Rounds 8 & 9

BULLDOGS CHALLENGE

FOOTSCRAY EDGEWATER has provided some tangible evidence that they are real challengers in 2007/08. The Doggies, with a powerful win over the Swans followed by a crushing nine-wicket outright win over the Kangaroos, have leapt to second spot on the ladder.

Last season was FOOTSCRAY EDGEWATER's first finals appearance in a decade and just their second in 23 years. Cynics could say that was only because (a) there was a final 8 and (b) penalty overs were scrapped on the eve of the finals series. There is little doubt however that the recruitment of Grant Lindsay and John Hastings, the improvement of players such as Russ, Duckworth and Geisler and the consistency of the experienced core group of Love, Sandri, McCammond and Brohaska have given the Bulldogs an opportunity to strive for more regular finals participation.

Off the field too, the Bulldogs have been heading in the right direction for some time. Through the determined and dedicated efforts of people such as Jeff Russ, Graeme Joslin, Ken Stone and Geoff Collinson, the future of the club looks assured. The appointments of Mick O'Sullivan as coach and Anthony Kennedy as curator were also inspired moves.

Apart from the Bulldogs, other teams who appear to have improved are MELBOURNE, GEELONG, NORTH MELBOURNE and MELBOURNE UNI, despite all having lost matches in the past two rounds.

CARLTON continues to head the table, but we have seen in the past two matches that the Blues are not invincible. The Lions scored a reverse outright over them in Round 6 and the Heat made the Blues fight hard for the points in Round 7. CARLTON faces further stiff tests in the run-up to the Christmas break with matches against the Students and the Saints.

CASEY-SOUTH MELBOURNE scored their first points for 2007/08 with a win over the Magpies last round. The win has lifted the Swans off the bottom of the ladder and, with players such as Michael Hansen and Luke Van Raay returning from injury soon, there is an air of optimism at Casey Fields for the second half of the season.

ROUND 8

FOOTSCRAY EDGEWATER v GEELONG is the stand-out match. The second-placed Bulldogs meet the fourth-placed Cats in a vital clash, with much interest surrounding the performance of ex-Cat Grant Lindsay, who crossed to the Merv Hughes Oval this season.

Another big game will be the CARLTON v MELBOURNE UNI match at Princes Park. This clash will be first versus sixth on the ladder, but it is so tight in the middle of the table that a loss to the Students could see them drop five or six spots.

ESSENDON v RINGWOOD at Windy Hill will be another important match. The Bombers (20 points) are just behind the Rams (21) on the ladder. A spot in the eight is the prize for the winner.

ROUND 9

RINGWOOD v RICHMOND, MELBOURNE v ESSENDON and ST KILDA v CARLTON are the three big matches in the last round before the Christmas break.

PRIMARY EDGE CUP

The opening round of the Primary Edge Cup, Premier Cricket's Twenty20 competition, hits Premier grounds this Tuesday. Some are taking the opportunity of promoting their clubs and Premier Cricket by signing special guest players, led by CAMBERWELL MAGPIES, who have confirmed that MELBOURNE STORM skipper Cameron Smith will don the coloured gear. Other special guest players in the next two rounds include Brett Montgomery (Ringwood) and Brett Deledio (Richmond).

VICTORIAN UNDER 19s & UNDER 17s

Best wishes to the Victorian Under 19s who head off to Hobart soon to contest the Cricket Australia National Under 19 Championships from 10-21 December. The Victorian Under 17 team, to compete in the CA Championships in Melbourne from 5-16 January 2008, was also announced last week. MORE

PHOTO QUIZ

Who am I?? MORE

MILESTONES

Congratulations to each of the following players, umpires and scorers on achieving notable milestones. MORE

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