The Bullants batted first on Saturday and scored 9-229, but Rup-Minyip all-rounder Jordan Tegelhuter said his side was well-placed to chase down the total.

Despite only having surpassed 200 runs once this season, the Blue Panthers are just two points behind ladder leader Homers.

They also have plenty of batting firepower to draw upon when needed, as evidenced by Adam Carter’s 119-run innings in the team’s 8-297 against Blackheath-Dimboola.

Tegelhuter said the team was happy with its bowling performance against the Bullants at the weekend, especially since it was missing key players.

“None of the Morgans played, which makes it pretty hard but I suppose it wasn’t too bad of a bowling performance,” he said.

“I think we should be able to get that total because it’s a pretty quick outfield and ground at city oval.

“We just need to concentrate on our partnerships and making runs like we do every week.”

Blue Panthers Clinton Midgley and Brayden Ison took three wickets each, while Ryan Metelmann and Jamie Byrne chimed in with one wicket apiece.

Blackheath-Dimboola has a task ahead of it against Laharum on Saturday after the Mountain Men posted 248 runs at the weekend.

Laharum was sent into bat after the Bulls won the toss, but a big innings from Daniel Griffiths, Ben Peucker and Heath MacInnes made Blackheath-Dimboola regret the decision.

Lachie Watts and skipper 

Matt McKinnon are the keys to the Bulls’ batting line-up.

With Blackheath-Dimboola facing a tough battle, Horsham Saints can climb back into the top four with a win against Jung Tigers and a Bulls loss.

The Saints are in the box seat to take the points after a strong performance at the weekend.

Captain Gary Davidson led the side to 267, but the key for the Saints was removing Tigers openers Luke Sonego and David Puls before the end of the day.

Peter Barnett and Nathan Neumann will resume on Saturday, with their side needing 251 runs for victory with eight wickets in hand.

Homers are set for a comfortable victory against Colts on Saturday at Dudley Cornell Park.

Dylan Arnott, Jason Kannar and Drew Carmody helped the Colts to a first-innings total of 137, but Homers reached 69 without loss in reply and will have a good chance at an outright win on Saturday.