Division 2 Preview: Round 9

Anna Pavlou – Annalyst_Sports

Bottom takes on top and it should be Old Paradians who prevail when they travel to Eltham this week. Old Paradians are big, strong with a lot of class and many contributors across the ground. Eltham will look to their young players for inspiration to run out the game as strongly as possible, but it will be a tough day to attempt to beat the fittest outfit in Division 2.

Power House vs UHS-VU is the match of the round as the 2017 Division 3 premiers UHS-VU take on runners up Power House at the Ross Gregory in the Grand Final rematch. UHS-VU has shown that they are the real deal in Division 2, while Power House are looking to push through to the mid-year bye after spending the first half of 2018 severely undermanned with injury. Both sides matched up well in 2017, but the Vultures have carried on their dominance in 2018. The Vultures should take the four points, but the House will dig deep to find the spark that can keep their season afloat.

Both Bulleen Templestowe and Emmaus St Leos are eager to move on from last weeks close losses and are also attempting to steer clear of the bottom two. Bulleen’s intensity and pressure across the ground has shown they can compete against the better sides, but the Animals play a hard pressure game and work well when the ball is low.

Yarra Old Grammarians hard win last week has put them in good stead to continue their push for the final four and they’ll match up well against an eager St Johns side, who held out until the end last week. Yarra are known for their big bags of goals, but is the Jocs can bring the ball to ground level and create physical contests. The match should be a lot tighter than predicted.

MHSOB’s massive win over Power House will give them confidence to take on finals favourites Whitefriars this week. It will be interesting to see how each side’s defence levels out against a number of different goal kicking outlets. Whitefriars will be devastated from last week, so don’t be surprised if they come out and are relentless in front of goal.