WITH three rounds remaining in the Heathcote District Football League season, there’s room for just one of Colbinabbin or Huntly to finish in the top three.
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The top two spots are set to be filled by Leitchville-Gunbower and North Bendigo, leaving Colbinabbin and Huntly to fight it out for the last double chance.
Both sides are locked on nine wins apiece heading into their crucial round 16 clash at Colbinabbin on Saturday, but the Grasshoppers do have an extra game in hand.
“It’s obviously an important game for both clubs… we can set ourselves up to finish top three, which is a big incentive,” Colbinabbin coach Phil Morgan said on Friday.
When the two sides first met this season Huntly defeated Colbinabbin by 20 points in a result that Morgan says stung the Grasshoppers.
Since then the Grasshoppers have won six of their past seven games, with their only loss through that period by 13 points to unbeaten Leitchville-Gunbower.
“It wasn’t a very happy place after that Huntly game and that loss really hurt us,” Morgan said.
“Since then we’ve had a lot more commitment from the players to training… we always felt we had a good list, but we had to start showing it.”
It’s no coincidence that the Grasshoppers’ improved form has run parallel with dominance from star goalkicker Grant Weeks, who leads the HDFL goalkicking with 78 and in his past six games has booted hauls of 11, 10, 7, 7, 7 and 5 after being held to two against Huntly in the round seven loss.
Down the other end the Grasshoppers are boasting statistically the best defence in the competition, conceding an average of just 59.5 points per game.
Round 16 HDFL games – Leitchville-Gunbower (13-0) v Heathcote (1-12) (at Leitchville); Colbinabbin (9-4) v Huntly (9-5); LBU (2-11) v Elmore (3-10); Mount Pleasant (4-10) v White Hills (7-6).
Meanwhile, in the Loddon Valley Football League Bridgewater will round out its home and away season on Saturday in what will be the Mean Machine’s last game for 21 days.
Bridgewater has the bye in round 18, and will then have the first week of the finals off courtesy of what will be a top of the ladder finish.
The Mean Machine takes on Mitiamo at Mitiamo.
“We think we’ve played some good footy over the past few weeks and we’ll be aiming to keep playing like that on Saturday leading into finals,” Bridgewater coach Andrew Collins said.
Bridgewater has already had one win this week, with Callum Prest having a four-game suspension for striking Inglewood’s Craig Crichton reduced to two matches by the AFL Victoria Country appeals board, allowing him to resume in the Mean Machine’s second semi-final.
Round 17 LVFL games – Calivil United (7-7) v YCW (3-10-1); Marong (6-8) v BL-Serpentine (8-6); Pyramid Hill (12-2) v Inglewood (1-13); Mitiamo (7-7) v Bridgewater (14-1).
