CRICKET
CGCA
Yallourn North v Mirboo North
YALLOURN North still has a shot at finals action this season however its chances are in the hands of other teams, with Trafalgar sitting five points ahead.
The Bombers need to topple the reigning premier then defeat Moe, while hoping the Ships drop one or both of their remaining fixtures.
Patrick Spiteri will be relying on his bowlers to weave their magic and hopefully keep the Tigers to a low score, while key bats Josh Keyhoe and Tyler Brown will come to the fore when the home side faces the music.
Mirboo North meanwhile will be keen to pick up a win in order to maintain its buffer at the head of the table, which would all but guarantee a top finish home final, and the opportunity to play off against the fourth-ranked side in the semis.
Robert Phoenix is the side’s talisman but other key performers include Peter Grima, Liam Smit, Shane Peters and young gun Hudson Kerr, who has been a revelation at the top of the order.
Trafalgar v Moe
ALL Trafalgar needs to do to reach a maiden CGCA finals series since readmission is win its remaining games.
The Ships have been impressive this season and have found a way to win matches against more fancied opponents, while cashing in against those who were under-strength.
Captain Rhys Holdsworth is the danger man but has had plenty of support from the likes of Jackson Noonan, James Blaser, Will Cheatley and Aiden George.
Moe skipper Andrew Philip has defied expectations by leading his green side to a finals berth, and will attempt to put pressure on Mirboo North by winning both games remaining.
As a minimum, the Lions will want to hold on to second place to gain a home final on the bowler-friendly Ted Summerton Reserve, where low-scoring games have been frequent.
Jayden Mathison, Nick Clarke and Luke Mulqueen have had no trouble exploiting the surface and will be confident at their home ground.
Latrobe v Thorpdale
LATROBE are after a big win against second-bottom placed Thorpdale that would set up a tantalising last-round match against Mirboo North as both a grand final rematch, and decider for top spot.
The Sharks have been batting well of late with Kaushik Aphale, Matt Brewer, Anthony Bloomfield and Justin Vajler all among the runs, however with the ball have been overly reliant on star man Chris Johnson.
Thorpdale has been outstanding with the ball but disappointing with the bat.
The form of Jason Richardson as well as Travis and Shannon Pickering has contrasted that of Steven Hibbs, Ayden Kelly and Matt Powell.
The Blues have been over-reliant on Fraser Smith for runs, and the weight of expectation has affected his performance.
Newborough Bulldogs v Morwell
MORWELL need a massive win here and outright victory over Trafalgar in the last round to have any hope of playing finals.
The Tigers have been let down by a series of spineless batting performances and captain-coach Davin Charleston needs to coax something special out of a side suffering a serious wound to its pride.
Morwell will probably feature a shuffled lineup with key players coming back who were unavailable last week.
Newborough has had a long season and will be looking forward to signing off, with young players David Reynolds and Bailey Somerville getting their first taste of senior action in 2014/2015.
The experience of Mark Whitney, John Murray and Leigh Colgrave has been the glue that held the Bulldogs together but they have missed their star performer, Royce Colgrave, after an accident put the opening bowler out of action for the season.
