The Gators will front up in another double-header weekend, starting tonight against the Bulleen Boomers at Shepparton Sports Stadium.
The Gators then cap off their round 18 fixture with a clash against Coburg tomorrow.
Although Shepparton (second) is positioned nicely on the ladder and has locked in a finals appearance, the stakes are still utterly high for Bathman’s men.
‘‘We know how important this weekend is for us,’’ he said.
‘‘Our performance this weekend will dictate who and when we play in finals.
‘‘But we need to take care of business first.
‘‘And keep our focus on this weekend, because our destiny is in our own hands.’’
Bathman was hopeful Nick Dodd can replicate his efforts from last weekend, with the captain dropping 25 points from 12-16 field goal attempts.
‘‘Nick had a terrific shooting night last weekend,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve been really urging him on to take it upon himself and trust his ability.
‘‘And it paid dividends last week, hopefully he can replicate that again.’’
Tonight’s match against the Boomers presents a finals-like scenario for the Gators.
Bulleen sits sixth on the table and is fighting to remain inside finals contention, with Warrnambool nipping at its heels in seventh.
In round 12, Shepparton edged out the Boomers on the back of incredible shooting by Javaan Mumtaz and Carlin Dupree.
However, the Boomers have a star of their own.
Bulleen’s Chauncey Orr is averaging 30.05 points a game and recorded his second-best outing for the season against the Gators last time out — dropping 40 points.
‘‘They will be absolutely desperate against us,’’ Bathman said.
‘‘Their import is one of the leading scorers in the league and had a day out against us last time.
‘‘We’ll look to keep him under his average, but we’ll have to respect their other guys too.’’
Shepparton’s match against Bulleen starts at 7.30 pm tonight at the Swamp.
