THE final round of this year’s Golden Rivers football season is upon us, with league goalkicking honours still to play for.
No matter the weekend’s results, the league’s finalists have been locked in for the start of next week’s finals series.
Wandella are set to take on Macorna in consecutive weeks, when one of the pair will be knocked from the finals in the first semi-final.
The only possible ladder movement could come from the bottom two positions, with Murrabit and Moulamein both sitting on three wins apiece.
However, the two teams face tough tests this weekend – when Murrabit face top of the ladder Hay away from home and the Swans take on a surging Ultima.
While the round will hold no bearing on the positions for the four finals bound teams, many eyes will be on Ultima’s Ryan Devereux.
The two forwards have remained neck and neck all year for the title, and now sit tied on 58 goals apiece with one game left to play in the regular season.
The similarities don’t stop there, with both players posting single game hauls of 12 – Deveruex’s day out coming against Macorna just last weekend.
But Declan Watson scored his sum in six less games than Ultima’s star forward, at an average of 6.4 goals a game compared to Devereux’s 3.8 goals a game.
Deveruex will need just a single goal, as Hay are set to take the field against the Blues without their key forward, who will miss the game alongside his brother Jacob and Joel Crocker.
Devereux will be going up against a resurgent Moulamein backline, who have performed admirably in recent weeks to help the Swans to consecutive wins.
Vice captain Cody Storm has lead the backline to great effect from full-back, while the likes of Hunter Hartland and Jayden Haeusler have also been strong in defense.
But Ultima’s threats are numerous, as evidenced in their four-goal win over the Lions in Round 14 – which was also headlined by a Devereux bag of five goals.
Cameron Johnson has found himself in a strong run of form in the last month, while Thomas Bull, Darcy Farrell and Jake Foster continue to provide strong presence on-ball.
The Swans will want to prove a thorn in the Roos side, and perhaps rock the boat before the finals kick off.
Wandella and Macorna will clash this weekend, the third and fourth placed sides have been vying for position in the middle of the ladder all year.
After the Tigers got the better of the Bombers in their season opening clash to the tune of 36 points, since then the pair have been tough to split.
The two clubs split their two most recent match-ups, with each game being decided by just three points – the Tigers claiming the most recent clash in Round 11.
The Bombers are expected to go into the clash with an unchanged side, as they look to avenge their previous loss and carry the momentum into the finals series.
Wandella and Macorna will play for the fourth time this year in the first week of the finals, and have gotten to know each others games pretty well by now.
Hay will be taking on Murrabit for the Blues’ last run-out for the year, when they will look to provide the ultimate upset against the reigning premiers on their home deck.
