Tom Hayes
ALL that is left to be decided on the North Gippsland ladder are the final positions ahead of the finals series.
With the top five already locked in – those clubs being Traralgon Tyers United, Woodside, Yallourn Yallourn North, Heyfield, and Sale City – every position except first is locked in.
TTU locked in the minor premiership last weekend when Woodside suffered a shock loss to Rosedale. The Wildcats could drop as low as third, but nonetheless they have the double chance locked in.
YYN, currently third, could realistically slide up or down one position, as their percentage is too good to drop to fifth. Heyfield, currently fourth, could also jump into third, but could also drop as far as fifth.
Sale City might just be content with being in the top five at this stage, but they could realistically jump as high as fourth, even though it won’t change the fact that they will be in the Elimination Final next weekend.
WOODSIDE could use a confidence boost.
What better time for this fixture to fall upon them than the week before finals.
The Wildcats will be on the road in Round 18, but they will be facing the second-lowest ranked team in the competition this season, visiting Glengarry’s Fred King Oval.
Second-placed Woodside suffered a shock loss to Rosedale last weekend, as the Blues sent their season off on a high. Rosedale won’t play finals and have the bye this weekend.
Woodside trailed at every change against the seventh-placed Blues, getting as close as nine points at quarter time and three quarter time.
But coming up against a side that has only beaten Gormandale this season, the Wildcats will be hoping to get on the better side of the Magpies this weekend.
Although Woodside has already locked in a top three finish at best, they should be finishing in the top two after dominating for half the season sitting on top of the ladder.
Many would suspect that after the season that they’ve had, Woodside should be good enough to reset and claim another four points this weekend. But their recent shakes have thrown a blanket of doubt over the rest of their season.
The Wildcats should find a way past Glengarry, one way or another, therefore locking in a top-two finish, playing in a Qualifying Final the following week for a chance to play TTU the week after.
CAN Sale City keep going?
Many would definitely suspect so. This might just be the best fixture to have when walking into a finals campaign.
The Bulldogs will travel to face none other than Gormandale at the Boneyard – and they aren’t losing.
Single-handedly storming their way into finals contention, then the top five, Sale City could keep going.
Currently fifth, with a win over the Tigers on the horizon, the Bulldogs have the opportunity to jump into fourth if others results go their way.
Heyfield, who are fourth, are coming up against league-leading TTU, who will be underdogs going into it. If the Kangaroos lose that game, Sale City will most likely jump them.
Although, it won’t really matter, as in the North Gippsland finals structure, fourth plays fifth in the Elimination Final.
Gormandale are still yet to win a game all season. That now makes it two seasons in a row without a win. Their last win came in Round 1 of 2022, just about three entire seasons ago.
What will be next for the Tigers, and how will they lift themselves from the bottom in 2025?
Sale City will win, and potentially shift some favouritism onto their side ahead of the Elimination Final.
THEY couldn’t, could they?
YYN have the most at stake this weekend, with the potential to climb to second, remain in third, or slide down to fourth. But first, they have to host Yarram at George Bates Reserve.
To make things simple, the Jets can only climb into second if they defeat the Demons, and if Woodside lose to Glengarry. Very unlikely.
They could remain in third, win or lose, depending on Woodside beating Glengarry and Heyfield losing to TTU.
But the Jets could miraculously lose their second-chance berth and fall to fourth if they somehow lose to Yarram at home, and if Heyfield beat the Bombers convincingly.
All things considered, YYN should probably finish up in third. It’s the likely outcome.
Yarram’s season came to an abrupt end after defeat to Sale City last week, a disappointing finish considering they spent a lot of time inside the top four and showed a lot of promise when the season got underway.
Does Yarram have one more trick up their sleeve as they hope to finish their season on a high note?
After all, the Demons were able to beat the Jets in their previous fixture, winning by 11 points. But a lot has changed since.
League-leading goalkicker Dean Macdonald will all but sure up his goalkicking honours. He is currently sitting on 67 goals, 13 ahead of the next best, his ex-teammate Keenan Hughes, now at Cowwarr. Also 13 goals behind on 54 is Yarram’s Josh Swift, who will be looking to claim an outright second place.
THIS one could go in a few directions.
Heyfield are set to open their Gordon Street Reserve gates up for TTU this weekend, with a chance of making the top three a possibility.
Although it appears unlikely, the Kangaroos need some things to swing their way in order to be granted the double chance.
Firstly, they have to beat the most in-form team in the competition, handing them their first loss since Round 1. Then, Heyfield also need the out-of-form Yarram to knock off the in-form YYN by a somewhat comfortable amount, in order for their percentage to drop below Heyfield’s.
Everything considered, once again, this appears unlikely.
It will be a true test for Heyfield however, who have shown spikes in form as of late.
I find it hard to believe that TTU would rest anyone, even though they have assured a top-of-the-ladder finish. But that feat comes with the benefit of having the first week of finals off. Having two weeks off might just be a hinderance.
So, it’s predicted that Heyfield will face an almost to fully strength TTU side, who have not been bested since April. Yikes.
WITH nothing on the line, who will end their season on a high?
Churchill will host Cowwarr at Gaskin Park, and the result is set to have absolutely no effect on the standings whatsoever.
The Cougars enter the match with just five wins, while Cowwarr picked up their third win of the season last weekend.
When these sides last faced, Cowwarr were coming off the back of a win over Glengarry, while Churchill were off the back of a loss to YYN. The same circumstances are in play again.
But, no matter what happens between these two on Saturday, Churchill will still be eighth, and Cowwarr will still be ninth.
The Cougars have had a horror run with injuries, throwing any form of consistency out of the window.
As for Cowwarr, they have started to get the pieces to their puzzle, it’s just a matter of putting those pieces together in the future. Nonetheless, this season might just be seen as a small improvement, but maybe not where they thought they’d end up.
ROSEDALE has the bye.
