Diggers Rest’s finals fate will again go down to the wire in the Riddell District Netball League.
With two rounds left, the Burras are sixth, just one game clear of Lancefield. Both sides will meet a top-six side and a lower-placed side in the lead-up to finals.
The Burras are familiar with tight finishes.They finished seventh in 2015 after losing their last two games, while the season before they sneaked into finals with a last-round draw.
Burras playing coach Amy Carroll said that, earlier, she would have hoped to have secured a finals spot by now.
The Burras have had several close matches in recent times, which could ultimately decide whether they play finals.
They won a thriller against Macedon and then lost matches to Melton Centrals and Romsey by a combined four goals. “It will be an interesting few weeks,” Carroll said.
The Burras beat Woodend-Hesket 91-48 on Saturday.
Knowing it could come down to percentage, the Burras pressed hard the whole match, scoring 20-plus goals in three of the four quarters.
Carroll, returning after dislocating her shoulder against Romsey, scored 55 goals.
Tayla Behan also returned after a holiday.
Carroll said she expected Jena Baboth to return this week so they would have a full squad for the run home.
The absence of Carroll, while a big one, was offset to a degree by the fact her fill-in, Meredith Ball, starred and is still playing with the Burras.
“We’ve been lucky that she’s enjoyed playing here and wants to keep coming back,” Carroll said.
“It was a straight swap for me, with an even better player coming in.”
The Burras now face second-placed Riddell this week before taking on Sunbury Kangaroos in the final round. Carroll is looking for an improved performance against the Bombers, who beat the Burras in round one.
Elsewhere at the weekend, Melton Centrals’ quest to finish third received a setback when they lost to Romsey.
In the closest match of the round, the Redbacks defeated Centrals 46-28.
Centrals were without midcourters Jess May and Tran Truong.
Rupertswood defeated Broadford, Lancefield smashed Wallan, and Macedon broke the 100-goal barrier in its win over Sunbury Kangaroos.
