WEEKEND PREVIEW

It might be Interleague weekend, but if you can’t get up to Bendigo to watch the boys and girls of the Outer East play off against the Bendigo Football Netball League , don’t stress the ATC Traffic Division Two action rolls on as we enter our fifth weekend of the season. Here is the weekend preview.

It’s all about Powelltown this weekend, as the Towners are celebrating their 100th year in 2019, with the offical luncheon and book launch occurring this Saturday. It’s a mighty effort by any club to get to 100 years, but considering the small stature of Powelltown (as an actual town), it is even more impressive.

Powelltown are celebrating their 100th year in 2019. Photo – Powelltown Football Netball Club

On field they’ll be battling Alexandra and it’s an important clash for both sides. These two teams will be battling with Gembrook-Cockatoo for most likely the last spot in the final five it seems at this stage of the season, with Kinglake, Yarra Junction, Seville and Yarra Glen seemingly a slight step above the rest.

Both sides have been on the end of losses to the Brookers in the past fortnight and a win against a fellow finals challenger is important at this stage of the season, both for morale and to get a precious four point gap on the opposition. 

The Rebels won comfortably against Yea last weekend, despite a spirited Tigers second half, with noted goal kicker Brayden Norris doing the damage again with his second bag of five for the season, whilst Ferguson, Daniel and Steyger all impressed in the win. If Norris fires, the Rebels have a shot. If he doesn’t Powelltown are halfway home. 

Elsewhere Yarra Junction host Seville in the Division Two 2018 Grand Final rematch. Both sides have been impressive this season without having a performance to really write home about. The Eagles were shocked in round one by Powelltown but since then have been faultless, defeating Gembrook-Cockatoo in a strong second half performance, before a win over Yea.

Pocket rocket small forward Sam Morton has nailed 12 majors for the season and is a handful for opposition defenders – he’s lightning quick  and has a genuine knack for knowing where the goals are. Ewan Wadsworth and Josh Hammen have also been in relatively good form thus far for the Eagles, whilst prized recruit David Johnson has showed signs without really firing. 

The Blues bounced back from their Pride Cup loss by pumping Thornton Eildon at home. Seville have definitely taken full advantage of their early fixtures against the current bottom two and are the divisions highest scorers. Patrick Ratray has been quieter in recent weeks, but is deadly if given good delivery, whilst Nathan O’Keefe has kicked 13 goals in two weeks and is looking ominous. 

However the fire power of the twin towers might be taking away from the most dangerous Blue of the lot Dylan Broadway. A similar build to Morton, Broadway applies precious forward pressure and has already laid multiple run down tackles which has resulted in Seville goals this season. He’s kicked four goals in a fortnight and has been in the best three players on the ground on both occasions. He’ll be out to continue that form and get his own form of revenge for last September. 

Dylan Broadway has been impressive in recent weeks. Photo – BH Photography

Netball wise this is a big opportunity for Yarra Junction to pinch a win against one of the big three. Seville will be without gun defender Steph McNay who has been selected to represent the Outer East against Bendigo this weekend. Without her down there it’s a chance for the combination of Amanda Finn and Amelia Rose Michelle to get off the leash and score heavily. Finn already has 102 goals thus far this season and Michelle has 61 to boot. 

The Eagles have been impressive so far this year and would take great momentum from a win over a strong side like Seville. 

Yarra Glen almost pulled off a shock victory against Kinglake last weekend and despite the disappointment of losing, will definitely take huge confidence from their performance. They were defensively strong conceding just 38 goals against the Lakers and whilst the Martinov-Watts combination is obviously deadly, if Yarra Glen can build on last weekends strong defensive performance with another one this time out, they can take some good form into a slightly easier run over the next month.

Yarra Glen will want to build on last weekends outing against Yea. Photo – BH Photography