A CONGESTED scramble has emerged to follow trail-blazing premiership favourites Woorinen and Tooleybuc Manangatang into the finals, as the Central Murray netball season reaches its halfway mark.
With Round 9 complete following its double-weekend schedule, all clubs have now played at least eight of their 16 fixtures for 2016.
Last year’s grand finalists, Woorinen and Tooleybuc Manangatang, have re-asserted themselves as premiership favourites, going undefeated throughout their first eight matches (the Saints’ only blemish being their Round 4 draw with Tyntynder).
They continued their good form with wins on the weekend, although they needed to work hard for the points.
Reigning premier Woorinen survived a massive fright by coming from behind to defeat an inspired home team in Lake Boga on Sunday, 41-38, while Tooleybuc Manangatang fended off a strong challenge from Cohuna Kangas to win 48-40.
The Kangas took it to the Saints, having gone into the match in fourth spot, and have without a doubt been this year’s most improved side following last season’s ninth-place finish.
With the loss they fell to fifth though, due to the logjam that has formed between third place and sixth.
Tyntynder and Nyah Nyah West United both scored wins to meet Cohuna on 20 points, while Swan Hill couldn’t progress past 22 points due to its bye.
All four teams have shown they are clear top five contenders and they may still face some stiff pressure from below, given how close Lake Boga came to upsetting the undefeated Woorinen on the weekend and coming within four points of sixth place.
Percentage will be crucial, giving Tyntynder a strong advantage thanks to a few big-margin victories, while Nyah Nyah West United will need to improve significantly in this department.
Mallee Eagles and Koondrook Barham sit 10 points outside the top five, with the Raiders having played one extra game, meaning they can no longer afford to lose matches if they’re any chance of making finals.
Kerang enjoyed its first win of the season by beating Balranald and picking itself up from bottom-of-the-table as a result.
The coming weeks will see some very interesting match-ups which could help define some clubs’ aspirations.
Swan Hill has a chance to demonstrate its premiership credentials with a match-up against Tooleybuc Manangatang next weekend.
The match has come at a perfect time for the in-form Swans while it is also the first of two huge tests for the Saints, who play Woorinen in a top-of-the-table clash the week after.
Mallee Eagles have a tough month ahead to prove they’re still finals contenders with matches against Nyah Nyah West United, Swan Hill and Woorinen.
Cohuna Kangas face the exact same fixture following their bye next weekend in a test of their top five fitness.
It’s been a season full of shock results so far, so anything can happen.
