by Rob Popplestone
The weekend was one in which a "line in the sand" needed to be drawn by a number of clubs to determine their team's destination.
Some lived to fight another day, others fell short, and now face a testing two months of home and away football unlikely to lead to a finals reward.
Toora v Thorpdale
Getting a handle on just what type of Toora was going to turn up has proved to be a tough task in recent weeks.
Two wins out of three ain't half bad and that's exactly what the Magpies produced in the past month leading into another tough challenge against the Blues.
On their home deck, Toora knew a victory would have themselves within a whisker of the top half of the ladder.
The problem was a fierce visitor in the shape of Thorpdale who were too good, winning 15-10-100 to 13-8-86.
Thorpdale coach Daniel Taylor said it was a "great game of footy which could have gone either way".
"I felt at half-time Toora had the momentum," Taylor said. "When they kicked the first goal after half-time to take a 14-point lead, it looked like we were on the ropes a bit."
"To the boys' credit we really got to work, our midfield got on top, intensity and pressure lifted around the ball and we managed to get some forward half territory which got the game back on our terms at the last change," he said. "Cracker of a last quarter with a few lead changes before we settled and kicked the last two goals to get an important win for our season moving forward."
The Magpies struggled to keep the key forward down. That, coupled with some poor decisions, proved to be costly to the Magpies.
Toora coach Jay Accardi said it was a tough encounter.
"The game was played at a high level and a physical one. It was a close match all day and, to their credit, they were able to take their chances when it mattered to grab the win.
"Really proud of the effort our lads showed but some silly errors at crucial moments in the last quarter were costly," he said.
Fish Creek v Hill End
Bottom of the ladder Hill End strolled into the home of top team Fish Creek not with extraordinary confidence but at least with some belief they could keep in touch.
It soon became obvious that the Kangaroos were going to be a very different proposition, winning comfortably 25-17-167 to 2-2-14.
Fish Creek coach Jarrod Walker said it was a "pleasing performance."
"We started moving the ball a lot better in the second half, which helped to create more space in the forward line and get some better looks at goal," Walker said. "Hats off to Hill End who made us earn it all day, especially the Hill End ruckman who went all day in the ruck and made us make a few changes in our ruck stocks. They've got some handy juniors coming through."
Hill End coach Adrian Burns described Fish Creek as an "awesome" side.
"They had some players out and we had eight players out ourselves," Burns said. "The boys that were in did a good job. Young Hamish Phoenix is a ripper, so it wasn't all bad, but I would've liked a bit more of a fight."
Newborough v Stony Creek
It was always going to be hard to justify the loser of this clash as a finals contender.
The pressure is now squarely on Stony Creek after going down by just a kick - Newborough winning 12-15-87 to 12-10-82.
Newborough coach Pat Frendo said it was a massive win at the kennel.
"Started the game well kicking 6.1 in the first, then hurt ourselves in the second quarter going 1.8 in front of goals," Frendo said. "Managed to steady the ship a bit in the second half and gave ourselves a six-goal lead late in the last before we switched off and allowed five goals in the last eight minutes."
Stony Creek coach Troy Shepherdson said they took on a side desperate to get the win.
"For three quarters they out worked us," Shepherdson said. "Boys dug deep in the last to try steal a win, but fell short by five points."
MDU v Morwell East
The Demons may have killed off any glimmer of hope that Morwell East held to climb up the ladder with a 12-7-79 to 7-7-49 win.
MDU coach Rhett Kelly said it was great to come away with the four points after Morwell East put up a strong second half fight.
"We started the game really well and absorbed Morwell East's pressure to have a small lead at quarter time," Kelly said. "Our pressure in the second quarter was excellent, allowing us to play a lot of forward-half football with repeat entries."
Morwell East came out strong after half-time as MDU lost structure after a player was sent from the field.
After getting outworked in the second quarter, Morwell East coach Paul Henry said they outscored MDU by a goal.
"Got within four goals in the last but MDU was too good in the end," Henry said.
Foster v Mirboo North
The battle of the two Tiger teams was not so much about the battle of emblems. It was about the 2025 survival of Mirboo North.
In eighth and percentage from sixth, the visiting Tiger team knew the scoreboard, both win or lose, was important.
However, it wasn't an ideal outcome as Mirboo North were beaten 10-10-70 to 1-5-11.
Foster coach Sam Davies said his team "ticked the box".
"Damo (Mirboo North coach Damien Turner) definitely had his boys well drilled, playing plus two essentially behind the footy all day, which made it a very ugly game," he said.
The Tigers may have been on the receiving end of a pretty solid beating, but there remained a lot to like about the way the visitors went about their business.
"I felt we really did make it hard for Foster, and they stuck to a plan and never went away," Turner said. "Sam has a good strong list, and in the end their class and finishing was too much."
Yinnar v Boolarra
On a big day for the club, Yinnar secured the win, 11-12-78 to 5-7-37.
Yinnar coach Sam McCulloch said, "the game was quite a battle and took us until the last quarter to break away and record a good win."
The Demons, who sit just a game shy of a coveted top six spot, were in an arm wrestle in the first half before injuries, again, took their toll.
"To Yinnar's credit, they found a gear after half-time with their midfield particularly damaging in both their clearance work and in hitting the scoreboard," Boolarra coach Brendan Mason said.
Bye: Tarwin.