Only three rounds remain in the Wimmera Football League and the finals picture is starting to become clearer.
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Minyip-Murtoa secured the minor premiership in emphatic fashion, after barely putting a foot wrong up to this point.
Horsham is on the brink of missing finals for the first time in 17 seasons, but there is the slimmest of chances and mathematically the Demons could still sneak in.
Who does your team play and what does their run into September look like?
1st - Minyip-Murtoa, 60 points, 181%
R16: Warrack Eagles (H)
R17: Nhill (H)
R18: Ararat (A)
The next record in sight is an elusive undefeated premiership. Matches against the Eagles and Nhill will go a long way towards setting that up. The Burras' final obstacle is a game against Ararat, which promises to be a good test heading into the finals campaign.
2nd - Ararat, 44 points, 140%
R16: Stawell, (H)
R17: Horsham (A)
R18: Minyip-Murtoa (H)
Remarkably, the Rats haven't dropped out the top two since the second round, and even then only started as low as third place. Ararat will be looking to keep that run intact, but the Giants are breathing down their necks. As the Giants have a bye in hand, that automatically bridges the four-point gap.
The Rats' final games are against strong opposition, which will help heading into the finals campaign.
3rd - Stawell, 40 points, 133%
R16: Ararat (A)
R17: Dimboola (H)
R18: Nhill (A)
It would take the extraordinary for the Warriors to miss the finals. Stawell has fired on all cylinders, inspired by the memory of missing September football last season. They might lose third-place to the Giants, who have a definite four-points in the bag but games against Nhill and Dimboola should be percentage boosters.
4th - Southern Mallee Giants, 40 points, 131%
R16: Dimboola (A)
R17: Horsham Saints (H)
R18: BYE
The Giants have coped well with an unusual season - where each game they played was against the team coming off the bye - and could still finish second. It remains to be seen whether gun recruit Lucas Cook can be lured back for one more hit out to make him eligible for finals. The former AFL player has only played two games so far this season, both coming in June.
5th - Horsham Saints, 36 points, 105%
R16: BYE
R17: SMG (A)
R18: Dimboola (H)
The Saints toiled in sixth-place for ten rounds until a hard-fought win against Ararat in round 14 all but secured their place in the finals. They'll still need to beat Dimboola, but the Saints form of late has been impressive. The Saints will also welcome back Mitch Martin, Gage Wright and Nick Caris from GWV Rebels duty later this month, bolstering their side.
6th - Horsham, 28 points, 84%
R16: Nhill (A)
R17: Ararat (H)
R18: Warrack Eagles (A)
Horsham is on the cusp of missing finals for the first time in 17 seasons.
Horsham fans can take solace in the fact that it's still mathematically possible for the Demons to make the finals. But, it would take a string of irregularities and a sharp turn around in form for it to eventuate.
To start, Horsham need to win all of its remaining games.
Next, Demons fans need Stawell to lose the all of their remaining matches. The Warriors come up against two weaker sides in Dimboola and Nhill across the next three rounds.
The same equation works with chasing down the Giants as well, but the Southern Mallee boys have a safe four points coming their way from the bye.
The last possible team Horsham can chase down is city rivals, Horsham Saints. The Saints also have four points headed their way from the bye next weekend. Also, they would need to lose both games against the Giants and Dimboola.
Central to all possibilities, however far-fetched, is that the Demons win all three of their remaining games. The Demons will be hard-pressed to beat Ararat in round 17, but are playing at home. Should that happen, and the Demons see off both Nhill and the Eagles, their lowly percentage would still see them miss out on finals. The Demons are nearly 20 percentage points off Saints in fifth place.
7th - Dimboola, 20 points, 73%
R16: SMG (H)
R17: Stawell (A)
R18: Horsham Saints (A)
Regardless of their final position, with three wins, this has been Dimboola's best season since 2015. Although it's another year without finals football, the memory of beating Horsham at City Oval will live long for the Roos' faithful. The Roos could still change the finals picture for other teams.
8th - Warrack Eagles, 20 points, 63%
R16: Minyip-Murtoa (A)
R17: BYE
R18: Horsham (H)
Injuries hampered the Eagles' season before it ever got going. The Eagles performed admirably against their upcoming opponents in the reverse fixtures and could still snatch seventh-place from the Roos, with four-points from the bye proving handy.
9th - Nhill, 12 points, 63%
R16: Horsham (H)
R17: Minyip-Murtoa (A)
R18: Stawell (H)
The Tigers, arguably, have the hardest run home, coming up against three traditionally strong teams. However, an unexpected win would be a nice way to wrap up a challenging season.
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