Tigers, Sharks circle a top four berth, Wicks ignite

Jake Morris

After a slow start to the season, the South Mornington Tigers and Eley Park Sharks have moved themselves into striking distance of a very improbable finals berth, with each side sitting just one game out of the top four. Despite their hot start to the season, both the X-Men and the Swans continue to inexplicably drop games, leaving the Finals door ajar. North Brunswick and Parkside took care of business in their clashes on the weekend, while Elsternwick kept their faint finals hopes alive with a big win over the Rams. Round 14 is set to be a beauty, so here is what to expect.

Beginning with our match of the round, the ladder leading North Brunswick will welcome St Francis Xavier to Allard Park as the X-Men look to get back on track and keep themselves locked in for September action. After dropping their first game of the season a fortnight ago, the Bulls have more than made up for that blunder with back-to-back dominations over the Demons and Masala. Thanks to five majors apiece from Michael Salloum, Brendon George and Andrew Ramzy, North Brunswick were able to put together their highest score of the season in a massive 31.17 (203) to 7.4 (46) win over the Dees. Despite holding a slim eight-point lead heading into the final change, the X-Men were unable to hold off a fast-finishing Parkside, falling by just four-points and conceding their second loss in a row. The two sides that score the most (128 & 114) and concede the least (58 & 56), this matchup has all the makings of a potential grand final preview and a contest you cannot afford to miss. Despite the blemish two weeks ago, the Bulls are in much better shape entering this matchup, and should hand the X-Men their third straight defeat.

Winners of their last seven, Parkside have taken the competition by storm and have more than staked their claim for a top two finish come seasons end. Holding an average winning margin of 57-points in their current streak, the Devils will be keen to inflict more pain this weekend as they welcome Masala to Pitcher Park. Parkside sent a message to the rest of the competition when they took down fellow Premiership hopefuls St Francis Xavier by four-points in a thrilling contest, with the Logozzo brothers (Luciano and Steven) both bagging a double and willing their side to a come-from-behind victory. Masala were once again beaten from pillar-to-post in a forgetful 109-point loss, their ninth triple-figure defeat of the year. Already boasting an impressive percentage, this should be another clash for the Devils to build those numbers and lock down that second position.

If South Melbourne Districts wish to turn their season around, this is the week to start. Another loss here could see them barely hold onto fourth spot by percentage, or even worse, fall out of the top four entirely. The Swans have now lost five of their last seven, including an unexpected 32-point loss to the Sharks on the weekend. Scoring an average 105-points through rounds 1 to 6, the Swans since then are at just 77-per game, and are conceding just under 97-points per match in that same timeframe; not conducive to finals type football. Their opponents this weekend in Elsternwick continue their uphill climb to unlikely finals action with their second win in a row, a 55-point drubbing of the Rams. Justin Hunter booted six while Julian Yeatman kicked five to keep touch on the goal-kicking tally. Even though their last three wins have come against the bottom three teams in the competition, the Wickers ability to put points on the board in recent weeks is something to marvel at. 164-points on Masala, 178-points on Box Hill North and 133-points on Mt Lilydale shows that their more than capable of taking down opponents in dominating fashion. The Swans season is on the line here, and if they don’t get up for this clash then they never will. Swans to win.

One team hoping for a Swans loss is South Mornington, with a win over Mt Lilydale paired with a Wickers upset will just-about push them into fourth spot on the competition table. Thanks to a bag of 10 from league leading goal-kicker Travis French, the Tigers were able to dispatch Masala for their third win in a row and seventh victory from their past nine contests. Their opponents this weekend in the Rams were hammered by an upstart Elsternwick side that seemingly put the contest out of reach by half-time. Luke Corrin, Stephen Donald and Cam Bell all kicked two for the Rams but it was to no avail as their usually strong defensive unit were no match for the Wickers firepower. A repeat performance from the Rams back six will almost certainly spell danger this weekend, as French is in blistering form and could end this one off his own boot. Look for the Tigers to continue streaking here.

Our final match-up this round will see Eley Park, who are also on the verge of an unlikely finals appearance, squaring-up against Box Hill North who will be looking to play spoilers for the remainder of the year. Eley Park were impressive in their 33-point win over the Swans, with Chris Brown and Matt Tanner each kicking four, while holding their usually high-scoring opponents to a lowly 69-points. The Demons were dismantled by the Premiership favourites North Brunswick in their Round 13 clash, going down by 157-points for their biggest defeat on the year. Similar to the Tigers, the Sharks have come from the clouds to be in contention for those final four spots, winning five of their last six matches. Now that their September dream is out of the question, the Dees can use these last five weeks to play spoilers and improve across the ground, notably their backline, which has conceded over 150-points on average over the last month of play. Sharks to win.