BENDIGO LEAGUE - ROUND 10
2.20pm today at Maryborough.
Should be a competitive match between two of the sides in the second tier.
Given the gulf between the top and bottom five sides - there's already a three-game buffer from fifth to sixth - these are games where both sides are a genuine winning opportunity that need to be taken full advantage of.
South Bendigo did so at the QEO in round one. Can Maryborough do the same on its home deck and get to four wins, while the Bloods can notch back-to-back victories after their triumph over Castlemaine last week.
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2.20pm today at Eaglehawk.
Match of the round between the grand finalists of the past two seasons.
What a first half of the season for the Storm - unbeaten with a percentage of more than 300 and their star forward, Lachlan Sharp, having already kicked 76 goals.
No doubt though the Storm will relish the chance to come up against a fellow contender given their past five games have all been against the bottom five sides and blowout wins by an average of 143 points.
Great test for Eaglehawk to see how far it has come from its 38-point loss to the Storm in round one.
The Hawks have given up just nine goals over the past fortnight in wins over Kangaroo Flat and Kyneton and will need to be at their defensive, intense best over the full 120 minutes if they are to contain the Storm juggernaut.
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2.20pm today at Golden Square.
They didn't get the points, but the Tigers showed much more fight against Sandhurst last week than they did against Eaglehawk a fortnight ago and continue their testing stretch of matches with another trip to Bendigo to take on the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs were at their defensive best in strangling the usually free-scoring Gisborne last week, which points to a testing afternoon inside forward 50 for the Tigers, who only have Patrick McCarthy (11) with a double figure tally of goals in the first half of the season.
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2.20pm today at Gisborne.
Plenty to review for the Bulldogs from last week's 31-point loss to Golden Square when they were jumped early and kicked just four goals for the match.
You'd expect a strong response at home and a return to the Bulldogs' potent scoring against a Castlemaine side averaging just 38 points per game and has had the trio of Matt Filo, Angus Monfries and Jake O'Brien carrying a heavy load all season.
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2.20pm today at QEO.
Recent history shows the Roos have had all sorts of trouble hitting the scoreboard against Sandhurst.
The Roos have been held to scores of just 29, 18 and 12 in their past three games against the Dragons, so need to drastically improve that output if they are to be any chance of knocking over Sandhurst for the first time since 2011.
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LODDON VALLEY - ROUND 11
2.15pm today at Calivil.
The Demons are now staring at back-to-back seasons out of the finals since winning the 2017 premiership.
The improved Panthers, though, are sitting fifth and right in the finals hunt. A win here will get their ledger back on an even keel at 5-5 in what's a congested middle of the ladder where they are one of four teams from positions four to seven all separated by just percentage.
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2.15pm today at Maiden Gully.
Huge game between two sides that this time last week were both sitting inside the top five, but the pair are now outside it following losses.
The Mean Machine needs a win to steady their season. They have lost their past three games - all against top five sides in Pyramid Hill (92), Mitiamo (55) and Newbridge (10).
The Eagles came within a kick of knocking over the red-hot Mitiamo last week and back on their home deck should be favoured to avenge their round two loss to Bridgewater.
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2.15pm today at Pyramid Hill.
While it's still only June, has all the makings of the grand final preview between the two standout teams who have a combined 17-1 record and percentage of 394.
No shortage of ammunition for the Superoos to come out and prove a point given the 55-point shellacking they copped off the Bulldogs in round two.
Hopefully, the scoreline this time is befitting of a 1 v 2 contest in a keenly-anticipated clash where there's set to be plenty of feeling.
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2.15pm today at Inglewood.
Last time these two sides met the Bears won a thriller by one point.
But the Bears are travelling much better now as their third-place attests, while only once since have the bottom-placed Blues got within five goals of their opposition.
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HEATHCOTE DISTRICT LEAGUE - ROUND 10
2.15pm today at Colbinabbin.
The Grasshoppers certainly won't be taking the Bloods lightly in this one.
While the Grasshoppers' winning margin in round one looked a comfortable 47 points, the Bloods - thanks to eight goals from Romain Grenville - were still thereabouts at three quarter-time.
Plus the Grasshoppers are coming off a bruising encounter against North Bendigo last week, while the Bloods will have some confidence restored after the way they finished off Heathcote in the second half.
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2.15pm today at Heathcote.
Tough gig for the undermanned Saints at home against one of the premiership contenders in LBU.
Highlighting the job at hand for the Saints is that they last week copped a 94-point belting off Elmore. The week previous to that Elmore received a 94-point flogging of its own off LBU.
Would be interesting to know how many teams across country Victoria are boasting five players who have kicked six or more goals in a game? The Cats are - Patrick Gardiner, Lachlan Collins, Thomas Leech, Stanley Brentnall and Rhys Woodland.
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2.15pm today at Huntly.
Has all the makings of a messy scoreline at Huntly.
The Hawks are leaking an average of 130 points per game and their backline is set to be under immense pressure all game against the ladder-leading Bulldogs, who have won four in a row conceding scores of just 47, 39, 55 and 65.
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2.15pm today at Toolleen.
The improved Blues will be hungry to get one back on the Bombers given their 14-point defeat at Leitchville in round one in this clash of fourth v fifth.
At 6-2 the Blues are best positioned at the halfway mark of a season since their 2005 premiership year and boast the competition's leading goalkicker in dynamic forward Ben Weightman (47).
After a scratchy 1-3 start, the reigning premier Bombers - who have won 10 in a row against the Blues - have got their season back all square at 4-4, with their conversion in front of goal a standout over their past two games, kicking a combined 40.16 in wins over White Hills (14.6) and Huntly (26.10).
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NORTH CENTRAL LEAGUE - ROUND 9
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