On a rain soaked Friday night, Dandenong Thunder continued its unbeaten run with 3-2 victory over the Richmond Eagles in was a highly entertaining top of the table clash at Kevin Bartlett Reserve. The Thunder grabbed the opener within the first minute of the game with a well worked move that was clinically finished off by Hamlet Armenian. Despite the early goal the Thunder spent the remainder of the first half the Thunder on the back foot as Richmond dominated possession.

 

The Eagles made their possession count with two long range efforts from Erhan Karahan and Nick Robinson to give them a 2-1 lead at the break. However, the Thunder weren't to be denied and scored two goals early in the second half from Sam Bailey and Shane Rexhepi to put themselves six points clear at top of the table after eight rounds.

 

In the first of three Anzac Day clashes, South Melbourne continued its recent good form with a 2-1 victory over Hume City at Broadmeadows Valley Park. South Melbourne's first goal came courtesy of a 38th minute header from veteran, Vaughan Coveney, who in the process scored his 100th goal for the club.

 

Coveney was also involved in the second goal as his fierce free kick was parried into the path of Sebastian Petrovic, who made no mistake from close range. A blistering free kick from Hume City's Ross Thompson made for a nervous last fifteen minutes for the visitors, but they managed to hold on for all three points.

 

In the second Anzac Day clash, Heidelberg United defeated the Green Gully Cavaliers 2-0 at Bendigo's Tom Flood Reserve. Making the win all the more impressive for Heidelberg was that they played for more than half an hour with ten men after James Stefanou saw red for a second bookable offence. Heidelberg's goals came at either end of the match courtesy of Graham Hockless and Osagie Ederaro. Hockless' goal was of particular note as he found the back of the net with twenty-five metre screamer in only the fifth minute.

 

In Saturday's final match, Altona picked up its second win in three matches as it defeated the Oakleigh Cannons 1-0 at Paisley Park. In a game that never hit any great heights it was a Michael Curcija free kick just before half time that separated the two teams. Oakleigh's chances of an equaliser were dealt a blow with the dismissal of Billy Damianos mid way through the second half for his second yellow card offence.

 

On Sunday afternoon, the Melbourne Knights failed to make the most of their first home game of the season as they were held to a 1-1 draw by the lowly ranked Whittlesea Zebras. The Zebras, who picked up their first point of the season, could have had all three save for a penalty miss and a last minute shot that went millimetres wide. Getting on the scoresheet for Whittlesea was Ryan O'Hare whilst for the Knights it was Josh Groenewald who found the back of the net.

 

In the final match of the round, the Sunshine Georgies got back on the winner's list with a 1-0 win over the bottom placed Preston Lions. The only goal of the game was courtesy of a Johnny Sapazovski strike in the 62nd minute.