THE weekend has finally arrived and so has the latest round of Victorian Men’s Premier League action, with some exciting cricket set to take place this weekend. Round 13 saw some big scores across the grounds as many sides got themselves going with bat in hand, and will be hopeful of repeating this effort this weekend. There are a number of exciting clashes on the cards, and with finals just around the corner, each result will heavily impact the standings moving forward.

Casey-South Melbourne vs. Northcote

Saturday, Feburary 26 @11am
Casey Fields

The biggest match of the round will see Northcote travel down to Casey Fields to take on Casey-South Melbourne on Saturday afternoon, with both sides looking to cement their spot in the top four.

Casey-South Melbourne currently sit in fifth spot on the ladder and are fresh off a win against Kingston Hawthorn last round. In the win, the victors were able to get the most out of their batting order, and this resulted in a first-innings total of 247, which is very defendable. They had five players score at least 29 runs, which was huge in boosting their total, and will be looking to repeat this feat once again. Keep an eye on batsman Michael Wallace, who is fresh off a 73-run effort.

Northcote found itself on the end of an upset last weekend, as it was bested by Dandenong in convincing fashion. They simply could not get their batting lineup going, as they found themselves bowled out for a total of just 196. If they are to turn things around this week, then they will need to seriously improve in this area of their game. One of the key figures in this turnaround will be star batsman Jack Lalor, who was seriously out of form last week, but if he gets going then Northcote has proven hard to beat.

Around the grounds …

Moving to Camberwell Sports Ground for the next clash, Melbourne University will be looking to rediscover their early season form when they take on the Camberwell Magpies on Saturday. The visitors were one of the fastest-starting sides earlier this year, but have since fallen away, and will be looking to bounce back against a struggling Magpies side.

Next on the agenda, Carlton will continue to pursue top-spot on the ladder when they play host to Geelong at Princes Park on Saturday. With St Kilda suffering their first defeat of the season last round, Carlton are in with a red-hot chance to claim first place in the standings, but they must take down a Geelong side that has proven dangerous throughout the season.

Moving South for the next match, Dandenong will welcome Fitzroy Doncaster to their home ground when the two sides lock horns at Shepley Oval on Saturday afternoon. Both sides sit outside the top eight by a considerable margin, and will be eager to claim the win here. However, it will likely come down to who can perform better with bat in hand, given this was crucial in Dandenong’s win over Northcote last week.

Footscray will resume their charge towards the top-four when they take on the Greenvale Kangaroos at Mervyn G Hughes Oval on Saturday. The home side currently sits a game behind fourth spot, and take on a struggling Kangaroos side, but Greenvale has delivered a number of impressive wins throughout the season, so this looms as a danger game.

Two of the competition’s struggling sides for the 2021/22 season will be given the chance to turn things around this weekend, when Kingston Hawthorn hosts Frankston Peninsula at Walter Galt Reserve on Saturday. Both sides have struggled with both bat and ball this season, and given they have performed at a similar output, this should prove an intriguing contest.

Ringwood face a tough task in the Round 14 schedule as they are matched up to take on Melbourne at Albert Ground on Saturday afternoon. Melbourne has been one of the strongest sides throughout the season, while Ringwood are currently fighting to move into the top-eight, so they must bring their A-game if they are to cause an upset.

St Kilda will be looking to bounce back this weekend when they head to Toorak Park to take on Prahran on Saturday afternoon. The visitors were handed their first loss last weekend, and given they were once thought to be unstoppable, they will be eager to get back to their high-scoring ways in this clash.

The final match on the schedule for Round 13 will see Essendon look to upset one of the competition’s top four sides when they take on Richmond at Central Reserve North on Saturday. Richmond has been one of the strongest performing sides throughout the season, but Essendon has been in decent form of late, so this should be a good battle.