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THE Loddon Valley league enters its thrilling final round on Saturday with the possibility that all positions in the top five can still change.
Neither Pyramid Hill (1st), Mitiamo (2nd), Bears Lagoon-Serpentine (3rd), Maiden Gully YCW (4th) or Marong (5th) are locked into their finishing positions ahead of round 18.
And there's also the prospect that seventh-placed Calivil United can still leap into the top five.
If the Demons do grab hold of fifth at the expense of Marong that would then throw a major spanner in the works for the LVFNL until Maiden Gully YCW's player points breach appeal is dealt with later next week.
The Demons' season is only still alive courtesy of receiving the four points they were awarded by the AFL Central Victoria Commission after Maiden Gully YCW broke their player points limit of 45 against them in round 14.
But the Eagles' appeal to AFL Victoria leaves the door open to the possibility that if successful they could in fact get their points back for a game which they won 52-48.
Where it will get messy next week is if Calivil United edges out Marong into fifth spot, which looms as a strong possibility given the Demons face the winless Inglewood and the Panthers will be underdogs against Mitiamo.
If Calivil United grabs fifth the league won't be able to confirm until late next week which of Calivil or the Panthers will play finals given there is now a cloud over the Demons' round 14 points due to the Eagles' appeal.
In short, the Panthers can save the league some major headaches next week by knocking off the Superoos at home and putting an end to any finals uncertainty stemming from the Eagles' appeal.
"Our destiny is well and truly in our own hands. We know Mitiamo is a tough task, but we feel that when we play our best footy we can match it with anyone," Marong co-coach Taylor Beard said on Friday.
"We feel if we can do that and can get a win it will take away a lot of question marks around next week.
"We don't want to be in a situation of having to rely on any other results."
As well as playing for a guaranteed return to the finals for the first time since 2016, Saturday will also be a 30-year reunion of Marong's only LVFNL senior flag won in 1989 against Mitiamo by 80 points.
Meanwhile, the clash between Bears Lagoon-Serpentine and Maiden Gully YCW is a straight forward case of the winner secures third and earns the double chance; the loser will finish fourth.
"We feel that our form is reasonably good and some of the things things that we weren't happy with early in the year are now working well," Maiden Gully YCW coach Wayne Mitrovic said.
"It feels like we've got a bit of that feeling back we had last year of really playing for each other and we have some confidence in our ability."
The Eagles are coming off a 156-point demolition of Inglewood last week.
* Saturday's games - Marong v Mitiamo, Pyramid Hill v Newbridge, Inglewood v Calivil United, BL-Serpentine v Maiden Gully YCW. Bridgewater bye.
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