It's a street party in the Dewar Shield this week, with all the Neighbours on the ladder coming up against each other on the field.
That's right! First play second, third play fourth, fifth play sixth and seventh play eighth. What else could you ask for in the penultimate round other than Dr Karl running water?
DEWAR SHIELD MATCH OF ROUND – LIVE ON RV FACEBOOK
Endeavour Hills vs Melbourne Uni (Ref: Ollie Kellett)
5 v 6. Both teams are clinging on to slim finals dreams still after Uni held Power House to a 15 all draw and Endeavour came out firing and put 41 unanswered points on Box Hill.
They are both relying on Power House to stumble and open the door for them but they must win games to give themselves a shot. This will be finals like atmosphere out at the Nest. The students taught the Eagles a lesson last time they played and Endeavour will still be stinging from that. Endeavour discovered their forward power again last week and were more direct in the collision zones and will look to repeat that against a Uni outfit that refuses to give up on their dream.
A close one but Eagles to swoop in and take the points by 6.
Moorabbin vs Harlequins (Ref: Amber McLachlan)
2 v 1. Moorabbin jumped into outright second after an important win away at Melbourne last week. The Rams are the real deal and will be salivating at the chance to cement a double finals chance and take down Harlequins for the second time this year.
Quins took a long time to put away a dogged Footscray outfit last week and know they need to finish off opportunities if they want to silence the Moorabbin crowd this week and shore up the minor premiership with a week to go.
Amber McLachlan, fresh from international duties will be kept on her toes this week.
Quins should learn from their mistakes in the first round and get up in a scintillating contest by 7 points.
Melbourne vs Power House (Ref: Darren O’Brien)
3 v 4. The equation is easy for Power House - keep winning and play finals footy. Drop this one and they have a week of sleepless nights. They will rue giving away the penalty that let Uni draw the game and then missed one of their own last play to win it. That’s how this season has rolled in Dewar Shield with little moments having big consequences.
Melbourne still want that double chance even though it’s made tougher by losing to the Rams last week. The Unicorns don’t lose many at home and will be desperate not to lose 2 in a row and have their finals prep dented. They need the forwards to fire to stop Power House getting front foot ball and stop their ever improving backline from running amok.
This is another tight one to call and we are picking Power House to have 2 draws in a row as we can’t separate these 2 so a tie it is.
Footscray vs Box Hill (Ref: Shannon McLachlan)
8 v 7. Ladder positions won’t change but this is for bragging rights.
Footscray again showed their improvement last week in making Quins work so hard to beat them. They are gaining belief at the kennel and the improvement they are showing plus new clubrooms next season bodes well for the future.
Box Hill are coming off a mauling from Endeavour last week where they came away with only a doughnut to show for their efforts. Their leaky defence and inability to hold the ball for phases again came back to haunt them. They need to improve on that this week if they are to come away with the points and salvage a tough season.
The Doggies to show their teeth and notch up their second win of the season by 8 points
Around the grounds wrap up from last round.
Lindroth Cup
Many observers commented that this was one of the best games of Lindroth Cup they had seen in many years.
Northern flexed their muscles and proved our prediction wrong. They ran out winners against this year’s new comers Endeavour Hills 25 – 12 in a great game of rugby and Northern sit 5 points clear with 3 rounds to go in their comp.
Premiership
Brimbank remain unbeaten but not after receiving a scare from second placed Northern. Both teams scored 4 tries but ultimately it came down to goal kicking and the Bucks got up 25 – 22.
It shows how close this comp is when Shepparton and Casey drew, Wyndham held off a fast finishing Geelong 30 – 28 and Kiwi Hawthorn got home against Melton 34 – 3.
Premiership Reserves
We said this would be close and it couldn’t have been any closer with a 12 – 12 score line not able to separate the top 2 teams - Cerberus and Shepparton.
Shepparton are really showing growth this year across the club with their 2 senior teams doing really well.
They were 300km apart but both teams mirrored each other and had draws. Spooky
