September action on the line in a bumper weekend of Southern league footy
There’s been “no bigger game” for two Southern league contenders. See how they plan to approach the finals audition as well as everything else to look out for across the competition this weekend.
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The importance of the outcome hasn’t escaped either coach.
East Brighton and Port Melbourne Colts will face off on Saturday in a match that will shape the Southern league Division 1 finals race.
The fifth-placed Colts host the sixth-placed Vampires in a classic eight-point game.
The winner will tighten their grip on a finals berth, and the loser will risk being overtaken by the in-form Cranbourne.
East Brighton coach Nick Jewell said these type of matches were what the Vampires looked forward to when they entered Division 1.
“That was certainly our goal, we wanted to come up and make finals,” Jewell said.
“We understand the enormity of the challenge coming up from div two, especially after a long time.
“The best thing now is that we’re within striking distance, it’s in our hands, if we’re good enough we’ll get there.”
The Vampires will be lifted by the inclusions of Sean Downie, Ryan Semmel, Rob Forrest and Blake Cochrane.
Jewell trusts the Vampires’ brand stacks up but wants to see them trim the difference between their best and worst.
“We have to get back to the style we know makes us play well,” he said.
“We have four big ins this week which will be handy – we haven’t really had a full side on paper all year.
“We should hopefully be close to it in the next coming weeks, we know if we play our style and move it quick to our big forwards who can mark it.
“We know how we want to play, we just have to make sure we click.”
Darrean Wyatt, Mitch Clarke and Chris Deluca will all return for the Colts.
Colts’ co-coach Justin Taylor said there had been no bigger game for his side this season.
“This is massive for us,” Taylor said.
“Cranbourne was big as well but we went out there pretty depleted, we had five or six of our best out and then Chan (Hargraves) got taken out after that.
“We had a crack at them but this is the one, we can separate ourselves from them and maybe get a six-point gap.
“There’s probably no bigger game than this week for us.”
Cranbourne, meanwhile, is looking to build on its recent form with a win over Dingley.
The Eagles knocked off the Colts last week to create the three-team logjam vying for fifth place.
If the Eagles and Vampires win, only percentage would separate the two sides in fifth.
Elsewhere in the Southern league, Murrumbeena hosts fellow finals contender Caulfield Bears.
Both the Bears and Lions suffered defeats last week and will be itching to get back on the winner’s list.
The Lions still have a game in hand but a loss to the Bears could see them fall from third to fifth.
Lions’ mid-season recruit Travis Ogden may have slipped in under the radar but the competition will quickly discover the boost he will provide the ladder leaders.
Third spot is on the line in Division 3, with Carrum Patterson Lakes welcoming Heatherton.
The Tunners knocked off South Mornington last week in what coach Matt Shorey described as his best win for the club.
A win for Heatherton would not only propel it to third but would all but lock Lyndhurst (fifth) out of the top four.
Lions’ spearhead Matthew Baxter will be the key match-up for the Tunners.
Baxter has kicked 62 majors in 2024 – an impressive 20 more than the next best.
Lyndale, meanwhile, can lock away a return to September action if it knocks off Moorabbin Kangaroos in mouth-watering Division 4 bout.
The Pumas are 10-3 under energetic coach Brendan Groenendyk and are aimed toward a finals berth.
A win over the Kangaroos would cement a finals berth and keep it within striking distance of Hallam in second.
Groenendyk’s men will show the competition where it sits over the next three weeks when it tackles each of the top three sides.
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Grand final wins and a shock or two
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