A draw between second-placed Avenel and fourth-placed Broadford allowed the ladder leaders to gain the advantage in day two against Kilmore.
It is a commanding position for Tallarook to be in, with a single two-day game to go until finals come around.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the top seed against Kilmore — in fact the result almost went the way of the wooden spoon side.
Having knocked Kilmore over for 131 all-out on day one, Tallarook found the going tough on day two as they limped to 8/139 off 65 overs.
Without the assistance of player-coach Jac Smith-Williams and his 53-run knock, it could have been a far worse scenario facing Tallarook in the final round.
Chief destroyer with the ball for Kilmore was Josh Buttler with figures of 3/47 off 27 overs — among those, 15 were maidens.
Smith-Williams said Buttler’s bowling made the going far tougher for his side, but they came out the other side with a win.
‘‘It was just a few bad shots being played on our part, but also Kilmore bowled pretty well. Buttler’s 27 overs and 15 maidens was fantastic from him,’’ Smith-Williams said.
‘‘Overcast conditions probably suited them, but we ground it out which was pleasing, although we were eight down by that stage.
‘‘I was pretty happy with my own knock, but I got out with four or five runs to go, so I was a bit annoyed not to make it to the end.’’
He said the final two-dayer of the season against Yea Tigers away from home would provide a stern test ahead of finals.
‘‘Yea are going really well, they have a few key players who we’ll have to get out early, so as a bowling unit we have to focus on getting them out,’’ Smith-Williams said.
‘‘We have one eye on the finals, but our main focus is Yea this week for sure.’’
In other SDCA A-grade results, Avenel drew with Broadford, leaving both sides still in line for finals berths.
And Eastern Hill succumbed to the Yea Tigers large day one total on Saturday.
The Tigers declared on 4/231 off 65 overs on day one, and knocked over Eastern Hill for 112 all-out off 53 overs.
Chief destroyer for Yea was Andrew Chisholm with figures of 4/16.
Yea or Avenel could still grab top spot off Tallarook if either can secure an innings win over Eastern Hill or Tallarook respectively.
In B-grade, Alexandra defeated Tallarook to maintain top spot, while Royals are hot on their heels with a win against Avenel.
Broadford defeated Kilmore, Yea Tigers defeated Eastern Hill and Seymour defeated Pyalong.
In C-grade, Royals defeated Puckapunyal Nomads, Eastern Hill were defeated by Seymour, Pyalong defeated Broadford Red, Puckapunyal Wanderers defeated Broadford Black, and Alexandra defeated Kilmore.
20°C