Undefeated and boasting sky-high percentages, these are Melbourne’s most dominant local football teams midway through the season
THINK your local football team is going well? We’ve scoured the senior ladders from competitions across Melbourne in search of the top 10 most dominant teams midway through the season. Here they are.
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THE chill of a Melbourne winter might be well and truly setting in but things are heating up on local football fields across town midway through season.
We scoured the ladders and results from senior competitions across Melbourne in search of the top-10 sides flying their flags the highest at this stage of the season.
All undefeated sides in senior competitions were considered, with rankings then based on percentage points.
1. DAREBIN FALCONS (Victorian Women’s Football League, Premier Division)
Record: 6-0. Percentage: 1132.93
Astronomical is just about the only way to describe Darebin Falcons’ four-figure percentage. Flag winners in Victorian Women’s Football League Premier Division last season, the Falcons have only improved in 2014 and shape as an unstoppable force as they strive for back-to-back flags. They have conceded just 82 points in six matches after putting a greater focus on defence this season and in Round 2 held a Bendigo side scoreless in a 47.22 (304) to 0.0 (0) result. Their closest win came by 49 points against Melbourne Uni.
2. WYNDHAM VALE (Victorian Women’s Football League, Division 3)
Record: 6-0. Percentage: 482.11
In just their second season since formation, it is fair to say the Falcons are flying. The club made finals last year in its inaugural season but has shown significant improvement again this season to sit as the competition’s hot favourite to take home the premiership after coach Kerry Saunders had said the side was just hopeful of a top-four finish during pre-season. Wyndham Vale’s average winning margin stands at 78 points, a figure which was boosted by a 21.16 (142) to 1.2 (8) thumping of Montmorency last weekend.
3. SEAFORD (Victorian Women’s Football League, Division 5)
Record: 5-0. Percentage: 423.21
Again from the Victorian Women’s Football League, Seaford is yet another team which has scored more than four times the total of its opposition during the early rounds of the season. While currently in the VWFL’s lowest division, that might not be the case for too long. In a competition where the highest score recorded by any team this season has been 85 points, Seaford has had an average winning margin of 36 points from its opening five games and has held its opposition to just one goal in five of those matches.
4. ROMSEY (Riddell District Football League)
Record: 9-0. Percentage: 355.24
After an injury-ravaged 2013 which saw Romsey miss finals, the Redbacks have hit back with plenty of bite this season. Nine wins from nine matches by an average of 100 points in an ever-improving competition is certainly nothing to scoff at. The record has opposition clubs saying Romsey already “has one hand on the (premiership) cup”. But having won 16 of 21 matches going into the 2012 grand final only to lose to Sunbury Kangaroos by three points with a goal on the siren, the Redbacks are not getting too far ahead of themselves just yet.
5. GLEN ORDEN (Western Region Football League, Division 2)
Record: 10-0. Percentage: 258.62
Glen Orden was not without its doubters during pre-season. The reigning premier waved goodbye to several of its premiership stars and many expected a drop off this season. But in a far cry from that, the Hawks sit undefeated atop of the WRFL Division 2 ladder. Not only have they won all 10 games this season but the side has won 28 of its past 29 matches overall. And in words that opposition clubs will not like to hear, coach Stuart Daly has warned his side’s best is still to come.
6. DEER PARK (Western Region Football League, Division 1)
Record: 10-0. Percentage: 255.90
Deer Park would have to be one of the most talked about teams in Melbourne’s local football scene this year. Having taken out the 2013 WRFL Division 1 premiership by one-point over Spotswood, the club decided it needed to step things up again this season in its bid to go back-to-back. In the months after their premiership win, the recruits started flooding in like a tsunami. Former AFL stars Brent Guerra, Ryan Hargrave, Bret Thornton, and Ryan Houlihan were among the new faces to join the Lion pride. The Lions’ strategy towards getting their hands on another premiership cup has not been without its critics, but it is working. With an average winning margin of 75 points, it is hard to see anyone stopping the Deer Park charge this season.
7. ROXBURGH PARK (Essendon District Football League, Division 2)
Record: 10-0. Percentage: 240.88
It seems there is always a bolter in every football competition each year. But few would have expected Roxburgh Park to be that bolter in the EDFL’s Division 2 competition. TheMagpies won just nine of 18 matches last season to miss finals. But under new coach Paul Derrick and with a handful of new recruits, the side has taken the competition by storm this year, sitting atop of the table with an average winning margin of 76 points. Derrick expected his side would go “all right” this year, but even he did not see such a dominant season coming.
8. DINGLEY (Southern Football League, Division 1)
Record: 9-0. Percentage: 239.90
Having fallen out of the finals race at the preliminary final stage last season, Dingley was determined to take another step this year. And, midway through the season the Dingoes are certainly staking its claim as the side to beat in the SFL’s Divison 1. Dingley continues to tick all the right boxes in their quest for ultimate glory this season and although it has not been a case of one-way traffic every week, it continues to get the job done.
9. MOUNT WAVERLEY (Southern Football League, Division 3)
Record: 10-0. Percentage: 236.40
Mount Waverley put in a solid 2013 campaign, winning 12 of 18 matches during the regular season to scrape into finals before making its way through an elimination final and eventually falling at the semi-final stage. But if last year was a good effort, this year has been great. The side handed out another three-figure thumping last weekend, taking down Dandenong by 104 points to continue its charge towards its first SFL premiership since 1998.
10. NORTH HEIDELDBERG (Northern Football League, Division 2)
Record: 10-0. Percentage: 207.01
Opposition coaches are likening North Heidelberg to Black Caviar. In horse racing terms the Bulldogs have the rest of the competition covered by the length of the Flemington straight. Their 10 wins have come by an average of 69 points in what is otherwise a fairly even competition this season. The best way to show just how well the Bulldogs are travelling is to point out their Round 1 result. Fitzroy Stars currently sit second on the ladder with seven wins. North Heidelberg beat them by 84 points in the season opener.
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