Melton and Melton South turned in a Ballarat Football League thriller last time they played – and this weekend they will do it all over again.
The cross-town rivals will clash for the second time in 2014 after the Bloods took the four points in round four.
On that occasion, the winning goal came with 10 seconds remaining on the clock.
The stakes could hardly be higher, with both clubs needing a win to keep their finals dreams alive.
Melton coach Brad Murphy hasn’t forgotten the frantic manner in which his side won earlier in the year and is expecting another tough game against the Panthers.
“It was one of the best wins I have been involved in as a coach and a player,” he said.
“South will get a couple back from last time we played them, and we will probably get four or five back as well.
“They are a really good side and have got some really good players.
“Both teams will obviously be very keen to win. We are realistic of where we are at … we know that if we don’t play finals, these are our finals.”
Despite the club’s eighth-place ladder position sounding a long way from September action, the Bloods are two points behind sixth-placed Lake Wendouree.
Melton has a favourable draw in the next five weeks, so this is the chance for the club to make a finals run.
“We have spoken about the finals,” Murphy said. “I didn’t want to bring it up with the boys too early but … our next five games are against sides who are around us on the ladder or below us.
“We see that as a real opportunity to try and get those four wins that will probably get us into finals.
“Over the last two weeks, we haven’t been horrible, we haven’t been great. If we continue to play like that we don’t actually deserve to play finals.”
Regardless of results in the rest of the season, Melton has shown vast improvement under Murphy, who took over as head coach this year.
The Bloods had just one win in 2013 but have three wins and a draw after 10 matches this year.
Murphy believes there is still plenty of improvement to come.
“The group we have got, they are actually a really talented bunch,” he said. “Off the field they are a great bunch of guys. To a tee, all of them want to learn and develop.
“I still don’t know if the belief is there in this group.
“I know how talented they are and how good they can be but I still question if they believe it themselves.”
In Saturday’s game, the two sides will play for the Phil Littlewood Trophy.
Littlewood was a coach at Melton from 1989 to 1996, winning four premierships in that time.
He moved on to coach Melton South from 1999 to 2005, winning one premiership.
Littlewood died earlier this year and is remembered as a legend at both clubs.
