WITH four rounds remaining in the Bendigo Football League season, there is just one spot left available for the finals.
Golden Square, South Bendigo, Eaglehawk and Sandhurst can all be pencilled in as combatants for the 2010 finals series.
That leaves just fifth spot up for grabs, and that now shapes as a battle of two – Kangaroo Flat and Maryborough.
And those two teams will today square off at Maryborough’s Princes Park in what shapes as a mini-final.
The stakes are high for Maryborough, which sits in sixth position - one game behind Kangaroo Flat.
A loss today would leave the Magpies two games outside the top-five, and considering the run home the two sides have after today, it would seemingly be a bridge too big to gap, even with a better percentage than Kangaroo Flat.
On the other hand, a Maryborough win today would propel the Magpies back into the top-five and place their finals destiny again in their own hands.
“If anyone wants to put their hand up to play finals, then this is the day, otherwise it’s finished for us,’’ Maryborough coach Shane Fisher said yesterday.
“Even if we do win though this week, it’s still going to be all or nothing every game for us over the following three weeks.
“If we beat Kangaroo Flat, it doesn’t mean we’re playing finals, we’ve still got to win two other games to give us a chance.
“We’ll endeavour to stand up and perform. We haven’t done that for a while, but we need to do it this game.’’
The Magpies were touted pre-season as being one of the big improvers this year.
After finishing seventh last year with six wins, they were bolstered by the return of four Bendigo Bombers-listed players in former captain Joel Malone, Darcy Richards, Chris Thomson and Justin Crameri.
The Magpies received an injection of talent from the surrounding Maryborough-Castlemaine District Football League, and after a strong pre-season in which they were the first club to hit the track in preparation for 2010, there was plenty to like about the Magpies.
Three wins from their first three games – including a four-point victory over Sandhurst at the QEO in round one – was the perfect start for the team, but since then it has won just three of their past 11 games, all of which have come against the bottom three teams.
“The start of the year might have just been a bit of a false indication, particularly that first game against Sandhurst,’’ said Fisher, who will today play his second senior game of the season.
“But we’re clearly nowhere where we could or should have been, but that has to be put down to a few things, such as commitment and what we’ve been able to do training-wise... again we weren’t allowed on our ground last night.
“And our list probably isn’t as good as we thought it was going to be.’’
Since beating Castlemaine by 63 points in round 10, the Magpies have lost their past four matches.
During Fisher’s reign as coach, which started in 2008, the Magpies have never lost five games in a row.
While Maryborough goes into today’s game with ordinary form behind it, Kangaroo Flat last week defeated Strathfieldsaye by 11 points at Dower Park to displace the Magpies in fifth position.
n THE RUN HOME AFTER TODAY:
5th: Kangaroo Flat (7-7) – Castlemaine (h), Sandhurst (a), Eaglehawk (a). 6th: Maryborough (6-8) – Gisborne (a), Golden Square (h), Kyneton (a).
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