You’ve heard of Christmas in July, but what about finals in August?
That may as well be the case in Kyabram District League this weekend as all four of the competition’s top sides square off against each other in a fixture list likely to repeat in the knockout stages of the season.
Third-ranked Lancaster hosts fourth-placed Shepparton East, while an hour’s drive south, top side Nagambie welcomes Murchison-Toolamba to town.
Breathing room is thin at the summit, with four points separating one from four.
This considered, there’s only one thing on Hoppers coach Brett Foley’s mind ― double chance.
“A win on Saturday gets us the double chance most probably with Girgarre to come in the last game. Once you get that double chance, any thing can happen,” Foley said.
“I don’t think anyone has won from outside the double chance from what I’ve been told.
“We’ve won a few in a row, the boys are pretty confident.
“We’ve just got to play our game style and shut down their dangerous players and hopefully get the job done.
“Nagambie at Nagambie is a very hard task, but we’ll put a few things into place and with those going well I think we’re a good chance.”
Foley said his side relinquished control against Dookie United in the first quarter last weekend, but fought back to claim a six-goal win to stay level with Nagambie on points.
However, the last time the Hoppers met the Lakers it all went pear-shaped.
Nagambie took the spoils 16.12 (108) to 9.6 (60) with Foley not afraid to say his side was second best that day.
“Their forward line was dominant, young (William) Dalton kicked eight goals, (Jonathan) Moore dominated at centre half-forward and in the ruck, their midfielders ran over the top of us,” he said.
“We don’t really take much out of how we played that day because we had a few things not go our way, but what we can take from them is they’re a free-flowing football (side) with some dangerous forwards.
“We’ll be looking to win the midfield, get it in to our tall forwards and hopefully we can get a score on the board.”
Dalton has carried on his run of form since kicking eight against the Hoppers in round two, slotting another five during Nagambie’s 37-point win over Girgarre.
Only three players have split the big sticks more times this season than the Lakers’ young forward, one of them being Murchison-Toolamba’s James Lloyd with 50 goals.
But while one Lloyd is in pink touch, another has been cruelled by injury.
Aidan Lloyd will miss at least the next few weeks after undergoing surgery on his appendix on Monday, while the Hoppers will also be without winger Brodie Sanders who is recovering from a popped shoulder.
Meanwhile, Lancaster versus Shepparton East shapes as another exhilarating battle.
The Eagles claimed a five-point win over the Wombats in April, but sit just below Saturday’s opponent on percentage.
Whoever wins will likely earn passage to the top two, with Lancaster’s five wins from its past five games giving it a slight edge over Shepparton East’s 3-2 record.