by Rob Popplestone
The last round of the Mid Gippsland footy season is unlikely to bring any "real" surprises, given the makeup of the top six sides.
The finalists are pretty much locked away and the reality is that clubs are unlikely to get "cute" in order to secure a favourable first round final.
There will be no favourable first round final for any one of the six. It's all about bringing the style of football required to win on the big stage.
Thorpdale v Morwell East
It is actually a very hard game to preview between Thorpdale and Morwell East on Saturday.
The Blues will no doubt still be rattled by the freak injury to their coach Jason Winderlich a fortnight ago. With finals hopes gone and their inspirational leader confronting a serious injury, undoubtedly players will be asking what this game is all about.
That said, that might just be the motivation required to don the Blues guernsey and pay respect by way of performance against Morwell East, a genuine finals contender.
"The club is looking to finish a tough and frustrating year on a good note, and take some positive momentum into next season with a strong showing against one of the season's better performers," Thorpdale co-coach Ray Pickering said.
The Blues could well have been playing finals given an inch of luck this season.
Speaking of luck, the Hawks have had very little of it in the past fortnight, losing to both Yinnar and Newborough by just a kick.
"Don't even know what to say, heartbreaking," Morwell East coach Paul Henry reflected. "Unbelievably tight game, could've gone anyone's way."
"Thorpdale away this week to close out the year," Henry added.
Winning is unlikely to make a huge amount of difference for ladder position. However, for the players' confidence, the last thing the Hawks need is to be bring three losses in a row into a finals campaign.
Tarwin v Hill End
Coming off disappointing performances last week, these two teams will be extremely keen to finish the season with a rare victory.
Although the home side will start deserving favourites, the visiting Rovers will believe the Sharks might just be right for the taking coming off a surprisingly big loss to Toora.
Wanting to win and having the personnel to win are two different things. But, somehow one gets the feeling that "wanting" to win will play a big part on Saturday.
Hill End coach Ambu Uliando said Tarwin was a tough team to play on their home ground.
"We will also have a few players out from last week, so it will be a tough gig for the last game of the season," Uliando said.
Tough gigs have been what Hill End have faced all season. Although not falling on the right side of the results anywhere near as many times as they would like, this round 18 clash does indeed provide another opportunity.
Tarwin coach Jason Kennedy said his team didn't come ready to play last week.
"We now look forward to finishing off the year on a positive note," Kennedy said.
The home ground advantage is a strong one, as the Rovers face the long journey to Shark Park. All the more reason for the visitors to leave it all out there and throw down a real challenge to Tarwin.
MDU v Foster
Two of the top teams in the competition will clash in the last round and, as it stands right now, will also meet in a do or die final the following week.
How will the sides prepare for that possibility?
MDU coach Nathan Allen praised his team's ball movement last week.
"We have a huge home game against the in-form Foster and, depending on results, we could play them two weeks in a row, so it's a bit of a different one," Allen said.
The Demons, like the Tigers, will no doubt be after two things this weekend. Firstly, fine tuning their own game and, secondly, casting an eye over possible weaknesses in the opposition that might be exposed in finals.
Foster coach Sam Davies said it was nice to see smiles on the faces of supporters post-game last week.
Davies said this game, on the MDU ground, was "another big test against a team finding their groove late in the season".
Winning form is good form. At this stage, both of these two powerful teams bring exactly that to the table.
However, one will not be in that same position come the first week of the finals.
Mirboo North v Fish Creek
Mirboo North's year has been about learning, building, planning and understanding all that is required to play a more significant role in season 2025.
The chances of the Tigers actually knocking off the reigning premiers in the last round are remote, even on the Tigers' home ground. But, winning isn't always a measure of progress either.
Fish Creek coach Jarrod Walker said he look "a fair few positives" to work with from last week's game and others to improve on.
Walker said this week as a great opportunity to "fine tune a few things before finals" and put together "a full four quarter performance".
The Tigers have had a week on the sidelines and no doubt used the opportunity to have a look at their opponents for this week.
There is no doubt the challenge is a huge one, despite the Tigers' confidence building win over Hill End.
"I was really happy with the way we played against the Rovers and the way we adjusted to the conditions," Mirboo North coach Damian Turner said. "It was nice to get another win, but now it's Fish Creek to close out the season."
It is probably not the ideal way to finish off the year, but the Tigers seem to be starting to get all the pillars in place for bigger and better things in 2025 and beyond.
Newborough v Toora
The Bulldogs sent the signal that they are very much in contention to play a significant role in finals on the weekend.It followed the announcement that respected coach Craig Skinner will retire from coaching his beloved Bulldogs at the end of the season, a decision that will leave the MGFNL a little worse off.
That said, don't believe for one second his decision will reduce his desire to finish with a premiership to conclude his magnificent contribution to the game.
"We welcome Toora this week for our last home game and know they will bring the heat and want a big win to finish their season," Skinner said.
The Bulldogs will no doubt be ready for this week's challenge, whilst also casting an eye on ensuring they have their best possible line-up ready for finals.
Toora, on the other hand, can throw caution to the wind if needed. Even bringing their round 17 form to the table will be enough to cause the Bulldogs some concern.
"A tough match-up against Newborough awaits to finish our season," Toora coach Jack Weston said. "Newborough will no doubt be hoping to carry good form into week one of the finals. So it is imperative we come to play."
The Bulldogs won't so much be flirting with their form, but will understand it becomes a chess match. You need to have the right pieces in the ideal spots, not this week, but the week after.
Stony Creek v Yinnar
Stony Creek finally ticked off a close game victory in round 17 and now look to knock off Yinnar as they say goodbye to 2024.
The Magpies will no doubt start to turn their focus to finals. But, they can ill afford to lack respect for a Lions side that, on their day, can be a dangerous team.
"The bye came at a good time and gave us the opportunity to freshen up," Yinnar coach Sam McCulloch said. "Excited about our last game against Stony Creek. We will be in for a tough encounter on their home deck."
The Lions will run out for the last time of the season, hoping to put in the same sort of performance this week as they did last. However, in round 18 the challenge is a whole lot bigger.
"It was good to finally win a close game last week," Stony Creek coach Chris Verboon said.
Stony Creek players and coaches alike will see first-hand the standard required to be a part of the business end of the year on Saturday. It's a standard they are capable of quickly closing in on next season.
Bye: Boolarra.