by Rob Popplestone
An outstanding opportunity presents itself for either Tarwin or Newborough to win direct entry to the 2022 Mid Gippsland Football Netball League grand final.
Winning will be worth its weight in gold in such an even competition. The victorious team on Saturday will be gifted a shortcut to the "big dance", the loser facing the prospect of a straight sets loss. That's a scenario both sides will be desperate to avoid.
Qualifying final: Tarwin v Newborough
Time: Saturday at 2.20pm
Venue: Stony Creek
Tarwin bounced out of the blocks from round one this season and, outside of their two losses in 18 rounds, have shown very little fragility for opposition sides to expose.
However, Newborough has been one of those teams to inflict defeat on the Sharks, and that result gives the Bulldogs confidence in their ability to repeat the effort when it counts most.
Possibly, just possibly, one of Newborough's biggest hurdles will be the unusual predicament of having a bye in the last round of the home and away season, followed by a week off in the first week of finals.
"We now have a hungry team that believe in themselves as much as I do," Newborough coach Craig Skinner said. "We now look forward to showing just what Newborough stand for when we meet Tarwin in the finals."
As luck - either good or bad - might have it, Tarwin played their last two games of the year against the league's bottom two sides prior to their week off.
"I'm just really excited to see the boys enjoying their footy and they deserve now to give the finals a good crack," Tarwin coach Troy Hemming said. "It's just the best time of the year."
These two top teams are quality and most deserving of the opportunity to claim the first of two positions in the 2022 MGFNL grand final.
That said, there is no guarantee that both will eventually meet on that very big occasion, and good sides take opportunities - they seize opportunities - to get what they want.
In this instance, we have two clubs that believe they are "the" team to do just that. One of them is wrong.
Elimination final: Yinnar v Boolarra
Time: Sunday at 2.20pm
Venue: Newborough
The challenge was always going to be enormous for any side that finished outside of the top two teams in the MGFNL competition. It means needing to win not one, not two, but three finals before the chance to earn a spot in the "big dance".
Yinnar and Boolarra crossed the first bridge with their wins last week over Foster and Hill End respectively.
This weekend will see one fall at the second hurdle, while the victor will move one step forward into the preliminary final against the loser of the top of the table clash between Tarwin and Newborough.
However, the focus for both coaches is no further than this week.
"It's another opportunity against a quality side and our rivals in Boolarra," Yinnar coach Daniel Taylor said. "They've got quality players across the board, and we know exactly how they want to play."
"The challenge for us is to bring the heat and get the game on our terms. It's a massive game and I'm confident we'll be up for the fight." Taylor added.
The Magpies seem to have finally got it all together at the right time.
However, the challenge is one that the Demons feel they are ready for.
"This week's game is big," Boolarra coach Tony Giardina said. "Yinnar looked impressive, so we need to come prepared from the first bounce."
Both Boolarra and Yinnar seemed to be facing defeat in their first week of finals. The Demons had a slow start against Hill End and the Magpies gave up the lead to Foster late in the last quarter.
There may not be those same opportunities again this week as the stakes slowly, but surely, become higher and higher.