How every NFL Division 1 club has fared in the first seven games of 2021
After being robbed of two rounds of matches by the infernal pandemic we’ve reached the halfway mark of the NFL Division 1 season. Every club analysed.
Northern
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We’ve reached the halfway mark of the 2021 NFL Division 1 campaign.
Losing the last two weeks has been incredibly disappointing but it has allowed us to take stock of the season so far and assess each club’s performance.
We’ve looked at each club’s big win, big loss and leading performers in the opening seven rounds.
Read our analysis below and have your say on who’s going home with the premiership.
GREENSBOROUGH
Ladder: 1st (6-1, 176.90%)
Leading goalkicker: Ben Fennell, 10 (No. 13)
Leading Coaches’ MVP votes: Tom Brindley, 32 (No. 1)
Big win: Borough coach Mick Harford must also be rapt with the spread of goalkicking options. Greensborough is No. 1 in points for but leading goalkicker Ben Fennell isn’t even in the competition’s top 10. In fact, Fennell is the only Borough forward in the top 20 leading goalkickers.
Big loss: Young ruckman Rayden Garrard dislocated his knee in the last-start win over North Heidelberg, so we don’t know exactly how it will impact Greensborough just yet. Fellow big man Jake McNamara also failed to finish the match after copping a knock to his knee. The Borough aren’t blessed with an abundance of height and can’t afford any more injuries in the ruck department.
Big surprise: Tom Brindley. The young gun is leading the Division 1 Coaches’ MVP award after the opening seven rounds. The 20-year-old has played forward, back, midfield and even pinch-hit in the ruck. Hard to argue that he wouldn’t be leading the Greensborough best-and-fairest right now as well.
WEST PRESTON-LAKESIDE
Ladder: 2nd (6-1, 160.43%)
Leading goalkicker: Ahmed Saad, 23 (No. 1)
Leading Coaches’ MVP votes: Jackson Clarke, 19
Big win: Not starting 0-6? The reigning premier is travelling beautifully in comparison to 2019. No, the big win is the Roosters’ defence. The club has conceded 325 fewer points than at the same time in 2019 (2019: 694, 2021: 369) and sits second for points against behind Greensborough. Led by Jackson Clarke, the likes of Max Dreher, Nick Robortella, Joel McDonald and Ethan Penrith have blanketed opposition forwards.
Big loss: Fair to say not much has gone wrong for the Roosters this season. But the reigning premier would have been itching for another crack at Greensborough after losing by a point in Round 2. The COVID lockdown has robbed Rob Maiorana’s men – and we the fans – of a rematch. We’ll all just have to wait until finals.
Big surprise: That rivals still can’t shutdown Ahmed Saad. To use a well-worn cliche, Saad is West Preston-Lakeside’s one wood. Despite missing two games through suspension he’s still a goal clear on top of the competition leaderboard. In another positive for the Roosters, they were able to win both games without him against Heidelberg and Hurstbridge.
NORTH HEIDELBERG
Ladder: 3rd (5-2, 114.62%)
Leading goalkicker: Shane Harvey, 15 (No. 6)
Leading Coaches’ MVP votes: Jesse Tardio, 31 (No. 2)
Big win: North Heidelberg would be rapt with Anthony Daw’s first seven games in red, white and blue. Lured from Airport West (EDFL) to replace Michael Florance, Daw has more than matched it with some of the best ruckmen in the competition. Needs to be a little bit more damaging around the ground to be a true force but his tap work and second efforts around the contest have been first class.
Big loss: There were mitigating circumstances for the 88-point loss to Greensborough but it is still a major wake-up call for the Bulldogs. After the bruising win over Bundoora, North held on for a half before being over-run. It should be noted the Bulls also lost the following week – upset by Hurstbridge at home. The COVID lockdown robbed us of the clash against West Preston-Lakeside so we’ll have to wait until the second half of the season to see if the Dogs can match it with the top two.
Big surprise: It might not be a surprise inside Shelley Reserve but the Bulldogs’ spread of goalkickers has certainly surprised a few opponents. For so long so much traffic went through Shane Harvey and while he is still the club’s leading goalkicker he’s now got friends. Billy Hogan, Curtis Howden-Crhak, Jared Crosbie and Braidyn Hirt have all hit the scoreboard on a regular basis and it’s allowed Harvey to spend more time up the ground this season.
HEIDELBERG
Ladder: 4th (4-3, 140.60%)
Leading goalkicker: Josh Minogue, 21 (No. 4)
Leading Coaches’ MVP votes: Matt Smith, 25 (No. 4)
Big win: Josh Minogue has taken his game to a new level this season. Stepping up as the Tigers No. 1 forward option in place of Sam Grimley, Minogue has booted 21 majors in seven games – just five fewer than he kicked in 20 games in 2019. His contested marking in particular has been impressive.
Big loss: Yes, fourth place looks good now but will the Tigers be able to match it with the big boys come the business end of the season? Heidelberg’s four wins have come against Hurstbridge, Whittlesea, Macleod and Northcote Park. The losses against Bundoora, West Preston-Lakeside and Montmorency. Danny Nolan’s side needs a scalp to be taken seriously.
Big surprise: When Heidelberg has won it has won well and percentage will likely be a key factor in who does or doesn’t play finals this season. The Tigers’ average winning margin of 58 points is the highest in the competition and outstrips Greensborough (46), West Preston-Lakeside (37) and North Heidelberg (35). The killer instinct might just help them get that scalp.
BUNDOORA
Ladder: 5th (4-3, 128.11%)
Leading goalkicker: Sam Lloyd, 23 (No. 1)
Leading Coaches’ MVP votes: Hamish Shepheard, 16
Big win: Bundoora’s 2019 season couldn’t have gone much worse and the club has bounced back strongly at both ends of the ground. First-year coach Michael Ryan has lifted the Bulls’ scoring slightly from 70 to 79 points per game but it's the defence that has improved significantly. In 2019, Bundoora conceded an average of 86 points per game but just 62 per game in 2021. That’s an improvement differential of 33 points per game.
Big loss: The last-start loss to Hurstbridge will be increasingly frustrating with every week we remain in lockdown. The Bulls came within a kick of beating North Heidelberg in a ripping contest but then stumbled at home against the Bridges. If Bundoora wants to end its one-season finals drought then it has to win those games.
Big surprise: Was Sam Lloyd expected to have a bigger impact having just stepped out of the AFL system? He was still a valued member of the Western Bulldogs when he decided to hang up the boots but hasn’t exactly taken the competition by storm so far. He has kicked 23 goals, the most in the competition, including a bag of eight against Whittlesea but has been named in Bundoora’s best just three times in seven games and only got Coaches’ MVP votes once – against the Eagles.
MONTMORENCY
Ladder: 6th (4-3, 102.51%)
Leading goalkicker: Pat Fitzgerald, 21 (No. 4)
Leading Coaches’ MVP votes: Jesse Donaldson, 26 (No. 3)
Big win: Hard to go past beating Greensborough at Greensborough. Not many have done that in recent years. However, the fact Montmorency is only percentage out of the top five is incredible given the club’s injury list. The Magpies have used a league-high 38 players so far this season and just nine have featured in every game – second fewest in the competition. Garry Ramsay will be desperately hoping he can stabilise his best 22.
Big loss: While the fact Montmorency has been able to overcome injury concerns is a plus, one injury can’t be overlooked. Ben Kennedy has played just two-and-a-bit quarters this season after suffering a serious hamstring injury in the season-opening win over Northcote Park. He might not return at all this year, which would be a massive blow to the Magpies’ finals hopes.
Big surprise: The fact Sam Binion is a good player is no surprise but it must be a pleasant surprise to Montmorency that he’s been able to play every game this season. Binion only featured once for the Magpies in 2019, playing 14 games for Coburg – where he remains contracted. He’s certainly doing everything he can to be picked at VFL level with six mentions in the best in seven games and sitting fifth in Division 1 Coaches’ MVP voting.
HURSTBRIDGE
Ladder: 7th (3-4, 70.32%)
Leading goalkicker: Joel Naylor, 22 (No. 3)
Leading Coaches’ MVP votes: Bailey Jordan, 17
Big win: He arrived with little fanfare but Joel Naylor is without doubt the recruit of the year at the halfway mark of the season. After spending 2019 with Romsey in the Riddell District, the key forward was lured across to Ben Frilay Oval and has been superb, kicking multiple goals in every appearance. Together with Bailey Jordan and Nick Milne, forms a dangerous attacking trio.
Big loss: Sadly, it appears to be season over for Cameron Cloke. The Bridges star was concussed in the last-start win over Bundoora. While he hasn’t had the same impact he still drew one of the best defenders every week and allowed the likes of Naylor and Jordan to thrive.
Big surprise: Despite the loss of Daniel Keenan in the pre-season and now Cloke, the Bridges have largely been able to avoid the injury chaos this season. Jarrod Tilley has used only 29 players in the opening seven weeks – fewest in the competition. Hurstbridge has also had 14 players play every game – second most in the competition. A stable 22 is critical if the club is going to challenge for finals.
MACLEOD
Ladder: 8th (2-5, 82.42%)
Leading goalkicker: Patrick Martin, 13 (No. 8)
Leading Coaches’ MVP votes: Justin White, 14
Big win: Patrick Flynn and Ned McKeown have delivered exactly what Macleod would have wanted from its big-name recruit and returning star. Flynn has played every game so far, seemingly fully recovered from the serious ankle injury that ruined his 2019. While McKeown has stepped seamlessly back into the Kangas’ defence and also played all seven games.
Big loss: Starting the season 0-4 will put any team behind the eight ball and now Macleod needs to pull its collective finger out in the second half of the season if its to play finals. The home loss to Greensborough would have been particularly galling. The Kangas kicked 8.18 and had one more scoring shot than the Borough but lost by 24 points.
Big surprise: The emergence of Rhys Rigoni has been a big positive in the first half of the season. The young midfielder played under-19s at St Mary’s in 2019 but has stepped up to Division 1 football with aplomb. He’s been named in the best in four of six appearances (equal most at the club) and earned Coaches’ MVP votes in two matches.
WHITTLESEA
Ladder: 9th (1-6, 62.90%)
Leading goalkicker: Clancy Bland, 10 (No. 13)
Leading Coaches’ MVP votes: Xavier Dimasi, 15
Big win: The Eagles faced the current top five in the opening five rounds and were able to hold their own. Only a Sam Lloyd-inspired Bundoora has truly got a hold of the promotion winners. A 17-point loss to reigning premier West Preston-Lakeside was an impressive performance and it was followed up by the shock upset win over North Heidelberg. However, if Whittlesea wants to survive it can’t afford brave losses in the second half of the season.
Big loss: Major recruit Cam Barrett returned to Balranald due to family commitments a few weeks ago. It’s a major blow to the Whittlesea midfield with the former VFL onballer impressing in the opening rounds. While it is doubtful he’ll return this season, the club is confident he’ll be back for 2022.
Big surprise: Northern Bullants’ loss is Whittlesea’s gain. Zach Molloy was cut by the Bullants during the pre-season but he’s started the Division 1 campaign in good form. While Bundoora star Sam Lloyd kicked eight on him, Molloy earned recognition from Bulls coach Michael Ryan and kept Shane Harvey quiet in the upset win over North Heidelberg. One to watch.
NORTHCOTE PARK
Ladder: 10th (0-7, 47.11%)
Leading goalkicker: Michael Amad, 8 (equal 21st)
Leading Coaches’ MVP votes: Matt Perry & Ben McNiece, 8
Big win: The form of key defender Reed Jepson has been nothing short of excellent. Despite the Cougars’ defence being bombarded on a weekly basis, Jepson has kept his opponent quiet just about every week. If he can add intercept marking to his repatoire on a more regular basis he could be the best defender in the competition.
Big loss: Fair to say the season hasn’t gone as planned so far. Without a win in the opening seven rounds it’s hard to see Northcote Park surviving the dreaded drop. It would end an almost 30-year stay in Division 1 that has delivered six premierships and one of the league’s most dominant eras – the 1999-2002 four-peat.
Big surprise: Depth has been an issue for Northcote Park for a number of seasons, which is a surprise given the club’s Division 1 success and quality facilities. It’s meant the club hasn’t been able to cover injuries and key departures or fuel in-house competition or spots in the senior team.
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