by Nicholas Duck
It's the penultimate round of the Gippsland League and the two local sides will be up against history if they are to pull off some surprise upsets.
Drouin vs Leongatha
Straight off one of their best wins in a long time, Drouin will be hard pressed to make it two in a row as they host Leongatha.
Having conceded 10 goals in the opening quarter against Maffra, the Hawks piled on 12 of the last 16 goals to come back from the brink and win their second match of the year.
It was a rousing win for the maroon and gold, who have been agonisingly close to pulling off that kind of comeback in multiple matches this season.
No doubt spirits were high at the Hawks Nest this week.
But the reigning premiers will present a very different - and more difficult - challenge.
The Parrots were brought undone for just the third time this season last week against Moe.
After kicking the first three goals of the day, they were then held goalless for over an hour of play before succumbing and slipping to third.
It's a funny thing to say that third place would be somewhat unfamiliar territory for the team, but that's just how successful they've been over the past couple of years.
But while they've now been proven to be mortal this season, one thing it's still tough to see happening is for them to lose two matches in a row.
And against a still developing and rebuilding side like Drouin, it's especially difficult.
There are just the two changes for the Hawks as Noah Glen and Aaron Marsh come in for Brodie Atkins and Kaden Gregg.
Leongatha, meanwhile, lose plenty of their senior talent, with premiership players Tom Marriott, Jake van der Pligt, Jack Hume and Luke Bowman all missing, along with VFL talent Noah Gown.
That will give some hope to the Hawks, but when they're staring down a side that has won the last seven encounters between them, many of them thrashings, it's going to be a tough ask.
Sale vs Warragul
After a week off Warragul will look to find some late season glory as they head to Sale City Oval.
It's been a tough year for the Gulls, and with the finish line now in sight nobody would blame them if they were looking forward to the off-season - especially their numerous stars sitting on the pine with injuries.
They've now lost their past four matches at an average margin of 78 points.
But they're a proud unit over there at Western Park, and no doubt they'd love a scalp or two before the end of the year.
On the road and playing a team bound for finals, however, it's going to be a challenge.
Sale officially booked their ticket to finals last round, thanks to a solid win over their nearest challenger in Morwell.
They've still struggled to recapture the form that propelled them to a grand final appearance, but regardless will pose a threat to most teams in the league.
While they can't move from fifth, momentum going into finals is everything, and with Traralgon to come next week they would hardly like to drop a game like this.
The Alger brothers return for Warragul, as does Oliver Wilson in an injection of young talent.
Making way for them are Jaxon De La Haye, Kyle Baker and Will Hatfield.
Recent history doesn't favour Warragul, with Sale having won their past 10 battles, including a 103-point shellacking earlier this season.
Still, the Gulls have nothing to lose. Can they play like it and cause a few surprise headaches?
Other games
It's a top five tussle when Wonthaggi looks to make it 14 wins in a row in their game with Traralgon.
The Power have been the form team of the league for a while now, looking like the apparent minor premiers with two rounds to go.
Traralgon will finish the year in fourth, but are coming into this off the back of a bitterly disappointing loss to Bairnsdale.
Their matches against the league's best have been a cause for concern, particularly their last contest with Wonthaggi where they were thumped by 79 points.
A response will be needed here.
Moe are searching for a unique piece of history when they meet Maffra away from home.
Should they win, they'll become the first senior Lions team to have won every away match in a season.
Sitting pretty in second, they look every bit a premiership contender and should be able to check this one off.
Maffra will be seething after they coughed up a 45-point lead against Drouin last week, but there have been plenty of promising signs from their young team.
Finally, Bairnsdale will try to keep their newfound momentum rolling as they host Morwell.
The Redlegs showed fight and spirit last week to cause the upset of the season and will look to continue that form going here.
For Morwell it's been an underwhelming end to the year, given they won't be backing up last season's stunning run to finals.
Still, they can claim some late joy here.
Games between these two have been very close in recent years, so expect a thriller.