by Nicholas Duck

The top five is shifting week by week in the Gippsland League, and it will be no different this week as a number of teams on the outside will be looking to take their chances and break in for a chance of finals action. Here's how this week's matches are shaping up.
Saturday June 25
2:20pm start for all matches.
Wonthaggi vs Warragul
Location: Wonthaggi Recreation Reserve
Wonthaggi plays host to Warragul this week in a rematch of what was the league's game of the season earlier this year.
In what was a thrilling, high scoring contest, the round two match-up between these two sides eventuated in a draw, with both sides locked on 106 points apiece. Wonthaggi had pushed out to an early lead in that game before Warragul staged an incredible late comeback to briefly steal the lead, before the Power salvaged a result thanks to a late goal.
Since that point, it's been a strange sort of season for both sides.
Wonthaggi currently sit in second position, though could be sitting much lower if not for the sides around them all stumbling last week.
After coming into this season as one of the clear premiership favourites, the Power have had issues with their consistency and have lost some absolute thrillers in that time, including to sides below them like Morwell.
It should be noted, though, that they are currently on a three game winning streak that may just have them feeling confident that they can show their best on a consistent basis.
Warragul, meanwhile, have at times indicated they are much better side than they once were, but at others have succumbed to the same issues week by week.
In many of the Gulls' losses this year too much has been left to too few. The stars have been the same few players, such as Nick Graham, Nicholas Mulqueen, Jed Lamb and Sean Masterson, while the rest of the team has failed to contribute enough.
When they've won though, against Traralgon and last week against Moe, it's been a full, high pressure team effort.
That effort will be needed this week if they want to match the Power again, especially on Wonthaggi's home deck.
The Gulls will have plenty of confidence from their last meeting, but Wonthaggi should have enough firepower to get the job done.
Traralgon vs Drouin
Location: Traralgon Recreation Reserve
Traralgon pushed the best in the league to the brink last week, showing everyone that when they play their best footy they are a team to be feared.
Missing star forward Brett Eddy and up against the ladder leading Leongatha, the Maroons came home with a wet sail to do just about everything except win the game, just falling short by three points. It was the closest any side has come this year to upsetting the Parrots' perfect record, and while they couldn't quite get over the line they'll be taking some confidence that when finals come around they can match it with the best in the business.
Still, they find themselves with a less than ideal record of six wins and four losses, thanks to some extremely tight matches earlier in the year that didn't go their way.
Drouin, meanwhile, pushed Maffra to the brink last week but just couldn't quite get the job done late in the piece. The Hawks, having undergone the early stages of a rebuild this year, have displayed significant improvement as the year has progressed, showing flashes of some truly brilliant football, while also being guilty of some truly subpar periods of play.
They'll be hoping their growth will be on display in this game, given when these teams met earlier this year the Hawks were completely blown off the park by 121 points.
Brett Eddy kicked 10 goals in that game to set a new club record for the Maroons. Thankfully for Drouin, he'll be missing again this week.
The Hawks are certainly a better side than the one that took the field in that match, but they'll be hard pressed to win away from home in this one.
Traralgon should claim a win here, and will be hoping for a big one to ensure the sides below them are kept at bay.
Bairnsdale vs Maffra
Location: Bairnsdale City Oval
With the top five shuffling on a week-to-week basis, the teams below them are all lying in wait, ready to pounce should one of them slip up. At the moment the most likely looks to be Maffra, who despite clearly not being the fearsome side the league once knew, still have enough tricks in their bag to be a danger to any team.
Sitting in sixth spot and just one win behind third through fifth place, the Eagles will be keenly watching the results this week as they could find themselves back in the top five as soon as the end of this round.
That is, of course, if they can keep holding up their end of the bargain and keep winning games. First and foremost, they need to make sure they don't find themselves making mistakes against teams they should beat, and internally they would be considering Bairnsdale as one of those teams.
The Redlegs have had a wretched run with injuries and sickness in the early parts of the season, but now with a near full strength squad appear to be a much more solid side than the one we saw be repeatedly dismantled weeks ago.
They were desperately unlucky not to claim a win last week against Morwell, and even more unlucky to not have scalped a draw out of it when a shot after the siren to tie the scores went wide. Prior to that a powerful win over Warragul showed that when the Redlegs are up and running they can do some damage.
When these two teams last met in round two it was Maffra who claimed a big win, though it should be noted it took a massive second half to do it after Bairnsdale took the lead into half time.
Bairnsdale certainly aren't a side that can be taken lightly anymore, but the experienced Eagles, who have won the past 14 meetings between these two teams, should be strong enough to take the four points and put even more pressure on the top five.
Leongatha vs Sale
Location: Leongatha Recreation Reserve
The kings of the league could consider themselves perhaps a little lucky to have their perfect record intact coming into this round.
Leongatha were pushed to their absolute limits last week against Traralgon, only just barely managing to escape with a win as the Maroons staged a late comeback to very nearly steal the match. Still, it's a credit to the vast experience and winning culture of the Parrots that they were able to get the job done.
Put simply, the best sides find a way to win, and right now in the Gippsland League there aren't any better than Leongatha, who now sit an incredible 14 points clear on top of the ladder.
It would take a minor miracle from here for them not to win the minor premiership, though they face a challenge this week against Sale.
The Magpies will be fuming after their performance last week saw them lose to Wonthaggi by just a solitary point. They'll be fuming for two reasons, one being the five-goal head start they allowed the Power to have, and the other being their inaccurate goalkicking that ultimately came back to bite them in the end.
Sale have now shown on multiple occasions that when they're up and running, their best footy is tough to match up against. However, they've also been prone to lapses in their defensive accountability, allowing opposition teams to slice them up.
In the end it's left them with six wins and four losses, and is probably an accurate reflection of their inconsistency within games.
If they want a win here, they can't allow those slip ups to infiltrate their game, as if we know one thing about the Parrots it's that if you show any weakness against them, they will take advantage of it.
The return of Kane Martin will boost the Magpies' prospects, while Cade Maskell will miss once again for Leongatha.
Expect a stern fight from Sale, who actually did manage to win last time they travelled to Parrot Park, but Leongatha should prove too strong in the end.
Moe vs Morwell
Location: Ted Summerton Reserve
Moe is officially in a mid-season crisis, having lost four of their past five matches to now teeter precariously on the edge of the top five.
After starting the season with five straight wins and looking every bit a premiership contender, a combination of injuries and indifferent form for some of their better players has sent the Lions into a freefall. Last week's loss to Warragul was particularly disastrous, given the sheer number of scoring shots Moe were able to generate only to waste.
Outside of star key back and coach Declan Keilty, the Lions lack height around the ground, something that opposition teams have been able to exploit in recent weeks.
Even their one win in that time, a 10-point victory over bottom-placed Drouin, was dangerously close to going the other way.
It's been a very different story for their local rivals, who have won three of their last four games to be well and truly in the finals conversation.
Morwell's youth has been shining bright this year, as some of their younger players have stepped up into larger roles to make the team a more complete one as a whole.
The only thing holding them back at the moment is their percentage, which is a fair way below that of the teams above them. If they want to play finals this year, either they're going to have to thrash some other teams, or it's going to come down purely to them winning enough to get into finals on points alone.
And given Moe is one of the teams just one win ahead of them, a scalp here would go a long way to making that admittedly unlikely prospect a reality.
They'll be helped by the return of players such as star forward Brandon McDonald and the reliable Burkely Macfarlane. Moe, meanwhile, lose Matthew Barrand, who last week looked to be their only genuinely threatening forward despite some accuracy issues.
Given the misfiring forward line of Moe, this is an extremely tough game to tip. Still, with their experience, Moe should probably bounce back in this one, but don't be surprised if Morwell manages to spring a trap the Lions can't escape from.