While the results of all games reflected current ladder positions, round nine of the Wimmera Hockey Association was far from dull as teams continue to jostle to earn a place in the finals.
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The round started on Friday evening at Dimboola, with the Dimboola Burras taking on the Nhill Rangers.
Although the scores suggested an easy win for the home team, on the field it was far from it.
Strong Nhill defence repulsed many attacking moves by Dimboola before the 20-minute mark, when the Burras scored the first of two goals in the first half.
Although the Rangers earned a number of penalty corners, they were unable to capitalise on their opportunities.
A Nhill goal half-way through the second half and some brilliant goalkeeping by Murray Miller kept the Rangers in the game.
However, two more goals set up the victory for the Burras.
On Saturday evening, the Yanac Tigers continued their dominance with a clinical six-goal win over the Kaniva Cobras.
Goals within the first five minutes of each half and one in the last minute of the game highlighted the danger of this Yanac combination, which can maintain pressure for the whole 70 minutes of the game.
The Warrack Hoops remain in second place on the ladder after a tight two-goal win over the Horsham Hurricanes.
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The Dimboola Roos set up their victory over the Nhill Thunderbirds with a dominating six goals in the first half, set up through strong team work, good passing and capitalising on penalty corners.
Nhill came out strongly in the second half, scoring two goals and defending strongly to keep the game alive.
But in the end, although the Roos were restricted to only one more goal they still finished ahead 7-2.
On Saturday afternoon, Kaniva took the game right up to the competition leading Yanac, restricting their rivals to only one goal before half-time.
But a converted penalty corner after the break extended the lead to two goals, while Kaniva was prevented from scoring.
The most significant game of round nine turned out to be the clash between the bottom two teams, with Warracknabeal still looking for its first win for 2019, and the Horsham Jets struggling to make a serious challenge for the finals.
Warracknabeal scored a minor victory when Ruth McNamara scored her team's first goal for the season.
Unfortunately, Horsham scored six goal at the other end of the field to earn the win and a return to the top four.
