By: Lachlan SHIRLEY

ROUND 6 of the Geelong Region Men’s Division 1 competition is set to kick off on Friday night (tonight) under lights at Hume Reserve, as 5^th place Corio hosts 7^th placed Lara United in the ‘northern derby’, with just one point separating the two sides.

Lara will be hoping to bounce back strongly after losing their last two games to an in-form Geelong Rangers and Surfside Waves. Corio will also be looking to come back strong after losing 2-3 to Surfside last week.

On Sunday afternoon, in the pick of the matches, it will be a case 2^nd vs 3^rd at Grovedale Reserve as 2^nd placed Barwon takes on 3^rd placed Surfside Waves, with only one point separating the two sides.

The Waves are coming off the back of a narrow 3-2 win over Corio last week and Barwon will be hoping to put in a stronger performance this week after they drew 3-3 with bottom placed Breakwater Eagles last round.

Surf Coast will host Drysdale at Banyul Warri Reserve in Torquay.

Surf Coast will be full of confidence this week after emphatically defeating Barwon Heads 9-0, while Drysdale will want to put in a better performance than last week when they were defeated 2-3 at the hands of Deakin.

Drysdale currently sits in 6^th spot with seven points, only one point in front of Lara. Surf Coast, meanwhile, currently sits in 9^th spot with just three points, only one point behind 8^th placed Barwon Heads.

Over at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus, the Deakin Ducks will host Breakwater Eagles. The Ducks defeated Drsydale 3-2 last round and will be looking to keep up their winning ways. The Eagles captured their first point of the season, managing a draw with Barwon and will be hoping to build on that result against the Ducks.

In the final Sunday afternoon game, rampaging competition leaders Geelong Rangers will host Barwon Heads at Myers Reserve.

Barwon Heads need to significantly improve if they are to get anything from this game after they were comprehensively defeated 9-0 by Surf Coast last round. Rangers are yet to be beaten this season and come into this weekend’s clash on the back of a comfortable 2-0 win over northern rivals Lara United.

Rangers are currently 5 points clear of the pack at the top of the table with 15 points. Barwon Heads, meanwhile, are in 8^th spot with four points and a -12 goal difference.

Lachlan Shirley is a young SEDA student, currently doing work experience with FFV Geelong. He will be compiling regular weekly reports on the Geelong Region Men’s and Women’s Division 1 competitions.