JUST one round remains in the NAB League Boys season, with six matches taking place this weekend starting tonight to determine the 13 spots on the ladder. For those unaware, all 13 teams have a chance of playing in the knockout finals series, but the top three sides will earn a break in the final weekend of August for Wildcard Round.

The remaining 10 teams will face off that weekend in a format that pits fourth against 13th, fifth against 12th, sixth against 11th, seventh against 10th and eighth against ninth, with the five winners joining the top three in the finals series. The final ladder order will be determined by those results, with the highest ranked winners (usually fourth through eighth if the top sides win) filling into those spots. However if say the seventh placed side lost to the 10th placed side and the other four won, the eighth placed side would move up to seventh, and the 10th placed side would move into eighth.

ROUND 15 LADDER

1 – Gippsland Power (10-2, 40 points, 140.3%)
2 – Tasmania Devils (10-3, 40 points, 131.9%)
3 – Dandenong Stingrays (9-3, 36 points, 114.9%)
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4 – GWV Rebels (8-4, 32 points, 113.7%)
5 – Geelong Falcons (7-4-1, 30 points, 109.9%)
6 – Eastern Ranges (7-5, 28 points, 124.9%)
7 – Sandringham Dragons (7-5, 28 points, 114.3%)
8 – Oakleigh Chargers (7-5, 28 points, 109.7%)
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9 – Murray Bushrangers (6-6, 24 points, 121.5%)
10 – Western Jets (4-8, 16 points, 83.5%)
11 – Calder Cannons (4-8, 16 points, 70.4%)
12 – Bendigo Pioneers (2-9-1, 10 points, 81.4%)
13 – Northern Knights (2-10, 8 points, 72.0%)

ROUND 16 FIXTURE

Friday, August 19:
Dandenong Stingrays (3rd) vs. Gippsland Power (1st) @ Skybus Stadium, 7:30pm

Saturday, August 20:
Northern Knights (13th) vs. Western Jets (10th) @ Preston City Oval, 10am
Sandringham Dragons (7th) vs. Oakleigh Chargers (8th) @ RSEA Park, 12:30pm
Eastern Ranges (6th) vs. Calder Cannons (11th) @ RSEA Park, 3pm

Sunday, August 21:
Bendigo Pioneers (12th) vs. Murray Bushrangers (9th) @ Queen Elizabeth Oval, 11:30am
GWV Rebels (4th) vs. Geelong Falcons (5th) @ Queen Elizabeth Oval, 2pm

Bye: Tasmania Devils

KEY MATCHES

There is still plenty to play out in season 2022, and the fact Western Jets beat Oakleigh Chargers, Calder Cannons beat Murray Bushrangers and GWV Rebels beat Gippsland Power last week, shows just how unpredictable the 2022 season is thus far. The key matches are the top three clash between the Dandenong Stingrays and Power, the seventh and eighth battle between Sandringham Dragons and Chargers, and the fourth and fifth match between the Rebels and Geelong Falcons.

TOP THREE SAFETY

Two of the three teams are locked into the week off next weekend, with Tasmania Devils set to have a fortnight off given the Apple Isle side’s Round 16 bye. They will sit in second spot with a far superior percentage to Dandenong Stingrays, however could even slot into top if the Stingrays defeat Gippsland Power – the other team to be guaranteed a top three spot – by more than seven goals. The last remaining third spot can only be taken by either the Stingrays or GWV Rebels. If the Stingrays win tonight against the Power, the spot is theirs, but if they lose and the Rebels knock off Geelong Falcons, they will leap into third and snatch that spot.

MID-TABLE MADNESS

The GWV Rebels-Geelong Falcons game is important for top three calculations, but effectively, if the Power win, then it becomes more about whether other teams can overtake them. The sixth placed Eastern Ranges have a far superior percentage to either side, though the Falcons have a draw so that takes percentage out of the equation. If, as expected, the Ranges defeat Calder Cannons, they will move up to fifth spot.

For the GWV Rebels, wins to the Ranges and Sandringham Dragons would bump them right back to seventh, though if Oakleigh Chargers won in a tight one, the Rebels could hold sixth spot still. For Geelong Falcons, a loss will guarantee them at least sixth spot – as one of Oakleigh or Sandringham has to win – but will likely be seventh with a Ranges victory.

There is more on the line for the loser of the Sandringham-Oakleigh clash given that if Murray Bushrangers defeat Bendigo Pioneers, the Bushrangers will leapfrog the loser into the top eight. A big enough win to the Bushrangers and a loss to Eastern would also see the Bushrangers move as high as seventh, which would be a massive result and taking on one of the lower sides rather than a full-strength Oakleigh or Sandringham outfit.

BOTTOM FOUR JOSTLING

The bottom four spots are all locked in and have been for a while now, with Western Jets and Calder Cannons fighting over 10th and 11th, and Bendigo Pioneers and Northern Knights will jostle for 12th and 13th. Given the Jets form, one would expect them to beat Northern, which means the Pioneers result becomes null and void – other than wrecking the Bushrangers plans – and also guarantees Western 10th with a superior percentage to the Cannons. If Calder upsets Eastern and the Knights beat the Jets, then Calder will move to 10th and the Knights will avoid the wooden spoon, providing Murray defeats Bendigo as expected.

WILDCARD ROUND IF ALL HIGHER-RANKED SIDES WIN

Dandenong Stingrays vs. Northern Knights
Eastern Ranges vs. Bendigo Pioneers
Sandringham Dragons vs. Calder Cannons
Geelong Falcons vs. Western Jets
Murray Bushrangers vs. Oakleigh Chargers

WILDCARD ROUND IF ALL LOWER-RANKED SIDES WIN

Geelong Falcons vs. Northern Knights
GWV Rebels vs. Bendigo Pioneers
Oakleigh Chargers vs. Western Jets
Eastern Ranges vs. Calder Cannons
Sandringham Dragons vs. Murray Bushrangers

As one can deduct from just those two possibilities alone, not one match is guaranteed to take place in the Wildcard Round, making it an exciting conclusion to the 2022 NAB League Boys season.