by Rob Popplestone
The battle for the Mid Gippsland senior football premiership is down to four teams.
On Saturday night, one team will have booked its place in the 2025 decider.

Qualifying final: Fish Creek v Foster
Ladder position: 1st v 2nd.
Venue: Stony Creek at 2.20pm on Saturday.
Round 8 meeting: Fish Creek 7-7-49 defeated Foster 7-6-48.
What the coaches said at the time:
Jarrod Walker (Fish Creek):
"A gritty win, a genuine arm wrestle all day with neither team able to kick back-to-back goals.
"Both teams defended really well, making (a) low-scoring affair, and we just fell on the right side at the final siren."
Sam Davies (Foster):
"Just a game that got away unfortunately, and a game that we definitely lost from our mistakes rather than they won from playing good footy.
"High stoppage scrap for a lot of the day and we just failed to execute late, which led to turnover or poor decision making.
"We'll learn and take a lot away from it, but we need to be better in certain areas."
Round 18 meeting: Foster 7-4-46 defeated Fish Creek 4-4-28.
What the coaches said at the time:
Sam Davies:
"Really tough game in conditions we haven't really seen or played in this year.
"I thought they were on top in the first half. They applied great pressure and we panicked a lot with the footy.
"We didn't adjust too much after half-time but came out much more calm and got a lot more speed on the ball, which created a lot of opportunities that we took.
"Both teams will have changes in a fortnight but we will definitely enjoy the week and appreciate the work put in to finish on top."
Jarrod Walker:
"A solid hit out against Foster in an interesting weather day.
"The first half was relatively dry, although hard to score for both teams. The ball was moving pretty quickly.
"With no team able to capitalise on opportunities in the first half, Foster definitely changed that in the third quarter, putting on six goals straight to our one.
"Something we have been pretty good at is stopping opposition momentum but we just weren't able to in the third quarter. Disappointing on our end but hats off to Foster. They were first in and outhunted us.
"By the end of the third, the rain and hail had set in and it was always going to be hard for us to claw them back. We showed a bit at the start of the last quarter for a potential comeback but, unfortunately, the damage was done.
"Well done to Foster finishing a year clear on top of the ladder, a very solid year. A week off and we'll see them again this week."

Semi-final: Yinnar v MDU
Ladder position: 3rd v 4th (winners of last weekend's elimination finals).
Venue: Thorpdale at 2.20pm on Sunday.
Round 6 meeting: MDU 15-9-99 defeated Yinnar 15-6-96.
What the coaches said at the time:
Rhett Kelly (MDU):
"Another great game of footy. We understood that it was going to be a huge challenge to take on Yinnar on their home deck but I knew the lads were up to it after playing some good footy the last few weeks.
"I thought we started that game really well, but to Yinnar's credit, they kept spreading hard from the contest and put some pressure on us across the second and third quarters.
"I asked the boys for a big effort in the last quarter, which is what they delivered. The game could have gone either way, but I am proud that we fought it out until the end.
"Yinnar is a solid team and we look forward to another hit out in the second half of the year."
Sam McCulloch (Yinnar):
"Very disappointing loss. We played some really good footy at different periods throughout the day, but weren't able to maintain it for four quarters, which won't win games against good opposition.
"Will learn a lot from the game and work on the areas which let us down."
Round 15 meeting: MDU 14-10-94 defeated Yinnar 10-5-65.
What the coaches said at the time:
Rhett Kelly:
"It was great to get back on the winning list. I was really proud of how the lads responded after a couple of challenging weeks.
"We identified a few areas of our game that needed quick attention. Those areas were a big focus for us during the week and yesterday's game, and to the guys' credit, they got it done, playing a solid four-quarter game.
"Yinnar is a quality team, and we knew that we had to be at our best to beat them."
Sam McCulloch:
"MDU certainly came to play and were out to redeem themselves after a loss last week.
"We struggled to get our game going and were outworked for a large portion of the game. Credit to MDU for the way they applied themselves and their attitude for four quarters.
"With the bye coming next week, (it) is a real opportunity for us to regroup and have a good look at some areas of our game that are letting us down."
What the coaches said this week:
Sam McCulloch:
"The composure of the group throughout these moments of our first final was very pleasing.
"Another big challenge coming up. We will have to be on our game to progress through to the preliminary and know that MDU will be a tough game."
Rhett Kelly:
"We have been lucky enough to have beaten (Yinnar) twice this season. So if there is an edge, maybe its a mental edge.
"But the fact is, we all know this is now a completely different challenge for both teams. I'm looking forward to it and so is the club."