KYABRAM v SHEPPARTON
Shepparton started the season as expected by defeating arch rival United while Kyabram had a big win over the Shepparton Swans to kick start its title defence.
This promises to be a good test for both teams – for Shepparton to see if it is a real contender as many are predicting. For Kyabram to get an early test against one of the teams expected to challenge it for the 2017 title.
Coach Paul Newman will welcome the test for his team, which appears to be stronger on paper than last year.
He acknowledges the depth of the squad may not be as strong as 2016, so he will be hoping his troops stay free of injury during the back end of the season.
His counterpart – Brad Campbell would have been pleased with the first three quarters against the Demons.
The likes of Mitchell Brett, David Stretton, Benjamin Davies, Harry Boyd, Nicholas Allan and Luke Smith all led from the front, but he knows that only four quarters will be good enough to get the points over the Bombers.
The Bombers are littered with stars on every line. They have one the league’s best ruckman in Jake Reeves getting it down to the midfielders while up forward they have plenty of options to kick a winning score, with Kayne Pettifer, Kyle Mueller, Brad Edwards and the game’s best utility in Jason Morgan all getting amongst the goals last week.
And down back they have Lachie Smith, Joh Pell and Sam Sheldon marshalling the troops.
Tip: Kyabram.
TATURA v MOOROOPNA
Tatura made the best start to the season, with a come-from-behind win over Mansfield, while Mooroopna showed some glimpses of good play after giving the 2015 premier a run for its money for three quarters.
Youngster Lachlan Devine was the Cats’ shining light in the loss while others to make solid contributions included, Clint Riley, Ryan Devine, Dean Smith, skipper Trent Freer and Jonathan Odgers. The new recruits for the Cats also showed patches of brilliance and enough to suggest as the season goes on that they will make a big impact.
For the Bulldogs it was experienced trio Jamason Daniels, Tim Lanyon and James Wall who steered the ship after quarter time while United under 18 premiership player, Jonah Vraca and former Kyabram forward Andrew Ciavarella also made contributions in the win.
Tip: Tatura.
UNITED v ROCHESTER
There were plenty of positives to come out of the loss for United against its arch rivals.
Despite being headed for the entire game, the young Demons fought the game out to the end.
Young guns Angus Hicks, Jack Norman, Joshua Kezerle with three goals and Aaron Britten were the shining lights.
This week, the Demons will be looking to some of the more experienced players in the squad for a bigger output against a Tigers team looking to bounce back after a first up loss to Seymour at home.
Nathan McCarty, Perry Oliver, Scott Oakley, Sam Brennan, Jarod Bacon and Nicholas O'Connor were the players to fire on the loss.
James Flaherty will be keen to see his team’s response after the loss and this is a must win game for the Tigers.
Tip: Rochester.
BENALLA v ECHUCA
Despite the departure of some key players, Benalla was able to shake off a determined challenge from Mooroopna to get the four points while on the other hand, Echuca was left to lick its wounds after a heavy loss to Euroa.
Benalla is really reaping the benefits of having had strong junior teams over the past two seasons and some of those youngsters are starting to turn into really good senior footballers.
Brody Webster and Thomas Bennett are two of those youngsters while new recruit Jarrod Bannister starred with seven goals.
Premiership player Jordan Wolff slotted straight back in after 12 months away from the club while two other young players in Lachlan Thompson and Marcus O'Brien had outstanding games last week.
Cameron Valentine, Simon Buckley, Liam Wilkinson, Sam Toulmin, Tyler Phillips and Amos Farrell were some of the shining lights for the Murray Bombers.
Andrew Briggs will be hoping for a better four quarter effort against Benalla or else they will be staring at a 0-2 start to the season.
Tip: Benalla.
EUROA v SWANS
Euroa couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season, with a commanding win against Echuca.
Coach James Hayes led from the front while star defender Adam Tarrant, midfielder William Hayes, Bradley McCann, David Mole and Ryley Bjorksten all had big games.
For the Swans, 2017 is all about development and finding out who can and who can’t play at the level.
They were well beaten by Kyabram in the first half, but fought on to break even with them in the second half.
Some of the positives to come out of the loss were the performances of Jared Service Zac Alderton and Nathan Terlich.
Tip: Euroa.
SEYMOUR v MANSFIELD
Seymour made the perfect start to 2017 with a win against Rochester – a team it has struggled to beat over the past two seasons, especially over at Rochester.
Brent Colbert would have remembered the dirty day the Lions had over at Rochester in the 2015 finals series.
One player who was eager to make amends was Saad Saad and he did, with four goals.
Jason Cole, Brent Ryan, Brett Meredith, Brandyn Grenfell, Jordan Hockley and Harry McLean all had outstanding days to ensure the Lions got the four points.
The Lions’ opponents remain a work in progress.
They got off to a great start against Tatura, but struggled through the middle part of the game.
Against the Lions, they will need the likes of Ari Croxford-Demasi, Brant Anselmi, Lachlan Christopher, Ryan Bartlett, James Fox and Brett Mahoney to lead from the front to be any chance of winning the four points.
Tip: Seymour.
Last Modified on 01/05/2017 10:04