LIVESTREAM Australia: Gridiron Victoria – Saturday, Feb. 26, 4 pm AEDT (6 am CET, 12 midnight ET)

Round 7 is upon us. The season feels like it only just started but it’s quickly nearing the end. Some interesting games coming up that will help shape the top 4.

Currently the Melbourne Uni Royals (4-2) and Western Crusaders (4-2) share points at the top, however the two forfeits see the Royals in 2nd place and not 1st. The Warriors Gridiron (2-3) are just one game out of the top four and look to have stepped things up since theri week 1 lackluster performance. The Geelong Buccaneers (3-2) hold onto 3rd thanks to the draw with the Warriors in week 3. The South Eastern Predators (1-5) are only two wins out of the top four but don’t look like they will win another game for the remainder of the season. However, stranger things have happened, like the Crusaders losing two in a row after 44 straight wins. The Croydon Rangers (3-3) sit in fourth spot but have the Warriors breathing down their necks.

Make sure you stay tuned as it’s going to be the closest Gridiron Victoria season in years.

Two games on Saturday and one on Sunday. The weather looks to be a bit wet yet humid, so we might see a few more fumbles.

GV Livestream – Saturday 26th February 4pm AEDT (6 am CET, 12 midnight ET)

The Warriors Gridiron will host their first home game at Holmesglen Reserve in Ashwood, after moving away from Monash University. They face their local rivals, the South Eastern Predators, who beat them quite convincingly last time around. This time will be different though, as both sides are showing mirror images of their last clash. I expect the Warriors to continue their way up the standings with a convincing win.

Meanwhile the Rangers will be hosting the Western Crusaders. Last time they met, the Crusaders handled business quite easily in the end. It was also QB Jared Stegman’s first game as a Ranger having just one training session, and it showed. This time is a bit different with the Cru losing a couple and the Rangers having a mixed bag of results recently. I don’t think the Crusaders will lose three in a row, but I did say they wouldn’t lose two, and they did.

The Rangers were exposed in defending the run once again which will see a number of Crusader options at RB having an impact. Croydon really need to fix this issue or they could see themselves out of the top 4 this week.

Sunday, Feb. 27, Melbourne Uni Royals (4-2) @ Geelong Buccaneers (3-2), 2 pm AEDT (4 am CET, 10 pm, Feb. 26 ET) (link will go live at game time)

GVision Highlights by Onside Kick Productions – Sunday 27th February 2pm AEDT – Sunday afternoon will see the Geelong Buccaneers hosting the Melbourne Uni Royals. This game was supposed to be played in Parkville, but thanks to a local council bungle, an 80yd field isn’t up to GV standards.

Last time these two sides met it wasn’t exactly pretty. The Buccaneers jumped out to a big half time lead before the game was called off, due to a non-existent Royals team sheet. This time we see Geelong struggling a little on offense and the Royals on a four-game win streak, which I see continuing here.

The Royals really came of age last week when they began to spread the ball around. Although their run game wasn’t potent, it helped open it up with 3 or 4 targets at WR. The Royals American QB Ian Fisher ads a bit more to the offense too. He is big and can throw, making him a threat on the ground and in the air. He and WR Jacob Kerin hooked up for 2 TD’s last week. Look to see more of that combination this week.

 

 

Scott Ditcham is from Melbourne, Australia and played 4 seasons at Gridiron Victoria (Valley Pirates, Templestowe Thunder and Melton Wolves) He is the head of Onside Kick Productions and a writer for Gridiron Downunder.