GV 2018 Week 5 Review (Week 6 Preview)

Some competition called the NFL apparently starts this week. More importantly an early favourite to take the 2018 Vic Bowl crown has been found.

Dragons Find ‘Fire Within’.

Bendigo Dragons 30 Defeated Melton Wolves 12

Pom Poms and Sunshine greeted the start of this intriguing match up. It was the first official game that the Dragons had their Bendigo Blaze girls cheering on the sidelines and it seemed to work for them.

The scene was set on the first drive by the Dragons. They drove about 80yd’s in the first 8 minutes with constant dump off’s to RB #39 Raymond Henderson in the Flat or via an option play. It was precise and the Wolves Defense couldn’t stop it until the Dragons failed on a 4th down deep in Wolves territory. The Wolves started slowly on Offense and couldn’t get anything going with the Dragons capitalising on good field position, eventually scoring right before the end of the 1st qtr on a 20yd pass.

With nothing happening on the Wolves Offense and the Dragons Defense dominating at the line of scrimmage, the Dragons managed another TD on an 88yd Punt return by WR #4 Michael Dell, that should have been downed by the Wolves taking the game into the half. The Wolves came back with a different strategy in the 2nd half which included placing State Rep O Lineman #72 Luke Zammit in at RB. Zammit was able to gain 27yds on just 4 carries, giving the Offense some spark finally. An ankle injury slowed his dominance down. QB #6 Matthew Krul (12 carries 114yd’s) was his usual dangerous self gaining yards on the ground, however the passing game was struggling again. Despite the good yardage on the day the Wolves couldn’t put the score on the board while the Dragons made the most of the Wolves mistakes.

The Wolves scored early on in the 3rd on a pass to RB/WR #24 Sharleam Baker, who was the Wolves Offensive star on the day with 6 rushes for 47yd’s and 1 TD and a receiving TD. A failed XP made the scores 14-6 in favour of Bendigo. The Wolves couldn’t stop the Dragons from moving the ball and scoring with another 2 point conversion right before the end of the qtr. Baker scored again for the Wolves but the game was put to bed by another huge scoring play, a 73yd run by Michael Dell.

Raiders Bog Down Royals.

Melbourne University Royals 22 Defeated Northern Raiders 0

The rain had well and truly set in for the day by the time this game kicked off. With an obvious smaller playing roster, the Raiders were looking to have a good performance at home. In boggy conditions they did exactly that. They didn’t win but the Defense made a huge statement.

The Royals just got the job done. Nothing spectacular about the win but they registered yet another shut out.

Buccaneers Finest Catch.

Geelong Buccaneers 47 Defeated Peninsula Sharks 0

Some might call it the “Battle of the Bay” between these two clubs.

No Game Information available.

Rangers Wrangle Barbarians.

Croydon Rangers 51 Defeated Monash Barbarians 6

After the hard week 1 matchup, the Rangers have had a fairly soft draw facing teams that were in Div 2 last year. If anything, it’s given them a chance to fine tune the Offense and getting the Defense’s confidence up for when they do face a stronger opponent.

QB Brady Kelliher connected two more times with WR James Fountain, extending his TD streak in his first season on the Gridiron. A few other rookies got some game time and helped pile on the points. They now get a week off and will be tested on their return when they will face the Warriors.

Crusaders Firm As Favourites.

Western Crusaders 36 Defeated Monash Warriors 16

If you’re a betting person (Don’t, you’ll be banned) your money should be on the Crusaders to repeat. A slow start by the Cru saw them fall behind by 8 points in the 1st qtr but the awoke in the 2nd with 16 points of their own, sending the game to half time 16-8. The 3rd qtr was owned by the Crusaders putting on a further 14 points and shutting down the Warriors. They eventually added another TD as did the Warriors in the final qtr.

The highlight was a 50yd TD reception by the Crusaders to WR #89 Dennis Battista from QB Andrew Healey.

WEEK 6.

BYE – Peninsula Sharks, SE Predators (3rd), Croydon Rangers.

The Dragons finally got the Offense rolling last week but will come crashing back to earth against the league powerhouse.

The Crusaders should be able to add another W to the Win/Loss column.

Prediction – Dragons 0 V Crusaders 42

The Royals will continue to work on their weaknesses in this one and should have it tied up by half time.

The Silverbacks will hope that everyone is available to avoid another Half time Forfeit.

Prediction – Royals 44 V Silverbacks 0

GAME OF THE WEEK

The falcons have a good chance of beating their Highway Rival with the arm of QB Stephens, who has 2 handy receiving targets in WR Eddie Carey and WR Duncan McIntosh.

The Defense will need to be on their toes and hope that a few players that have gone MIA return in this game under lights. The Offense will try to continue the run game that worked quite well last week. The passing game needs to improve drastically.

Prediction – Falcons 20 V Wolves 16

These long term rivals are at opposite ends of the scale at the moment. The Buccaneers are rebuilding while the Warriors just keep plugging gaps in their roster.

Not expecting to see much Offense from the Buccaneers in this one which means the Defense will be on the field for most of the game.

Prediction – Buccaneers 0 V Warriors 28

The Raiders Defense has been outstanding considering the circumstances the club faced with a huge amount of players leaving. This should be their first win under Head Coach Marc Dauria.

Although the Barbs did score against the more fancied Rangers last week, they are definitely struggling Offensively.

Prediction – Raiders 16 V Barbarians 0