in their round eight win, which added to tallies of 81, 67 and 67 in the three games before that.
Emma Ryan is closing in on the lead in the goalshooting tallies, sitting just 29 goals behind Avoca’s Maddy Egan, but there has also been an element to Natte’s game which
has seen the midcourt play with a level of confidence to move the ball aggressively, knowing they are getting good results.
There will no doubt be star power on every third of the court, and it will come down to which team are able to handle the pressure better which will decide who takes the all-important four points.
Navarre V Carisbrook
Navarre are currently clinging to their spot in the top eight, and will be hoping to get on the rebound when they host Carisbrook.
After a difficult draw which saw them play Natte Bealiba, Lexton and Avoca all in a row, the Hoppers would have been hoping to get back on the winners list in their last game before the bye, but were unable to stop Harcourt from getting their first victory of the season.
The Hoppers were only able to muster 34 goals for the afternoon, which has continued to be a bit of a problem at the moment — only 11th placed Campbells Creek and last-placed Dunolly have scored fewer goals this season.
One thing the Hoppers can take pride on is their defensive structure, conceding the fourth-fewest goals so far, and they’ll need to be on their game to get one over Carisbrook.
The Redbacks are one of four teams that have scored more than 400 goals this season, and have been able to share the load between goalscoring options Abbey Nalder, Andrea Schafer and Paige McLean quite effectively.
Depending on results elsewhere, the Redbacks could yet be able to close to within one game of a top two berth should Natte Bealiba also beat the Maryborough Giants.
Although this isn’t quite the same dominant Redbacks outfit of last season, it would be quite the fillip knowing that they are still very much in the premiership race.
Avoca V Maldon
It’s a fascinating match up for both Avoca and Maldon this week, with the Dons, who have recently moved to sixth position, looking to challenge the ladder leaders.
The Bulldogs have continued to take all before them this season so far, and although their clash with Campbells Creek was called off in the third quarter, were still able to put some percentage between them and the Maryborough Giants in what is turning out to be quite a thrilling battle for the top spot on the ladder.
Still, Maldon will be a test.
The Dons have been quite competitive against higher-ranked teams, pushing Lexton and Carisbrook, and were also quite competitive against the Giants before they put the game away in the second half.
They will be hoping to do the same to the Bulldogs at the very least, although that is a task that is easier said than done.
The Bulldogs have been quite a ruthless outfit — we’ve come to expect that from them — but seem to go up a level for the large part against teams that are around the mark.
They are quite comfortably the highest scoring team in the competition, having put together 533 goals for the season so far, and are also quite comfortable at stopping goals, ranking third defensively, and this will be a big challenge for Maldon to ensure that they are on their game at both ends of the court.
Campbells Creek V Lexton
Lexton are still very much in the frame for a spot in the top four, and can keep the pressure on the likes of Carisbrook and Natte Bealiba if they are able to take care of Campbells Creek.
The Magpies have improved for a large part of the season, save for big losses to Carisbrook and Natte Bealiba, and will be hoping the trend doesn’t continue against Lexton.
Indeed, the Magpies were reasonably competitive for large patches against Avoca in the three quarters that both teams played, and will have been happy that they were tracking along to score almost 40 goals against the Bulldogs.
The Tigers, for their part, are starting to show signs that they are stringing things together after a reasonably indifferent start to the season, where they have admittedly had a tough draw against the likes of Natte Bealiba, the Giants and Carisbrook.
Back to back wins against Navarre and Newstead have helped them move up to fifth, and they have been scoring at quite a comfortable rate, scoring at least 47 goals in all bar one game so far this season.
A Lexton win would be beneficial for the Tigers — with Avoca meeting Maldon, and Maryborough Giants meeting Natte Bealiba, they have an opportunity to both close in on the top four, while also potentially clearing away from the chasing pack as they look to remain the dangerous smoky they have always been.
Trentham V Newstead
With Trentham sitting in seventh and Newstead lying in ninth position, this looms as a crucial game for both teams as they look to cement their spot in the top eight.
Newstead will take some confidence out of knowing they were quite competitive against the Giants, hanging around for long periods after conceding a slow start. In the end, it was a 20-goal victory to the Giants, but the Kangaroos certainly didn’t lose any respect.
The Kangaroos have shown a tendancy to score in greater numbers this season, and certainly, adding Tayla Gale hasn’t hurt them as she currently lies sixth in the goalscoring charts.
Meantime, Trentham will be looking to bounce back after a 54-goal loss to Natte Bealiba.
While the Saints were admittedly unable to field their strongest lineup of the season, they will still be disappointed that they couldn’t muster more than 20 goals, and will be determined to hit back on the scoreboard this week.
Certainly, regaining the services of Tarnee Hammond, who was missed against the Swans, will help, as she has been a constant scorer for the Saints this season.
Like many other clubs, with key clashes across the weekend for many clubs in the top eight, the winner of this game stands to benefit the most, with sixth spot potentially on the line for the winner.
