Six goals on the road last week, and a point to make this week. The Redbacks return to The Web in form, and they do so against the side sitting right alongside them in the race for the top six.
Eltham could hardly have asked for a better lead-in. Saturday’s 6-1 demolition of Langwarrin, Marcus Day helping himself to a hat-trick, took the Redbacks’ tally to forty-five goals for the season, as many as any side in the division. When Eltham click going forward, they are a match for anyone, and they carry that firepower into a home fixture that matters. Seventh on twenty-eight points, the Redbacks are a single point off sixth and firmly in the hunt for a top-half finish.
North Geelong Warriors are the visitors, and they are no soft touch. Level with Eltham on twenty-eight points in eighth, the Warriors arrive in strong form of their own, a run of three wins and a draw that includes a 2-1 defeat of second-placed Northcote City and a 3-2 win at Manningham. This is a direct rival in every sense, two sides separated by nothing on the table and both eyeing the same prize. There is history here too. When these teams met in March, North Geelong edged it 3-2, and the Redbacks will be keen to settle the account on their own patch.
That is what makes this a genuine six-pointer. Win, and Eltham climb over the Warriors and into the top-six conversation with real momentum. Lose, and the gap opens up. In a division this tight, one Saturday afternoon can reshape a fortnight, and the Redbacks have handed themselves the perfect platform with that performance at Langwarrin.
The synthetic surface at The Web suits Eltham’s game, the crowd will be up for it, and the attack is purring. Put in a performance like last week’s, and this is a game the Redbacks can win.
Get down to Eltham North Reserve on Saturday and get behind the ‘Backs. Kick-off is 3pm.
Up the ‘Backs.