The weekend’s two elimination finals delivered an absolute nailbiter and a comprehensive victory, although the results might not align with the fixtures you’d expect.
Saturday saw third-placed Nagambie line up against sixth-placed Rushworth in the first elimination final at Violet Town Recreation Reserve, and it was hard to get a reading on the contest heading in given the match ups between the pair throughout the regular season had both resulted in blow-outs.
While the Lakers were the higher placed side come season’s end, the Tigers had delivered a 15-goal mauling at home way back in round two, though the Lakers got their revenge in the return leg in round 14, claiming a 13-goal victory.
But on neutral ground on Saturday, the do-or-die final delivered an edge-of-your-seat thriller, with little separating the two sides throughout the afternoon.
In fact, two goals was all that split them as the umpire blew the final whistle, and this time it was the Lakers jumping for joy, prevailing 49-47 in a brilliant contest to continue their season for another week, while the Tigers will take no further part.
Meanwhile, Tallygaroopna and Merrigum met on Sunday afternoon at Girgarre Recreation Reserve in a highly anticipated clash between fourth and fifth on the ladder.
In contrast to the regular season contests between Nagambie and Rushworth, the Bulldogs and Redlegs could barely be split throughout the campaign, with the round two clash between the pair resulting in a draw, while Merrigum claimed bragging rights with a three-goal victory in their most recent round 14 meeting.
But the finals can produce funny results, and while many expected another close clash, it was Tallygaroopna that ran away with proceedings, securing a more than comfortable 49-34 victory to secure safe passage through to the semi-finals, while the Bulldogs, who finished the home and away season with an identical record, walk away empty handed.
The respective wins for Nagambie and Tallygaroopna sets up a blockbuster weekend of semi-finals, with the winning pair set to face off in another cutthroat clash on Sunday at Murchison Recreation Reserve, with the winner to advance to a preliminary final while the loser heads home.
The first semi-final will also be played a day prior, with top two sides Shepparton East and Lancaster set to compete for a spot in the grand final when they meet at Nagambie Recreation Reserve this Saturday at 2:15pm.
