With two home games remaining, Merrigum’s spot in the top eight is now dangling by a thread after a heavy loss to Stanhope which jumped from fourth to third with a dominant win.
In the other game Murchison-Toolamba crushed Rushworth to hold second place — for the moment.
– The Wombats restricted Girgarre to just one goal for the game in the one-sided clash at Lancaster, taking it to within sight of the top four.
And that goal took nearly a game to score as Lancaster’s midfield and defence shut down the Girgarre attack for the majority of the game.
Key playmakers in ruckman Coby O’Neill and midfielders Cam Simpson and Zac Cerrone set up a lot of scoring chances for the Wombats and Nic Ryan in a key forward role obliged with five goals in another telling display.
Phil Carroll also provided plenty of rebound from defence for the winners, while Nic McAuliffe held Damian Cupido to just one goal, although in fairness after quarter-time the Girgarre coach was deprived of opportunities when Lancaster took full control.
Girgarre had goers in Rex Taylor, Jack Oogles, Jarryd Malone and Kevin Maroney, while Jared McMahon, Ashley Hughes and Jordan Clark did some good work, but after quarter-time it was one-way traffic.
Despite the whipping, Girgarre should have big wins in it’s last two games — Tally this Saturday and Longwood on Sunday week — to keep in the finals race. But it has to rely on Merrigum, Nagambie and Dookie United losing both their games to be a chance for an unlikely eleventh hour finals appearance.
– Stanhope reversed an unexpected early season loss to Merrigum with a dominant win on Saturday to keep it’s top four aspirations alive.
The Lions put the foot down early against a below full-strength Bulldogs outfit and romped to a 162-point win.
Stanhope coach Mark Patten conceded Merrigum was well below top strength with key players in Jack Sinclair and Nathan Hearn among those missing, but he was still happy with how his charges performed.
McNamara Medal favourite Ryan Semmel put in another blinder for the winners with an eight-goal haul, while Jonathan Pearson (five goals) and Rhys Smith (four goals) also applied scoreboard pressure.
Jye Adamson also had a good game with three goals, while Josh Harris, who started in defence before a late stint in the midfield, was also prominent.
Ruckman Dan Flynn was also a solid contributor with his field marking a highlight.
For Merrigum no players worked harder than Darcy Collins, Tom Cooper, Jacob Martin and Jake Ross, while Leigh Cuthbert and David Mathews battled it out to the bitter end.
Stanhope’s chances of grabbing a top four spot and a double chance in the finals will now hinge heavily on its clash with second placed Murchison-Toolamba this Saturday in the penultimate home-and-away round.
Merrigum is now in danger of missing the finals with a charging Nagambie to contend with this Saturday and Murchison-Toolamba to meet in the final round.
But it could still hold its place even if it lost its last two games if other results go its way.
– As expected, Murchison-Toolamba thrashed Rushworth on Saturday to shore up a top four spot.
Ash Cashion with 10 goals and Aidan Lloyd with nine had fields days in the combine’s forward half, while Michael Coad, Jay Hexter, James Ivill and Andrew Lloyd were all prominent in the runaway win.
For Rushworth Tom Stevens, Kieran Malone, Josh Newton and Hayden Gray battled hard with little support.
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