Resounding victories across the board as home and away season reaches its final month

Power House has ended Albert Park’s seven-game win streak, managing to edge out the Falcons by 13 points.

In their previous encounter back in Round 6, Power House, despite having several key outs, still managed to win by four points.

And following a scrappy first quarter with the first goal of the game only being scored in the 22nd minute, it appeared that we were going to get a similar result in the sequel, too.

Having led by 11 points at quarter time, Power House would maintain a 15-point lead into halftime. Although it should have been arguably higher with a return of 1.5 from Power House, keeping the Falcons in the game.

The missed shots on goal continued in the third and fourth quarters as they finished up with a score of 6.15. But it would be enough to hold on.

As a result of the loss, Albert Park now loses ground on the top four, with there being a one-game-plus percentage to overcome for a finals spot.

For Power House, it sees them regain their winning ways, having lost for only the second time this season last week.

La Trobe University is officially out of the finals race following their 98-point defeat to Wattle Park.

Despite the margin blowing out towards the end of the game, it was a close game throughout the early stages.

The Trobers were able to go score for score within the opening minutes before falling behind by 11 points at quarter time.

Even at halftime, the Animals only led the Trobers by 29 points, which was still very much within reach.

But Wattle Park hit the second half hard, piling on 14 of their 21 goals during that time while holding La Trobe to just 26 points in the third quarter and scoreless within the last quarter.

It’s yet another dominant win for the Animals, who in their last five wins have won by an average margin of 93.4 points, showing how solid their form has been since the Round 8 bye.

However, for La Trobe, they now find themselves three games adrift of 6th-placed Box Hill North, making a 7th-placed finish for this season highly probable.

Eley Park was held scoreless by North Brunswick as they ran out to win by a whopping 207 points.

From start to finish, the Bulls were in control of the game and did not slow down one bit as they increased the margin.

So much so that their score of 11.6 in the fourth quarter was only six points below what they scored in the first half, showing their ruthlessness.

Leading the way on the scoring front for the Bulls was Matt David, with this being the third time he has kicked five or more goals in a game this season. He would be joined by Nick Trewhella, who kicked five goals.

It seems that the Bulls enjoy playing against the Sharks, with their two biggest wins this season (both being over 200 points) having come against them.

The win sees the Bulls’ percentage jump by 32 per cent, putting them on 245%. This now means they have a superior percentage over Power House, which makes a push for a minor premiership within reach.

For Eley Park, it is now the second time that they have been held scoreless since 2024.

Box Hill North has produced another big win, defeating Swinburne University by 78 points.

The Demons, with their physical dominance, would create the majority of the scoring shots within the first quarter. Yet, they only managed 3.7 in the first quarter, which saw them lead by 17 points.

But in the following three quarters, Box Hill North would kick a far more accurate 16.10 while holding the Razorbacks to just 45 points within the same period.

Blake Williams was once again instrumental to the Demons’ victory. He booted eight goals for the match, with four of those coming within the space of 11 minutes. With this tally, he extends his lead as the leading goalkicker by 19 goals as he looks set to take out the award.

For Swinburne, they have now incurred their third loss in a row. And this loss is now their eighth one that they have lost by 75 points or more.

Richmond Central overcame a slow start in the first quarter and proceeded to defeat Chadstone by a margin of 106 points.

After coming off their first win against a top four side last week, the Snakes were coming in confident of winning big.

But throughout the first quarter, the Synners kept pace with the Snakes and would enter quarter time tied on 26 points.

But after that initial struggle in the first, the Snakes would get going in the second to lead by 42 points at halftime and 67 points at three-quarter time to run out comfortably in the fourth.

With the large margin of victory, it sees the Snakes bump their percentage to 190, which was higher than Wattle Park’s 189% last week. But with the Animals’ win, Richmond Central remains 5% behind them on percentage.

While Chadstone may have struggled to keep going with the Snakes, it is a good showing to see them be competitive on the scoreboard for at least one quarter.

For Round 15, Box Hill North plays host to Albert Park. With both teams sitting 6th and 5th, respectively, this game is a must-win for either side to have any shot at finals. A win for the Demons, plus a three-and-a-half per cent increase, would see them return to fifth place for the first time since Round 8.

In the Falcons’ case, a loss would likely see them fall two games behind fourth place with three games to go, while a win could see them tie with 4th-placed Richmond Central should they lose to Swinburne this week.

Power House plays their second top four opponent within the space of three rounds when they take on Wattle Park. If Power House can win their 13th match for the season, they would be the first team to secure their spot in finals.

For Wattle Park, the win would see them tie with Power House on 12 wins, which would increase their chances of a top two finish.

Richmond Central travels to St. James Park to take on Swinburne University. For the Snakes, they’ll be viewing this match with the intention of boosting their percentage to overtake Wattle Park should they be tied on wins.

The Razorbacks, however, are still on the hunt for a win against a team above them on the ladder, which will be plenty of motivation.

Chadstone and Eley Park will battle it out at Jordan Reserve as both teams try to avoid the wooden spoon. Chadstone has the upper hand following their only win for the season, which was against the Sharks in Round 7.

However, in that match, Eley Park led by as much as 30 points at quarter time, which means it wouldn’t be a surprise should they manage their first win for 2025 against the Synners.

And North Brunswick and La Trobe will close out the round. The Trobers were almost able to close down the Bulls during their Round 7 clash, having been down by 32 points at three-quarter time, to only lose by 13 points. And that was with a fourth-quarter scoreline of 2.8, showing that they are capable of an upset.

But for 2nd-placed North Brunswick, a win in the same round when either 1st-place Power House or 3rd-place Wattle Park loses could prove vital in their fight for a top two spot.