We witnessed a dramatic twist in the tale when Strathmerton returned to the summit it had occupied for parts of the campaign by holding off Katandra for its 13th win of the year.
A 13-2 record in a 16-game season would typically bring you a healthy buffer, but not this time around.
The Bulldogs only hold top spot on percentage — albeit a gigantic gap in that regard — with Katamatite joining them at 52 premiership points after a comfortable 10-goal triumph over Jerilderie.
Both of these results came at the Kats’ expense after the closest geographical Picola District side to Shepparton had surprisingly taken on the league lead at the campaign’s halfway mark, only for the Strathmerton defeat to relegate it two places.
Now the contenders shall go their separate ways, however, with significant implications playing out across three venues on Saturday.
With that said, the three leading outfits will all go in as solid favourites across varying degrees of difficulty in their fixtures.
Strathmerton coach Nic Hoban generally expected that the top sides would all find themselves under the pump at the business end.
“We knew it was going to be tight with the top four,” Hoban said.
“Katamatite improved a fair bit without picking up many players and Waaia’s always highly competitive with us.
“You’ve just got to have luck with injuries. We’ve had our fair share, but to our credit, we’ve found a few in the reserves.
“It’s not always all bad news as we’ve been lucky with a few stepping up.”
Strathmerton’s final regular-season fixture comes away at a fellow finals-bound outfit in Katunga, set to push Waaia for fourth spot with percentage separating the two.
However, Hoban maintains that it’s not all solely about winning on Saturday.
“We always play to win, but it’s not the be-all and end-all this week,” Hoban said.
“We know top four is secured for us and we have the second chance, so it doesn’t worry us too much in terms of who we play in the first final, because you still have to beat them all.
“Our eyes are on the bigger picture; although we’d like to win the game (this weekend), the premiership is the main focus in the end.
“We’ve played well throughout the year, and I think our form towards the back end is actually better now than when we started the season with a better list before injuries.
“It’s a great effort, but the job’s not done yet.”
Indeed it’s not, with the Bulldogs staring at — on paper — the toughest ask of all three contenders for the top.
While Katandra will certainly embark on a solid road trip, there is still no doubting its favouritism in a match-up with now-eliminated Deniliquin Rovers.
Katamatite gets home comforts in search of the win and potential favour that would see it finish the home and away campaign top of the pops, and has every chance of making a pre-finals statement in facing Rennie, which sits 13th with three wins for the season.
There’s one other fixture of major significance this weekend as well, with Picola United and Tungamah’s meeting serving as a mini-elimination final in its own right.
The Blues and Bears sit a half-game apart in sixth and seventh, respectively, with teams two games away on either side, meaning it’s all or nothing at Jubilee Park on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Jerilderie will hope to finish the season on a neutral win-loss record when it welcomes Mathoura, Waaia will seek to do the expected job of consolidating fourth spot on a trip to Blighty and Berrigan will try and close out on a high at Yarroweyah.
