In what promises to be a compelling encounter, the current frontrunners will meet in round 23 at the state capital’s Egan Lee Reserve for an effective six-pointer on the evening of August 1.
Separated by just a couple of points in the chase for silverware, the boys in navy blue have emerged in pole position at the division’s summit, after their next opponents slumped to three defeats out of their last six.
However, there have been signs during the last couple of rounds that Malvern has shaken off its malaise just in time for the business end to the campaign - having scored nine en route to sealing maximum points across their past two outings.
That said, the Suns have ample reason to be confident heading into this clash of the titans, having gone unbeaten in their last 16 games in what represents the best run of form in the club’s history.
The task for the VPL 2 pacesetters is quite clear - win the next four and they will clinch the title crown, with two victories from their remaining five matches enough to guarantee automatic promotion.
In the lead up to arguably the biggest game of the season so far, Suns head coach Craig Carley expressed his respect for the team currently occupying second place in the table.
“Malvern were the standout team at the start of the season, they are a very, very good side and well-coached,” he said, before praising his opposite number in the dugout.
“Fausto (De Amicis) is a brilliant coach and a fantastic human being - I’ve been privileged to share some coaching courses with him and he’s obviously played at the highest level in Australia as well.
“So I’m looking forward to locking horns and seeing how we’ve progressed.”
As Carley goes on to highlight, the two sides played out a 2-2 draw when they met in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign, as the Suns earned a share of the points despite being reduced to ten men.
“In the first game (against Malvern), we had an early red card and came away with a draw, so it’ll be good to test ourselves on their home pitch - hopefully it’ll be 11 versus 11 this time!”
As for the objectives for his side in the coming weeks, Carley was clear to stress that gaining automatic promotion remains the immediate target.
“We want to lock in that automatic promotion as soon as we can and we know six points secures that,” he said.
“That leaves it in our destiny and puts us in a great position, which is what we want - we don’t want to be relying on other teams to get results.
“We want to keep it in our hands and we know these last five games will be tough as we have four teams in the top six to play.
“We’ve proven time and time again that we’re up for the battle and, on our day, we can beat absolutely anyone.”
