COHUNA looks set to host a home final with a grand final berth on the line on September 7, after the Central Murray Football Netball League announced the finals venues this week.
The Kangas are well ahead of Kerang on percentage and will need only to keep winning — something that’s been straightforward most of the season — to finish on top.
They would then be afforded the opportunity to charge the batteries in week one of the finals before taking to the field at home for the double-chance second semi-final.
The game could potentially be against bitter rivals Kerang who knocked off the Kangas at Cohuna in round four by a goal or against the resurgent Mallee Eagles who currently sit in third spot.
The Eagles themselves could end up hosting and playing in the preliminary final on September 14.
And of course the grand final will be held at the showgrounds in a game that has offered up a home ground advantage to Swan Hill Football Club on eight occasions since the league was formed in 1997.
And yet on the eight occasions the Swans have made the grand final since the inception of the CMFNL, the side notionally “visiting” on the day has gone home with the premiership cup five times.
League manager Scott Wishart told The Guardian yesterday the first criteria was to share around the right to host finals, including the right to host the grand final at the showgrounds — a job to be undertaken by Lake Boga this year.
“Finals are lucrative and it’s important that we give all of our clubs an opportunity to access the more lucrative finals,” he said.
On whether a satisfactory compromise could have been met by swapping the venues for the second and first semi-finals, Wishart said the Saturday finals, tended to be more lucrative than Sunday finals a further factor in the equation.
“Going back recently Nyah Nyah West has hosted three Saturday finals while Cohuna has had a Sunday, so it was the need to share it around,” he said.
“We do try to keep them impartial but the higher preference is giving each club an opportunity to host a final.”
Last year saw two sides play in finals at home, with Woorinen taking on Tyntynder in week one at Woorinen before the two sides met again in the preliminary final.
“The reason it happens is because finals are allocated on a rotation system. We could get a situation where all host teams are in finals and it makes it difficult to keep it impartial,” he said.
