ESSENDONThe hard part is done. The Royals are going to the finals. What happens between now and then is about how they get there, and how high they finish.
Two results have not gone Essendon’s way in the last fortnight, and the table has tightened at the top, but the panic that a run like that can invite has no place here. Jaiden van der Heijden’s side sit third in the NPLW on thirty-eight points with their finals place already secured, and the remaining rounds are about seeding and momentum rather than survival. Bulleen and Box Hill hold a three-point buffer at the summit, top spot is still very much on, and the response starts at Cross Keys on Saturday.
Keilor Park arrive as exactly the sort of opponent a team cannot take lightly, whatever the table says. They sit eleventh, but they come to Essendon on the back of three wins in their last five, and the standout among them should sharpen every mind in the home dressing room: a 1-0 defeat of Bulleen Lions, the side now leading the competition. Add a 3-1 win over Melbourne City last week and a 2-1 result against Melbourne Victory, and this is a Keilor Park outfit capable of causing problems for anyone who arrives expecting an easy afternoon.
The Royals will not. When these teams met in March, Essendon edged a tight one 3-2, and there is little reason to expect anything less than a contest here. What Essendon do have is the quality that took them top in the first place, led by Kelli McGroarty, the competition’s leading scorer, and a forward line that has put four, five and seven past sides across the season. On their day, this is the most dangerous attack in the division.
That day needs to arrive at Cross Keys. Finals football is guaranteed, but a home win keeps the pursuit of top spot alive and sends the Royals into the run-in with their confidence restored and their eyes back up the table. Get the start right, take the chances that come, and this is a fixture Essendon should win.
Come and back the women as the finals race heats up. Kick-off is 3pm Saturday at Cross Keys Reserve.