The Bendigo Football Netball League top five should be finalised by 8pm on Saturday.
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Unless South Bendigo can upstage Strathfieldsaye in the Storm’s historic first night match at Tannery Lane, the finalists for this year’s September action will be set with one week of the home and away season remaining.
As gallant as South Bendigo has been in 2017, it’s hard to see the Bloods defeating a Storm side that appears to be peaking at the perfect time.
While South Bendigo has been crippled by injuries to some of its top-shelf talent, the Storm’s inclusions this week, despite the absence of a rested Shannon Geary, gives them arguably their best team for the season.
Sam Heavyside, Jamieson Sheahan, and Jake Heavyside add class and depth to the Storm’s midfield, Harry Conway and Brad Stringer bolster their flexibility at either end of the ground, while Tom Dowd and Caillum Brady add run and drive off half-back.
A South Bendigo defeat combined with Sandhurst’s expected win over Kangaroo Flat would be the final nail in the Bloods’ season.
Sandhurst is far from its peak, but it will still have too much class for the Roos.
The most intriguing game of the round is at Wade Street where third-placed Golden Square hosts fourth-placed Kyneton.
The Bulldogs have locked away a top-three berth, so the result means little to the home side in the way of ladder positions, but they would like to continue to build momentum before the finals.
The Tigers are desperate to prove they’re a genuine premiership contender, but they haven’t defeated a top three side this year.
Adding fuel to the Tigers’ fire is this is the first time the two sides have met since Golden Square’s Dylan Johnstone was suspended for three games for striking Kyneton’s Hamish Govan.
Govan suffered a fractured cheekbone and the Tigers were furious Johnstone didn’t receive a heavier ban.
Kyneton announced on Friday that it had re-signed coach Luke Beattie for a further two seasons.
In other games, Eaglehawk should thump Castlemaine at Canterbury Park, while Gisborne will post its sixth win of the year when it hosts Maryborough.