Fight for finals spots heats up as ladder leaders shore up qualifying final positions

Two teams are vying for top spot and another five are in contention for a finals position, with four rounds to go of the South West Netball Football League. The Collie Eagles’ spot in the finals is confirmed as they’re sitting pretty at the top of the table with 11 wins from 13 games and 22 points. They haven’t lost since round nine when they went down by three goals to Busselton. Close behind the ladder leaders are Donnybrook Blackwood with 21 points after 14 games played, who are all but confirmed to feature in finals come September. While the team has played an extra three games compared to some they would need to lose their remaining two games and have virtually every other result go against them to miss out. Following the pair is Bunbury and Busselton, sitting on 15 points each. The Bulldogs have the advantage of having played only 11 games, which means they’ve still got five matches left to play. Busselton sit in the last finals spot on percentage after playing 12 games and will be looking to use their remaining four matches to consolidate their position. They face only one other top-four side in their run in to finals — Donnybrook Blackwood in round 18. Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault and South Bunbury both sit just outside of the top four but are the two sides with the best shots at making a late break into finals calculations. HBL sit just one win away from third place with 13 points having played 12 games and boast the second best goal percentage in the league. They will have to play both Busselton and Bunbury in their remaining games, the very teams they’re hoping to overtake. South Bunbury sit on 11 points but have a game in hand to both HBL and Busselton. It’s been a season of two halves for the Tigers after starting the season with a 1-4 record, then going 4-1 as well as a draw. Below them are Eaton, Carey Park and Augusta Margaret River. While the Boomers can still mathematically make finals they would need something just shy of a miracle. As for the latter two, their hopes of finals are over.