Emus and Cats in battle for finals

Skipton v Newlyn

MATCH of the Round in the Central Highlands Football League with the Emus hosting the Cats in a key matchup in determining whether or not Newlyn will make it to September. Skipton’s rich vein of form came to an end at the hands of Springbank whereas Waubra were too good on their home turf for the Cats. Chris Banwell has had his fair share of injuries to deal with Sewell Brothers and spearhead Marcus Darmody missing for the vast of majority of the season. The Sewell’s were arguably the Cats best last weekend and will need all their class if they are going to be any chance in this one. Maybe one outside selection for Banwell could be recalling veteran Nathan David from the reserves with the left footer booting three goals in a standout best on ground performance.

Prediction: Skipton by 18 points.

Ballan v Rokewood-Corindhap

Blues fans have had a tough season and unfortunately it isn’t going to get much better when the Hoppers visit. A 175-point loss to Hepburn can only be improved upon but taking on another top-four calibre opposition will make it another long day at the office.

Prediction: Rokewood-Corindhap comfortably.

Bungaree v Springbank

Its two of the in-form teams go to battle with Demons knowing they must win if they want to qualify for finals while the Tigers will want to cement their place within the eight. Bungaree had the bye and have to win their last two to even be a mathematical chance, whereas the Tigers upstaged Skipton with a 28-point victory. Veteran and former league best and fairest winner Joel Mahar was best on ground, with his experience and the dynamic duo of Billy Driscoll and Stephen Stauton expected to be enough to end the Demons finals aspirations.

Prediction: Springbank by 24 points.

Clunes v Hepburn

The Magpies blew a golden opportunity get back into the top eight with a shock 24-point loss to one of the competition’s cellar dwellers in Beaufort. Hepburn on the flipside cruised in the return to football post lockdown with a massive 175-point win including 16 goals from Sam Dunstan. He now has 73 majors in 10 appearances and with two games left he still remarkably an outside chance to kick 100 goals in back-to-back seasons despite the interruptions. Look for the Burra try and feed him towards the milestone.

Prediction: Hepburn, Dunstan for 10-plus again.

Daylesford v Dunnstown

Top four can all but be secured with a win here for the Towners as they go in heavy favourites against the Doggies. Their meteoric rise up the table can be accredited to great coaching by Glenn Wilkins but also consistent output from the likes of Will Henderson, Brayden Leonard and Matt Bulluss, the latter booting six goals last weekend against Learmonth. The Bulldogs have been disseminated by injury, so don’t expect to be this one to be as close as it could be if both sides were at full strength.

Prediction: Dunnstown by 45 points.

Learmonth v Beaufort

Credit to the Crows for not giving up this year, with an upset victory over Clunes throwing another spanner into the works. It was only Beaufort’s second victory of the season and now they are a serious outside chance to take down the underperforming Lakies. Learmonth have now lost five in a row and know another would turn their season from disappointing to catastrophic.

Prediction: Learmonth in a tight one.

Carngham-Linton v Gordon

Premiership favourites Gordon are expected to have another big win against the bottom placed Saints. Carngham were competitive last time out against Buninyong and will have to bring that same level of play to keep this game within a respectable margin.

Prediction: Gordon by just a matter of how much.

Waubra v Buninyong

Two of the powerhouses in recent years in a mini preview of finals action. It’s a battle between the ‘Roos strong midfield and the Bombers silky flair with both sides coming off important victories. On paper the Bombers till probably have the better sides of the two but games aren’t won on paper, with coach Matt James making the ‘Roos its trademark to win these sort of big game encounters.

Prediction: Waubra in a flip of the coin.