PRECIOUS little has separated Colbinabbin and White Hills in the last two HDFNL A-grade finals - on Saturday nothing at all could split the two great rivals.
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The Grasshoppers and Demons fought out a 47-47 draw at Scott Street, with the result indicating we could be heading the way of another epic encounter - or two - come finals time.
The tie effectively ensures Colbinabbin top spot ahead of the finals, barring an unexpected loss to Mount Pleasant or North Bendigo in the final two rounds.
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White Hills is guaranteed nothing lower than second spot and this puts the Demons on-course for a qualifying final showdown against either Huntly, Elmore or Mount Pleasant.
The Demons would have grabbed top spot from the Grasshoppers with a win, which was on the cards when they by eight goals early in the third term.
But the Grasshoppers, with goal attack Liz Cobbledick and Jess Geary at goal shooter leading the charge, were able to claw their way back into the contest to trail by just three goals at three quarter time and force a draw after trailing 45-47 in the dying stages.
While disappointed not to secure the win, Colbinabbin coach Georgia Rodger could not have been more pleased with her side's second-half fightback.
"We worked on Thursday night and the last few weeks on having that composure and playing out the four quarters and digging our way out of trouble a little bit," she said.
"To the girls' credit we were calm and poised and took the time to work our way out of trouble.
"Lou (Dupuy) down back was just unbelievable - she was that anchor when we needed it.
"I think poise was the difference for us, we were able to calm ourselves and get back to our structures and plays, and no one dropped their heads."
After playing the bulk of the season with different line-ups and combinations, Rodger said it had been pleasing to have taken to the court in recent matches with a settled line-up.
An up-beat White Hills coach Lauren Bowles said while it was disappointing to let an eight-goal lead slide, but could draw plenty of positives from the game.
"We really need to hold on to a lead like that and learn how to win in a pressure situation; we probably haven't been in that situation this season where we have been up in a tight contest," she said.
"We did fight back a few times late in the game when they headed us and it's certainly an ability we have, to keep fighting.
"Whether we are up or down, we do keep on fighting and keep that intensity up. One thing we were proud of as a team was we did get around each other from start to finish today."
Bowles said choosing a standout player for the Demons was made difficult by the fact all nine, who took to the court, had played well in patches.
"I thought our defence end came into the game more in the second and third quarters; same with our goalers, they had some really good patches where they were up and about and getting a great turnover of goals," she said.
The reigning premiers will meet Huntly next weekend, after the Hawks defeated Leitchville-Gunbower by 23 goals to inch a step closer to snaring the double chance.
The Hawks were brilliantly led by their consistent midcourter Kym Bell and wing defence Sam Nelson.
Meanwhile, North Bendigo secured its fourth win of the season with an 82-34 triumph over Lockington-Bamawm United.
The win was the Bulldogs' first since a round eight victory against Heathcote, despite some handy performances in between against finals-bound Colbinabbin and Mount Pleasant, which defeated Heathcote 54-35.
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