Sport
Allan Matheson Shield | Fate well and truly in Bulldogs’ hands as Stanhope comes to town
Destiny is in Tatura-Hill Top’s hands this weekend, with a win over seventh-placed Stanhope enough to secure its place in the Allan Matheson Shield finals series.
Shooting up to fourth spot with a pivotal 14-92 to 4-84 triumph on the road at East Shepparton last week, the Bulldogs come into this match full of confidence after a string of good performance in the past month.
Following last weekend’s tense win, Tatura-Hill Top coach Brendon Boyd said his side would quickly turn its attention to Saturday’s game against Stanhope.
“We are lucky that our fate is in our hands,” Boyd said.
“We know that we can’t take anyone lightly because the competition is so even. Stanhope will be super competitive and hungry.
“But we’re bowling well and we have just got to have the belief in ourselves that we can win.”
But while Stanhope is out of finals contention, the Bulldogs cannot afford to underestimate it as it looks to take one more scalp to finish the season.
The danger this Lions squad presents can be seen through its stunning upset win of Kyabram a fortnight ago, making it vital that Boyd’s squad brings its A game to this clash.
Kyabram comes into its round 14 clash with Shepparton Golf a shell of itself after suffering three straight defeats to Shepparton Park, Stanhope, and Tallygaroopna.
Currently sitting in third spot with 123 points, it would take something extraordinary for the Bombers to miss the top four, they could easily fall to fourth with a heavy defeat.
Having top spot locked away, this clash serves as a fantastic tune-up for Golf, which bounced back strongly with a 16-127 to 2-66 win over Stanhope after it was shocked by East Shepparton a fortnight ago.
With dreams of a seventh straight title certainly within reach, Brad Orr’s squad will use this clash as an opportunity to find its best form with a third match-up with Tallygaroopna on the cards in the first week of finals.
Euroa will be hoping to make one last good account of itself to finish the season as it travels to Tallygaroopna to face the in-form Redlegs.
The Magpies played the role of spoiler to perfection last week, stopping a rampant Shepparton Park in its tracks to register a thrilling 14-95 to 4-93 victory.
Tallygaroopna on the other hand has been a force to be reckoned with in recent weeks, reeling off dominant wins against Tatura-Hill Top, Shepparton Park and Kyabram to stamp itself as the true contender to Golf’s crown.