by Davyd Reid
With the home and away season complete, we're now down to five in the Ellinbank District Football League.
Week one of the finals series will be played out with qualifying finals at Neerim South on Saturday, and sudden death eliminators at Nyora on Sunday.
Senior action will see Buln Buln take on Trafalgar at Neerim South on Saturday, the victor to move one step closer to a spot in the decider.
Will it be the Lyrebirds or Bloods to advance to take on the undefeated Cats in the second semi-final?
Head-to-head form across the season tips it in favour of Buln Buln, who have won both encounters.
A 17-point victory in a low-scoring wintry affair in round five was followed by an impressive 49-point win in round 17.
Its form the Lyrebirds carry into finals, following an impressive second half leading to comfortable victory over Longwarry before a big win over Catani.
During that latest match, they were able to get valuable minutes into the likes of Sam Langford and Jake Pierrehumbert, who were coming off injury.
The Lyrebirds had a final round bye to check out their opposition, who have shown improved form since that round 17 loss.
The Bloods took it up to Neerim-Neerim South to three-quarter-time and then held off Lang Lang in the final round.
Expect a tight contest, as Trafalgar's best could be enough to challenge the Lyrebirds.
Watching on with interest will be the second-semi final opponent, who will be playing host on Saturday.
Other grades on Saturday will see Trafalgar take on Neerim-Neerim South on their home deck in the reserves, Ellinbank take on Longwarry in the under 18s while the under 16s will pit Yarragon against Neerim-Neerim South.
It will be sudden death at Nyora on Sunday as Poowong take on Ellinbank.
The Magpies enter the clash in good form, having recovered from a 2-5 start to the season to finish with 12 wins and six losses. They have emerged as one of the form sides of the competition.
Poowong enter the clash having also played at Nyora last week in an opportunity to familiarise with the surroundings.
Ellinbank enter the finals on the back of a season interrupted by COVID and injury, still managing an 11-7 record at the end of the regular rounds. Their best line up could threaten any team.
Judging by their home and away encounters, the clash should be another close one, with the sides squaring the ledger. Ellinbank took a narrow victory in the opening round, while Poowong held on by the barest of margins in a round 12 epic.
Reserves action will see Lang Lang face off with Buln Buln, that clash preceded by the Lyrebirds meeting Yarragon in the under 18s. Ellinbank and Lang Lang will meet in the under 16s.
Match times will mirror those of the home and away season for the first week of finals. The under 16s commence at 8.45am, under 18s to start at 10.25am, and the reserves to begin at 12.15pm ahead of the seniors at 2.10pm.