Important games in run to finals

Afinals double chance appears a primary prize on offer in Wimmera football league with three rounds remaining in the home-and-away season.

Minyip-murtoa is a clear competition leader, but teams making up the rest of the top five could all snatch second spot based on form, results and luck.

Two of those teams are Southern Mallee Giants, sitting second, and Dimboola, fourth and a game behind. The two meet at Beulah on Saturday as a stop-start season quickly reignites and teams regain their feet.

Games resumed last weekend with both the Roos and Giants collecting important wins.

Predictably, despite both being favourites going into their games, both had to work hard to secure winning points.

Dimboola had to hold off a willing Warrack Eagles to win by 31 points in a relatively high-scoring game, while the Giants were two-goal winners in a low-scoring contest against Horsham.

Dimboola would desperately now want to claim a Giants scalp with the likes of Tom Cree, Matt Rosier, Jarryd Graham and four-goal Hayden Walters all good in the return game.

But the Giants are hard to beat, are at home at Beulah and last week had Coleman Schache leading the way.

Sam White, Rupert Sangster and Haydn Drew were also quick to respond as teams played without crowds. Crowds will also be missing from games under COVID-19 guidelines this weekend.

Plenty of interest will surround a Horsham Saints clash against Warrack Eagles.

Third-placed Stawell will pick up an automatic four points from a bye and pressure will be on for the fifth-placed Saints to beat Warrack Eagles and win well.

The Saints will need to quickly lift at Horsham’s

Coughlin Park after dropping an important return game to Ararat last week.

They also face an Eagles team that has little to lose and proved through the likes of reliable Riley Morrow, Dane Stewart, three goals, and Ryan Mckenzie, they have little tolerance to being pushovers.

Regulars such as Jacob O’beirne, Andy Deveraux and Mitch Martin featured for Horsham Saints last week, but the team will want more on board on Saturday.

Minyip-murtoa, meanwhile, appears to be taking the difficult season in its stride but can illafford to take a foot off the pedal.

Winning momentum might be everything in the top-start environment we’re experiencing, and Horsham will be a tough opponent at Murtoa.

The Burras were more than a five-goal better side than Stawell last week, Kieran Delahunty kicking four goals and Brayden Ison three, while Tim Mcintyre, Corey Morgan and Nick Petering won accolades.

The Burras have a considerable arsenal that Horsham, outside the five, is unlikely to contain.

But only the foolish would doubt Horsham’s ability to throw a large wrench into the gears, considering it has play-makers Tyler Blake and Ben Lakin providing dash and Jeremy Hartigan in good form.

And then there is Ararat. The Rats are off finals pace but, as they showed last week, rate as perhaps the biggest pre-finals ‘spoiler’ in the competition.

Matt Walder’s Ararat takes on Nhill, which can also be unpredictable with little to lose.

Kade Bohner, Nick Oliver, with a five-goal effort, Jake Williamson and Henry Shea were all in the thick of the Rats’ win over the Saints.

Nhill is coming off a bye and considering we’ve come to expect the unexpected from Ararat-nhill games, this contest could well be up for grabs.