ERWFL PREVIEW

By Alyce Collett

Round 8 of the Eastern Region Women’s Competition is coming up this weekend, and with a few sides with a point to prove, it should be a cracking round of football.

In Premier Division, Mt Evelyn come up against second placed Whitehorse Suns. Last time around it was a tight affair, with Mt Evelyn losing by seven points. Mt Evelyn were actually in it right up until three quarter time that particular day, but Whitehorse came from behind in the last to take the win. 

Mt Evelyn should go into this game with the confidence that they can win this time, especially since they come into the match with a two game winning streak and are coming off a 50 point win last week.

In Division One, Upwey Tecoma come up against an Upper Ferntree Gully side that will be full of confidence after easily defeating Heathmont last week. They will be looking to emulate their round 1 performance against Upper Ferntree Gully, after keeping them scoreless all match. A win would be very handy for Upwey Tecoma as it would create a little more breathing space between them and fourth placed East Ringwood.

In the Outer East division, it is the battle of the cellar dwellers as Thornton – Eildon host Upwey Tecoma. Last time the two sides met Thornton – Eildon claimed their sole win of the season to date winning by 33 points. 

Lack of scoring shots really hurt Upwey Tecoma, as they only scored one goal for the entire afternoon. 

This time out they will need to find a way through Thornton – Eildon’s defence without  sacrificing their own defence in order to get the win. They have proven that scoring is not always an issue for them, after they had 17 scoring shots in their win over Belgrave only two weeks ago.

Belgrave come into this weekend’s match against Monbulk with a point to prove, after losing their last three matches. They come against a Monbulk side who after losing to Healesville in the battle of the undefeated sides, proved they were still one of the teams to beat this season by absolutely demolishing Upwey Tecoma last week. 

Last time these two sides met, Belgrave did not score, but Monbulk were restricted to only 35 points, which is at the lower end of Monbulk’s scores this season. Belgrave have also proven that they can match it with the top sides, after losing to the currently undefeated Healesville by only seven points – they just need to find a way to score.

 They will also have to find a way to keep Kathryn Gow quiet, after she kicked eight goals last week and has kicked 22 goals for the year.

In the final match of the round, it is the ladder leaders Healesville up against Yarra Junction. Last time it was a 46 point win to Healesville, but it was much closer than that at times during the match. 

The margin was only 14 points at half time and 33 points at half time. Yarra Junction’s problem that afternoon was that they went scoreless in the first half and were only able to kick 1.1 in the second half, and they let Healesville run away with the game. They need to tidy things up a bit to be any hope of winning this weekend.