By Marcus Uhe
All eyes will be on Park Oval on Saturday as Buckley Ridges welcome Springvale South to Dandenong in round 12 of the Dandenong District Cricket Association.
In a match-up pitting first against second in Turf 1, a Bloods win will at worst guarantee a top-two finish and the all-important double-chance and, depending on percentage, could sew-up top spot with two weeks remaining.
The Bloods’ current percentage is .87 percentage points higher than Buckley in second place.
Springvale South is the only team to have beaten Buckley Ridges this season, who will still be smarting after they also fell to Darren Arter’s squad in last season’s grand final.
Should the Bloods get the win, Buckley could fall to third, with Hallam Kalora Park snapping at their heels just three points in arrears and facing bottom-placed Parkmore at Wachter Reserve.
Parkmore is the only side out of finals contention in Turf 1 but still has plenty to play for in order to avoid returning to Turf 2, where they were last season’s premiers.
St Mary’s and Berwick’s tussle at Carroll Reserve, meanwhile, in a game that will have ramifications on the relegation battle at the bottom of the table.
In their earlier clash at Arch Brown Reserve, it was leg-spinner Riley Siwes who claimed his season-best figures of 5-28 on the way to a big Bears win.
With only three points between the two sides in sixth and seventh, the ask for the loser will be much greater in order to stay in the premier division.
North Dandenong, for their part, can go a long way to securing fourth place, if they can get the better of Matthew Brooks’ Narre South at home.
