© Barend van den Hoek

Season 2011 got even more interesting in week 6 as we finally saw cross-divisional games.

On Saturday, the Bay City Buccaneers hosted the Melbourne Uni Royals at home in Corio with the Buccaneers rolling to a big win 70-0. Meanwhile, on the other side of Victoria the Gippsland Gladiators hosted the Croydon Rangers in Morewell, with the division one Rangers getting the win 57-0.

On Sunday, we headed back out west to Footscray where the Northern Raiders hosted the Monash Warriors with the reigning champion Warriors winning 44-6.

In the afternoon, the Western Crusaders hosted the Monash Barbarians and won 60-0.

© Texxas Photography

In the morning game, the division 2 leading home town Raiders hosted the Ballarat Pioneers. The Raiders were the stronger team all day and got the win 32-0. Following that game, the Bay City Buccaneers took on the the Berwick Miners and ran out winners 49-6.

In Sunday’s early game, the Croydon Rangers2 and the Monash Barbarians faced off with both teams keen to add to their one win from three games so far. It was a tough, tight contest all day and the Rangers2 got the win 26-18.

In the afternoon, the hometown Western Crusaders hosted the Monash Warriors with the visiting Warriors leading all day to win 30-22 and take 3rd spot in the standings.

© Barend van den Hoek

Week 4 of Gridiron Victoria returned to Ranger Field Saturday morning with the Croydon Rangers2 hosting the Melbourne Uni Royals. The Royals proved too strong for the Rangers2, winning 28-12.

In the afternoon the Bay City Buccaneers came to town looking to remain undefeated but ran into a well-drilled Rangers outfit that held on at home to win 28-20.

On Sunday, football was back at Berwick with the Miners hosting the Monash Warriors with both teams looking for their first win in 2011. The Warriors were back to their devastating form of previous years and over ran the Miners 55-0. In the afternoon, the Gippsland Gladiators faced the Monash Barbarians and it was the Gladiators who registered their 2nd win of the season 28-0.

Things have tightened up in both divisions with 1/4 of the season done.

Week three of the 2011 Gridiron Victoria season began Saturday morning in Corio with the top two teams in division one facing off. The Bay City Buccaneers, fresh from a bye hosted the Western Crusaders and were never troubled, powering to a big win  55-14 and top spot in the standings.

In the afternoon game, the top two teams in the second division went to battle with the Northern Raiders playing the Croydon Rangers 2.  The Raiders go on the scoreboard early with a couple of touchdowns, only for the Rangers to respond early in the second half. The Raiders proved too strong and won 20-8.

On Sunday, the Monash Barbarians defeated the Ballarat Pioneers in a close game in great conditions 18-6, giving the Barbarians their first win of the year.

Following in the afternoon, the Berwick Miners faced the Croydon Rangers with the Rangers getting up 49-0 in a game that was closer than the scoreline suggests.

Also on Sunday, the Gippsland Gladiators hosted the Melbourne Uni Royals at their home ground in Morewell. The Gladiators were great in front of their home crowd, winning 17-0 although the Royals certainly had every chance to get in the scoreboard.

© Kelly Rose Photography

Week two of Gridiron Victoria began on Saturday at Ranger Field with the division one showdown between arch nemesis Monash Warriors and the Croydon Rangers. In difficult conditions the Rangers scored early on a deep pass then stuck to the running game to register a 28-0 victory.

Following on in the afternoon saw the inaugural game for one of our newest clubs, the Gippsland Gladiators up against the Croydon Ranger 2’s, also in their first game for 2011 in a division two matchup. The Rangers scored on the first play from scrimmage and held a strong lead at half time. The Gladiators, to their credit bounced back hard in the second half with two touchdowns to add some respectability to the scoreline of 28-12.

On Sunday the attention turned to Berwick and in the morning another division two game between the Northern Raiders and the Melbourne Uni Royals. The match was an arm wrestle all day until the Raiders edged out the Royals with some big plays down the stretch, finally securing the win 16-0.

Finally, the Berwick Miners hit the park for the first time in 2011, hosting the Western Crusaders. In another tough, tight struggle, the Crusaders were able to edge out the Miners and power ahead, eventually winning 34-7 and taking top spot in the standings.