Rich River is currently ranked sixth, 22 points outside the top four, but with wins in its final three weeks it could make a late rush to the playoffs.
This weekend it confronts third ranked Deniliquin, but in the final three home and away rounds has an opportunity to improve on its current 4-6 win/loss record.
Mathoura, which is fifth and just 18 points outside the four, has a far more difficult draw. Not only does it face top of the ladder Echuca this weekend, but in the final two rounds has Deniliquin (third) and second ranked Rochester.
Rich River would need to turn around the round four result of earlier this season when it lost by 38 shots to Deniliquin in order to get the ball rolling.
Rich River does not have a bowler ranked in the top 30 on the individual player table, so it would be a big result for the club to qualify for the finals.
It would then need a win against fourth ranked Moama, then to finish with successive wins against bottom team Deniliquin RSL and Tongala (seventh) to make a bid for fourth spot.
Echuca and Rochester appear to have the double chance in the division two competition sewn up, or could cement those positions this weekend.
A win by Echuca, against Mathoura, and a Rochester win against lowly Tongala could see the margin stretched to third ranked Deniliquin.
Echuca has five of the top 10 bowlers this season, with Stephen McCartney, Colin Berryman and Pat Schram both boasting 8-1 records.
Rochester smashed Tongala 94-37 earlier this season, while Echuca didn’t have things all its own way against Mathoura (66-53), but will be a raging favourite on Saturday.
Moama will need to turn around the result it had against bottom team Deniliquin RSL earlier this year, when the RSL team won its only match of this campaign.
Moama (fourth) was beaten by a shot against the eighth ranked team.
• Four teams will be competing for the last two finals spots in the Campaspe weekend Division Three competition.
Just 13 pennant points separates the third ranked team (Rochester) and the sixth ranked Mathoura combination.
With this weekend and three remaining rounds to play, Moama and Lockington are locked into the top two spots and will battle it out to go straight into the grand final.
But Rochester (86 points), Elmore (82), Deniliquin (79) and Mathoura (73) could all still make the finals.
The most unlikely scenario is for Mathoura to qualify. Despite its match with bottom ranked Rich River this weekend, it has the top three ranked teams in the final rounds of the season.
The most likely scenario is for Rochester to keep its place, given that it faces two of the bottom three teams in the final few rounds.
Then it will be a fight between Elmore and Deniliquin for the final spot in the four.
• In Division 4a Campaspe weekend competition the top four teams of the competition are all pitted against teams outside finals calculations.
Rochester faces seventh ranked Ky Valley View, having earlier in the season scored a 27-shot win, while third ranked Rich River White is up against bottom team Elmore
Rich River was a 21-shot winner of that match earlier in the year, while second rated Moama Red will be looking for a repeat of its early season win against Mathoura Red.
In what looks to be the match of the round Tongala A will need a big win against fourth ranked Echuca Blue to challenge for the finals.
The Tongala team is 14 points outside a finals spot and was beaten by 22 shots earlier this season by the Echuca team.
• In Division 4b of the Campaspe weekend competition the top four teams of the competition will all tackle teams outside the top four.
Echuca White has a chance to tackle Deniliquin RSL for the double chance.
The Echuca team is ranked third, but a win against second bottom Tongala B could take it into second, as Deniliquin RSL faces Rich River Green.
Echuca White, despite being third, has three Division 4b bowlers ranked in the top 10. Keith Robertson, in fact, is the top ranked bowler with a 7-2 win/loss record. He, along with Paul Leach and Dennis Ricketts, are in the top 10 bowlers.
Top of the ladder Lockington also has three bowlers inside the top 10 this season.
– Rich River’s pairs championship is down to a race in three after last week’s qualifying round of matches.
Peter Nesbitt and Colin Hayes were the section one winners, while Trevor Nagorcka combined with Graeme Moffatt for a section two victory.
The final pair is expected to be Stan Barker and Bruce O’Neale, but their qualification won’t be finalised until a Bowls Victoria ruling relating to a forfeit in their section.
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