Hungry Lions to be tested

By Mark Gullick
Beaconsfield v Pakenham
PERC Allison Oval will be the venue
for the round two match of the round as
both teams seek to establish their posi
tion as this season’s frontrunners.
Pakenham suffered a loss at the
hands of Narre Warren and would hate
to be winless after two rounds.
They did play some good football
against the Magpies, but would be push
ing for a more consistent four quarter
effort.
“It’s going to be a big challenge,”
Pakenham coach Ryan Cassidy said. “I
think they’re (Beaconsfield) going to be
up there this year.”
Beaconsfield easily accounted for
Tooradin and coach Aussie Jones is
keen to gauge his team against one of
the league’s best.
“Pakenham will be on the rebound
next week and we’ll get a pretty huge
challenge,’’ Jones added.
“Our boys have come off a really
good win, but we face one of the pre
miership challengers on our home
ground.
“I can’t wait for it to be honest.”
Devon Meadows v Doveton
Devon Meadows will again host
Doveton for the Anzac Day clash and the
Baby Doves will be seeking to put in
another determined effort.
“If anyone wants to disregard us,
that’s up to them,” Doveton coach Mark
Ladgrove said.
“We’re in a position where we have a
lot of guys who have come through the
thirds, and in some ways they were
starved of opportunities.
“Now they’ve got it, and it’s their
footy club, we want to develop that
group.”
The Anzac Day clash has been a suc
cessful initiative from Devon Meadows
in the past few years and they won’t
underestimate their opponent.
“They’re going to be young, they’re
going to be keen and they’re going to
run,” Devon Meadows coach Steve
O’Brien said.
“We’ve done our homework on them.
We’ll structure up and be on our game
and the result will look after itself if we
do all those things.”
Cranbourne v Tooradin
Tooradin will meet Cranbourne at
Casey Fields, which will challenge their
young list. “It’s another chance for the
young kids to play against a good side,”
Tooradin coach Chad Liddell said.
“We just want to be competitive each
week. The problem that we face is trying
to get quality senior players who can
lead these kids through their junior
years, trying to breed the hardness and
toughness which they need.”
Cranbourne will be keen to atone for
their heart-breaking loss to Berwick.
“Unfortunately for them, they’ve lost
a few players, but they send out 22 and
we’ve got to be better than their 22,”
Cranbourne coach Doug Koop said.
“We’re looking for an improved per
formance on Saturday, where we can
hopefully take the four points.”
ROC v Hampton Park
ROC will host Hampton Park in the
opening match of their 2010 campaign.
Owing to the first round bye, ROC’s
preparation has been less than ideal.
“The disappointing thing is that it’s
the second time in three years, and it’s
not ideal, but we’ve just got to get on
with life,” ROC coach Kris Fletcher said.
“It’s a tough time of year because you
don’t know too much about the other
teams just yet.
“At the moment, we’re trying to get
our structures right.
“I thought we made some improve
ments last year and I want to keep
improving this year.”
Hampton Park showed glimpses of
promising form in their loss to Devon
Meadows and will be keen to produce a
more consistent effort.
“I don’t want to get too negative,”
coach Josh Taylor said.
“We’ve still got things to improve on,
we’re still a young side with plenty of
improvement left in us. We’ll be going to
ROC to try and pick up four points.”
ROC and Hampton Park split their
meetings last year and this match will be
very tightly contested.
Keysborough v Berwick
Keysborough and Berwick both had
tight wins in the opening round.
Teams often struggle the week after
a close and emotional victory, and each
team will need to refocus for another big
clash.
“It’s going to be another hard task,
especially on their dunghill,” Berwick
coach Glenn Dale said. “We’ve just got to
bat up again. A few of the boys are a bit
sore, so we’ll have to see how they pull
up.”
“I watched Berwick in a practice
game and I was very impressed with
them,” Keysborough coach Brad Cana
van said.
“We’ve done a bit of homework on
them and they’ll be a challenge for us.”
If both teams play to their potential,
then another close finish is on the cards.