Jacana is primed for a battle with unbeaten Roxburgh Park after a solid win against Burnside Heights in Essendon District Football League’s division 2 on Saturday.
An undermanned Jaguars did enough to beat the bottom side 14.10 (94) to 6.7 (43) at Jacana Reserve.
PICTURE GALLERY | Jacana v Burnside Heights
“No disrespect to Burnside, who have improved a lot, but we took a step back and rested a few guys,” Jaguars coach Matthew Sacco said. “A couple of them had injuries but could have played, but we decided to rest five or six guys. It’s been a tough battle the last few weeks.”
Sacco said the match was far from easy. “The wind was blowing a gale across the ground and it was a bit of a scrap.
“We got a lead early in the first quarter and were able to keep them at arm’s length all day.”
Paul Cluney and Mathew Siciliano were best on ground, while Bryce Kimulitas kicked five.
The win keeps the Jaguars fourth on the ladder, two games clear of fifth.
“We’re equal third on points,” Sacco said.
“We’ll just work away at trying to secure that finals spot. If we can keep one or two games ahead of fifth, we will play finals.
“We play Roxburgh Park this week which is a big ask. Last time we played them we fell asleep for some of the game.”
Roxburgh Park continued its 100 per cent season by beating Coburg Districts, 12.13 (85) to 8.18 (66).
In premier division, Greenvale’s finals hopes suffered a setback with a 14.18 (102) to 13.9 (87) loss to Airport West.
It’s the second straight loss for the Jets, who slip to sixth on the ladder two games outside the top four.
In division 1, Tullamarine continued its winning run with a 24.15 (159) to 4.4 (28) win over Hadfield, while Westmeadows lost 12.10 (82) to 11.10 (76) against Glenroy.
Bottom-placed Craigieburn was able to match it with top side West Coburg for three quarters before falling away near the end and losing 16.9 (115) to 12.9 (81).
