THREE REMAIN IN FINAL HUNT
Teams ready for fireworks in last round
CRICKET: As the final round of the TCI A-grade season approaches, three teams remain in the hunt for the remaining finals spot.
Western Districts and Northern Brothers Diggers have first and second respectively sewn up, with University, Metropolitan-Easts and Highfields-Railways battling it out for third.
University are currently in the box seat, as a first innings victory against Highfields Railways would be enough to see them progress.
Their opponents need a win on the other side of the spectrum in order to keep its chances alive.
An outright win would earn Highfields-Railways enough points to overtake University, however if Metropolitan-Easts were to condemn Northern Brothers Diggers to the same fate with an outright defeat, it would all be in vein.
Highfields-Railways president Brett Nielsen said it was a different position for the club to be in finals contention, and backed the young team to play without fear tomorrow.
“It’s a bit of a different position for us. We’ve been dragging the chain over the last few years,” Nielsen said.
“The young fellas have been having a crack though, and who knows what might happen this round.
“They have been questioning their own ability at times and are still finding their feet, but they have been growing in confidence all year.”
They kept their slim finals hopes alive after beating Southern Disticts outright last round, and Nielsen hoped for another “red hot” performance against University.
“The boys have been patient all year. They started out fairly slow, and have had some plans that worked and some that didn’t,” he said.
“When Souths came up against us, we were red hot, which was the difference.”
The final fixture of the weekend pits first against last when Western Districts plays host to Southern Districts.
The minor premiers have already secured their spot in the TCI A-grade grand final on March 23.