Crucial battles await in what looks to be an enthralling Round 3 in A Plus Labour Solutions Division 2.

The round will be played across two days, with three matches scheduled for ANZAC Day and another to be held over until Saturday.

In the first of the three ANZAC Day fixtures on Thursday, Diamond Creek hosts Epping at Coventry Oval, where both sides will be looking to bounce back from Round 2 defeats.

After an encouraging Round 1 triumph over the Fitzroy Stars, Diamond Creek came within a whisker of securing a second-straight win on the road, before suffering a gut-wrenching four-point loss to Whittlesea.

The Creekers led by 25 points midway through the third quarter but went into the final change with just a seven-point advantage after conceding four of the last five goals in the third term.

The home side was able to get its nose in front in the last quarter, booting 2.6 to 1.1 in the final term. The narrow loss was further compounded for Diamond Creek by an ankle injury to ruckman Josh Marchbank in his first game of the season.

Nevertheless, the close loss proved Diamond Creek has made gains on last season – taking it right up to one of this year’s premiership favourites on their home turf, in what is renowned as being one of the hardest trips in the NFNL.

Jai Norman was pivotal with a five-goal haul, whilst Tyler Barnes, Oliver Stapleton and Dion Fleming also impressed.

Epping will be looking for a big response in Round 3 after its poor start to the season continued with a comprehensive home defeat at the hands of Watsonia in Round 2, to the tune of 74 points.

The Blues were fortunate to be down by only 14 points at quarter-time after the Saints kicked a wayward 2.9 in the first term. However, the margin blew out across the middle two quarters, where the home side was outscored 4.1 to 12.6.

A positive to take away from the game for the Blues is that they did outscore the Saints in the final quarter. Leigh Judd and Josh Stavely gave their all, but it wasn’t enough to keep their side in the game.

Thomastown and the Fitzroy Stars also go head-to-head on ANZAC Day, with the match to be played at Main Street Recreation Reserve.

Thomastown enters the match off its maiden win of the season, while the Stars will be in action for the first time in 19 days after having a bye prior to the Easter weekend.

The Bears opened their 2019 account with a dominant 75-point win away to St Mary’s at Whatmough Park. It was a strong response after an underwhelming Round 1 performance, that saw the Bears go down by 47 points to Eltham.

The bounce back from Thomastown was clinical, outscoring the Burra in every quarter in Round 2 to take some momentum into the Easter break.

All the Bears’ best players played well in the triumph, with Dylan Chapman earning maximum votes from both coaches in the Coaches MVP award, while James Rizzolio (four goals), Adrian Natoli, Matthew Vasilevski and Josh Beare were also prominent.

Fitzroy will be wary of a slow start after such a lengthy break between its first and second games of the season.

The Stars gave Diamond Creek a 15-point start in the opening term of their Round 1 match at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval and weren’t able to reel the deficit back in, as they fell by 14 points in a tight affair.

Banyule and St Mary’s lock horns at R.J. Brockwell Oval in a twilight match on ANZAC Day, with the first bounce scheduled for 4:10pm. It will be home side’s second-successive twilight encounter.

Considered one of the leading premiership contenders heading into the season, the Bears further bolstered their credentials in an extremely impressive first outing – leading from start to finish to defeat 2018 grand finalist Eltham by 46 points in Round 2.

The Bears showed no signs of sluggishness despite an opening-round bye, racing to an early lead with a four-goal to two first term. However, it was in the second half when they really stamped their authority, piling on eight goals to three after the main break to send a stern message to the rest of the competition.

Brent Stanton was best afield in the win, accumulating plenty of the footy and finishing with four goals. Riley Loton was also dominant, while James Kroussoratis booted five goals. Mitch Lovell was the best of the new recruits, capping his club debut with two goals.

St Mary’s has endured a tough start to life in A Plus Labour Solutions Division 2, suffering its second loss in as many weeks in the 75-point home loss to Thomastown.

The Burra were jumped in the first term, when the visitors opened a 20-point advantage and were never able to make inroads – managing just one major after half time.

Nicholas Dean was his side’s best player and only multiple goal kicker, while Jordan Galea and James Todd also toiled hard.

A trip to Banyule looms as a difficult one this week, however the Burra did match up well against the Bears during their time in Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 – albeit both clubs have different looking line-up since their most recent clash in 2017.

Round 3 concludes on Saturday with what looks to be a mouth-watering encounter between Eltham and Whittlesea at Eltham Central Park.

Eltham slipped to sixth spot on the ladder following its loss to Banyule, while Whittlesea sits pretty in second after narrowly sneaking by Diamond Creek.

The undermanned Panthers trailed from start to finish against the Bears and will be looking for a response against a genuine contender in the Eagles, with the job left to too few in the Round 2 defeat.

Michael Still has been in great touch, with nine goals in two matches – however the Panthers had just four goal scorers at R.J. Brockwell Oval, which is an area that will need addressing.

The importance of this week’s match doesn’t need to be stressed upon Whittlesea, who could really setup a strong platform for its finals push if it can defeat Diamond Creek and Eltham in consecutive weeks.

The Eagles trailed at the end of each of the opening three quarters against the Creekers but showed great heart to come from behind – doing so without Riley Dyson and Clancy Bland, who both suffered ankle injuries during the game.

Xavier Dimasi has been in outstanding touch and looms as a key player going into this week’s game. Last year’s club best and fairest has polled 19 of a possible 20 votes in the Coaches MVP. Jaron Murphy has also been in great form across the opening two rounds.