IT’S finals time in the North Gippsland Football-Netball League.

Five teams will become four in each grade.

Traralgon Tyers United are given a deserved rest for finishing the season on top of the ladder, undefeated might I add, so they won’t be in action until week two.

It might become a rest they don’t want as some teams thrive on consistency, but TTU are yet to drop points all year.

Woodside, who have been clearly the second-best team all season, will face the ever-rising Heyfield in the Qualifying Final, who managed to pinch a top-three berth.

The Elimination Final will see either one of Yallourn Yallourn North or Churchill exit the finals series, leaving four teams.

A SECOND chance is there for the losing team, but you don’t want to have to use it, as the Wildcats and the Kangaroos prepare to go head-to-head in a bid to face TTU for a Grand Final spot.

Playing on the hard deck of Churchill, both these sides have won on this ground in 2023, showing they are capable of working well on the road.

Woodside has only lost two games all year, and at some stages looked like they could give TTU a run for their money, yet both of its losses have come at the hands of the Bombers.

These sides have only had a glimpse of what each other is about once, facing off in Round 9 at Gordon Street Reserve.

Woodside were victorious, and quite hefty victors at that, torching the Roos to the tune of 41 points.

Some key indicators from that game might suggest where things went right and wrong for either side.

The winning margin practically came from the boots of Michael O’Sullivan and Daniel Farmer, kicking seven between them.

They will be difficult to stop, considering they came first and third in the league for goal kicking, scoring 146 goals between them this season.

If Heyfield can even cut one string from this dangerous duo, it will help immensely by shortening Woodside’s avenues to goal.

Heyfield had eight separate goal scorers on that afternoon in Round 9, all kicking one each.

This suggests there were no proper targets inside the forward 50, compared to recent weeks where a player has kicked a bag.

Mitch Bennett, Asher Eastham, Leigh Brown and Thomas Marchesi have all proven they can kick multiple goals against quality opposition since the halfway point of the season.

It is more than fair to say that Heyfield has certainly become a contender, compared to the last time they met Woodside – the Kangaroos were still outside the top five.

The good news for either team is that both have been able to defeat either YYN or Churchill in their last meeting, which will give them confidence if they do find themselves in a do-or-die situation the following week.

IT will be all-or-nothing for the Jets and the Cougars – one will progress and one’s season will be cut short.

YYN has struggled in comparison to last season’s premiership-winning run, and in instances this season have found themselves outside the top five.

Churchill sat in third for most of the season, but a sudden drop in form saw them fall below all of their closest rivals to fifth.

The sudden shift in form is so important to predict what to expect from either team, but the fact they played a fortnight ago also helps.

These sides have faced twice this season, Churchill winning the first encounter and YYN winning the second, both winning on each other’s home ground.

In the first game, Churchill was able to make a comeback, after an early deficit, to lead at three quarter time and run away with the game.

Things that worked well was the fact that one of the league’s best forwards, Keenan Hughes was kept goalless.

Yet, Dean Macdonald still punished the Cougars by kicking seven majors.

FOR Churchill it was an all-round effort, six multiple goal scorers, led by Ben Kearns’ six goals helped the Cougars over the line.

The second game was a different story, Churchill planned to stop Hughes and Macdonald again, and this time were probably more successful in doing that, keeping both off the scoresheet until the final five minutes of the game.

The pair kicked a goal each, they just happened to be the goal to get them within striking distance, followed by the winning goal in the final minute of the game.

Churchill know they can do this again, and have proved it almost twice before this season.

They should still have confidence considering the three-point defeat, but will surely be flat knowing that a win in that game would have secured them the double-chance.

The Cougars may just see some faces return to the fold, with Chris Kyriacou on the verge of a return, but they will still be without the likes of Chris Wangman – their leading goal scorer – through suspension.

If this game is anything like their last contest, then we are in for a treat.

A tough task awaits the winner, with Woodside and Heyfield looking scary as ever at this stage of the season.

IN the reserves, TTU host Woodside at Churchill in a Qualifying Final.

TTU has gotten the better of Woodside on two occasions this year, first by 143 points back in Round 2, then by 20 points in Round 13.

So, Woodside have considerably improved since that first encounter, especially since the fact they climbed to third since then.

TTU lost the minor premiership in the final round, going down to Churchill by 26 points, enough to see their percentage dip below YYN’s.

Drops in form may have an effect on this game, and as we all know, anything can happen in finals.

YYN will be waiting for the winner, while the loser will be left to deal with one of the two most in-form teams in the twos.

Churchill reserves will join their seniors in Yarram, when they face Heyfield in another Elimination Final.

The Cougars have made leaps and bounds at the pointy end of the season, making a real mark on the top end of the table, as have Heyfield to some extent.

Churchill knocked off YYN in Round 17 by 19 points – allowing TTU to take top spot, only for Churchill to defeat the Bombers by 26 points the following week, gifting the minor premiership back to the Jets.

While Heyfield where able to beat the Bombers by 38 points, they fell to the Jets by 10 the week before.

But most importantly, Heyfield beat Churchill last time out, and will undoubtedly feel like they have the upper hand.