By Marcus Uhe
Four Outer East Football Netball Premier Division football sides will compete with their seasons on the line this weekend, with two having their premiership dreams coming to a brutal end.
Wandin’s quest for back-to-back premiers will begin with a banana peel contest on Saturday against Mt Evelyn.
For non-Wandin fans, players and supporters, particularly those also in the top six and gunning for silverware at season’s end, the prospect of a boil-over will set tongues wagging.
Only three sides have beaten the Bulldogs in the last 18 months, dating back to the beginning of 2023 – Narre Warren, Woori Yallock, and the Rovers.
It was a sodden winter’s day at Wandin, with the playing surface resembling a muddy ice-skating rink, and unlike what the two sides will encounter on Saturday.
But the plucky Rovers remained a bogey side in 2024, with Wandin prevailing in two tight games, including a very narrow six-point win back in round one.
But a quirk with Wandin is its ability to excel on bigger grounds, bringing the silky footskills of its premiership-winning to the fore – think Pat Bruzzese, Chayce Black, Harrison van Duuren and Harrison Byrne.
Playing at Woori Yallock should fall right into their laps, as will the Rovers’ struggles on bigger surfaces in 2024.
Losses on the road to Narre Warren, Gembrook Cockatoo and Woori Yallock makes for poor reading, while it took three-and-a-half quarters to shake Berwick Springs at Mick Morland Reserve back in round five.
Playing at Wandin or Mt Evelyn would bring them back into the game, such is its capacity to excel in tight confides with strong bodies such as Daimon Kift and Max Kleverkamp around the ball, but this is a vastly different story.
Expect Callum Urquhart to play in defence in an attempt to plug holes, but he could be the difference should they need a spark in the forward half.
On the other side of the bracket, two of the under-the-radar sides of 2024, in Olinda Ferny Creek and Upwey Tecoma, will square off at Healesville.
Both sides have continued to win without fanfare in 2024, with Upwey Tecoma claiming the biggest scalp of the season by being the only team to defeat Narre Warren.
The two sides split their two meetings for one win apiece, with only two points separating the eventual margins in a unique twist of fate.
The Tigers hold slim advantages offensively, scoring 76.4 points per game compared to the Bloods’ 70.6, and concede two goals less per contest at the other end of the ground.
Upwey Tecoma has won its last three, and enters the contest on the back of hard-fought wins against Gembrook Cockatoo and Officer, two sides with plenty to play for at the time.
By contrast, the Bloods have lost their last three since beating the Tigers in round 15, beginning with a bizarre 11-point loss to Pakenham.
But a near-upset over Narre Warren and tough finish to the year against Wandin left them battle-hardened for September, and an assessment of their capacity against the benchmark.
Circled on the Upwey Tecoma whiteboard will be the magnet of Matt Scharenberg, who enters the contest as one of the competition’s form players, and a hot favourite to win the Shane Smith Medal as the competition’s best player.
Like Urquhart, Scharenberg can play at either end of the ground where required, displaying the talent and ability that eluded him at Collingwood while he fought persistent injury battles.
Stopping him will go a long way to winning the contest, and with winning form at their back, expect the Tigers to be too strong.
Tips: WANDIN v Mt Evelyn, UPWEY TECOMA v Olinda Ferny Creek.
