EFNL 2024: What to look out for in Eastern this June 22 weekend
There’s no shortage of crunch games across all five Eastern league divisions this weekend. Here’s where the hottest clashes are taking place around the grounds.
Eastern
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Crunch games everywhere.
Top spot beckons for some as others vie to stay in touch with the finals race and winning droughts could be broken.
Here’s where the hottest clashes are taking place around the Eastern league grounds this weekend ...
PREMIER DIVISION
SATURDAY NIGHT SHOWDOWN
South Croydon coach Brendan Allen says we may find out how far his group has progressed in half a season by Saturday night as it meets one of the division’s pacesetters, East Ringwood.
They last met in Round 1, with the Roos winning by 51 points.
“We were with them for three quarters in Round 1, and (the team) probably weren’t anywhere near used to where I wanted them to be from a defensive and offensive point of view,” Allen said following the weekend’s 45-point win over Doncaster East.
“But we’ll find out (if) in nine rounds we’ve learnt something.”
East Ringwood ended Vermont’s run of five straight wins last round to the tune of 36 points.
Allen said his side hadn’t yet put together four quarters, but last weekend was his side’s “most balanced” effort of the year.
The former Blackburn mentor noted the Bulldogs’ forward line had started to click, cracking 100 points for the first time this year.
“That’s what we’ve been chasing all year, and it’s probably more getting used to each other,” Allen said.
With East Ringwood sitting second only to an unbeaten Balwyn, there are few better teams for South, sixth, to test its wares against.
Round 10: East Ringwood v South Croydon, 4.45pm at East Ringwood Rec. Reserve
FIVE AND FOUR
Both hold a 5-4 record – Blackburn in fourth and Vermont in fifth, with the pair to meet at Terrara Rd on Saturday.
And both were on the receiving end of losses last weekend.
The Eagles’ five game winning run came to an end at the hands of East Ringwood, while Blackburn pushed unbeaten ladder-leader Balwyn – but came up nine points short.
An opportunity to skip well ahead of the ledger awaits.
Round 10: Vermont v Blackburn at Vermont Rec. Reserve
DROUGHT ENDING?
Barring a draw, one of Noble Park or Doncaster East will break a barren run this weekend. The Bulls have lost six in a row since starting 0-3 while the Lions are on a five-game slide after their loss to South Croydon last Saturday.
The Bulls fell agonisingly short of an upset win last round, running reigning premier Rowville to three points at Seebeck Oval after rallying from 18 points adrift at the final change.
The Lions fell to South Croydon by 45 points and simply must jag a win to breathe life into a season yielding just two wins from nine starts.
Noble Park will also celebrate its 450th Eastern league match this weekend after joining the competition in 2000. Its record boasts 297 wins, 149 losses and three draws, winning five premierships.
The pair square off at Pat Wright Snr. Oval at 2.20pm.
DIVISION 1
MATCH OF THE ROUND
Second versus third.
South Belgrave travels to Montrose with the pair entering the clash in fine form.
The Saints knocked over reigning premier Mitcham last Saturday for a second time this season – this time by 36 points in what coach Heath Black described as a ‘war of attrition’.
His charges, although depleted, have won five in a row.
“I’m extremely proud of the fact that with what we’ve had to pick from and where we are on the ladder, (it) is an absolute credit to the playing group,” Black said after the match.
Montrose has arrested a form slump in the past month, winning three on the bounce – including its last two by 93 and 75 points respectively.
The Dees’ Ryan Garthwaite is a runaway leader in the comp goalkicking, putting away 51 goals from 10 matches – ahead of the Saints’ Tim Smith on 30.
The clubs last met in Round 2, with Montrose winning by 67 points.
Round 11: Montrose v South Belgrave at Montrose Rec. Reserve
DIVISION 2
ANOTHER TEST
Confidence is brimming at Mulgrave after it came from the clouds to topple the second-placed Waverley Blues last weekend.
Trailing by 37 points at the half, the Lions pulled off one of the upsets of the season, winning by seven points after a nail-biting final term to hand the Blues just their second loss this year.
They sit fifth with six wins and four losses – but an even bigger test awaits at Tormore Reserve this Saturday.
“We’ll have had two top teams in two weeks … we got through (last Saturday), so I’m looking forward to testing ourselves against Boronia – the top team,” Mulgrave coach Matt Richards said after last Saturday’s win.
Meanwhile, East Burwood meets Ringwood and simply must win to keep in touch with the finals race, sitting in seventh spot with a 4-6 record. A loss could mean a long way back for the Rams. Ringwood fell to Templestowe and now sits sixth at 5-5. Plenty in this match in the context of the season.
Round 11: Boronia v Mulgrave at Tormore Reserve
East Burwood v Ringwood at East Burwood Reserve
DIVISION 3
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
Donvale is enjoying one of local footy’s most dominant runs, on a 27-game winning streak.
But Surrey Park almost halted the juggernaut in Round 2, falling five points short.
The Panthers, second, get another crack at the ladder-leader on Saturday.
Promoted from Division 4 at the end of last season following a breakthrough flag, Surrey has hardly put a foot wrong in a higher tier of competition this year, winning nine of 10 games so far.
With a percentage of 214 – far superior to any in the division – top spot beckons for Surrey Park if it can overcome the seemingly indomitable reigning premier this weekend.
Has its biggest moment arrived?
Round 11: Surrey Park v Donvale at Surrey Park
DIVISION 4
TOP-TWO CLASH ... AGAIN
The battle for top spot heats up again.
Ladder-leader Scoresby, fresh off a 45-point win over flag rival Kilsyth, will defend its outright post against the second-seeded Whitehorse Pioneers after usurping the throne a fortnight ago.
Scoresby senior coach Craig McKenzie couldn’t fault his side’s defensive set-up in the weekend’s statement win.
“Our defence game was on point – we really set up well,” McKenzie said.
“We felt like it (the match) was never going in the wrong direction for us, is probably the best way to put it.”
The numbers paint a similar picture for Scoresby – it has conceded the least scores of any team this season (489) and scored the most (919). Meanwhile, the Pioneers sit third in both measures – kicking 812 points and conceding 550 – but have played one less game than the Magpies following a bye last round.
The pair last met in Round 5 with the Pioneers winning by 35 points.
An opportunity presents for Scoresby to move two games clear in first – with a bye to come on July 6. The Pioneers can draw level – but a loss could send them tumbling into third, pending a win to Chirnside Park (third) over Forest Hill (fifth).
Round 11: Whitehorse Pioneers v Scoresby at Springfield Park
Grand final wins and a shock or two
Finals accelerated in local footy with plenty of grand final winners as elsewhere there were stunning results as teams looked to qualify for the decider. Here are the talking points from Saturday’s football.
Ex-VFL man wins Vermont’s top job
The Eastern league’s most successful club has wasted no time appointing its next senior coach following the exit of Adam Parker, with a former state league assistant taking the reins.