Tight finals run in Mininera

Coming off the league bye, Mininera football teams have had the chance to rest any players with injuries and look forward to the final six rounds.

With only eight points between positions three and nine on the ladder, strong performances and wins are going to be even more important for those teams still not holding a spot in the top five. Every win and loss is crucial.

Lismore-derrinallum and Moyston-willaura on the other hand are sitting first and second on the ladder and if their pre-bye performances are anything to go by, you cannot imagine they will drop off in the latter part of the season.

Lismore-derrinallum hosts Hawkesdale-macarthur this week and even though the Eagles had a slow start to the season, they might be hitting their straps at the right time. The side will have plenty of confidence after its 188-point win over Caramut in its previous clash.

Patrick Sinnott had a day out kicking nine goals, but with 10 other goal-scorers there were plenty of options up forward.

Lismore-derrinallum, on the other hand, had a closer game against Wickliffe-lake Bolac and it could easily have been an upset, but the Demons managed to rally and get over the line by 10 points.

The Magpies really took it up to the ladder leaders, and with Wickliffe-lake Bolac going into the last quarter up by 24 points, Lismorederrinallum had to pull out everything to come away with the win.

Michael Lockyer and Ryan Elliot are consistently playing well for their team and with the two firing week after week it certainly is a tough challenge for opposition teams.

Moyston-willaura was challenged by SMW Rovers in its last match, but with a strong player list and in particular the class and skill of Billy Laurie, will come into its round-12 clash with Woorndoo-mortlake with plenty of confidence.

Sitting four points behind Lismore-derrinallum on the ladder, the Pumas would like nothing more than to take the number-one spot.

Woorndoo-mortlake is one team that knows how important wins in the last rounds are. The Tigers are sitting ninth on the ladder and are in the fight for a top-five spot.

After being down by seven goals at the end of the first quarter in their last match against Tatyoon, which in turn resulted in a 29-point loss, the Tigers will focus on jumping out of the blocks a bit harder and getting a better start.

In other games, Ararat Eagles play Tatyoon, Penshurst should have no trouble when it hosts Caramut, SMW Rovers will look to keep its finals hopes alive with a win over Great Western and Wickliffe-lake Bolac plays Glenthompsondunkeld.