THIRD will meet fourth when Ultima-TUF hosts Wandella on Saturday afternoon – with both clubs knowing a win will go a long way to securing a top-four berth.
Wandella find themselves 15 points clear inside the four – but with games against St Mary’s Tyntynder and fifth-placed Woorinen to come.
The Roodogs also go into the encounter desperate for the four points after last Saturday’s lapse in concentration against the Demons.
Despite an easier run home, Ultima-TUF are only eight points clear of the Tigers – and have the all-conquering Saints awaiting them in the final round of the season.
The only shining light last Saturday was the performance of Mitch Seton-Stewart in the middle order.
His 49 helped his team save face, but he’s going to need more help from his team mates if they are to put a winning score on the board against the Bombers – particularly with the injury-enforced absence of their captain Kade Benfield likely to continue for another week.
With class batsmen of the calibre of Kyle Symons, Ben Shepherd and Josh Waldron at their disposal, Wandella shouldn’t expect lightning to strike twice in two weeks for the Roodogs.
Similarly, the Bombers have plenty of talent with the willow themselves.
Much has been said about their captain Greg Dickson who, with 276 runs at 46.0, has been their mainstay with the bat this season.
The biggest positive for Wandella to come out of last weekend’s win over RSL was the fact they were able to win without their skipper dominating.
Luke Murray (61 not out) and Laine Gibbons (40) both found form, while Rohan Oliver (28 runs off 31 balls) has been the quiet achiever down the order for the Bombers this season.
As good as both teams are with the bat, this game is likely to be decided by whoever gets the job done with the ball – and is able to bowl the tighter line and length on the sometimes hard-to-score-on Alan Garden Reserve surface.
