Eaglehawk claimed a crucial scalp in its bid to secure a BFNL finals berth when it defeated old foe Sandhurst at the QEO on Saturday.
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The hard-fought 15-point victory was the Hawks' second win over a genuine finals contender this year and lifted their win-loss record to 4-2 through six rounds.
They are only percentage behind third-placed Golden Square and hold a handy two-game buffer on seventh-placed Sandhurst.
"The competition is so tight this year that these games are nearly worth eight points,'' Eaglehawk coach Travis Matheson said.
"We have (fifth-placed) Kyneton next weekend in another eight-point game, so we look forward to that challenge."
Sandhurst will play a game of catch-up for the remainder of the home and away season.
The Dragons are 1-4 this year in games against the genuine finals contenders. The only contender they haven't played yet is Kyneton, with that game scheduled for round eight in Kyneton.
The Dragons should bank wins against bottom two clubs Maryborough (round seven) and Castlemaine (round nine), leaving the trip to Kyneton as potentially a season-defining encounter.
If the Dragons can defeat Kyneton and go into the halfway mark of the season 5-4, they'll be right in the hunt for fourth or fifth spot.
"All we need to focus on is having a crack every week,'' Sandhurst coach Ashley Connick said.
"No point worrying about everyone else, we just have to try and win every game that's in front of us."
The Dragons will be without young key forward Sean O'Farrell for at least two months after he underwent surgery on a broken hand suffered in the win over Golden Square a fortnight ago.
The only negative for the Borough was a hamstring injury to Kobe Lloyd.
"We don't think Kobe's injury is too bad,'' Matheson said.
"He probably could have kept playing, but given his history we didn't want to take any risks.
"He's a superstar, you'd love to have three or four of him. We'll assess him through the week, but we won't risk him (next week) if there's any doubt."
Read more: Sandhurst v Eaglehawk match report
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