FINALS time is just around the corner in the Coates Talent League, but not before the last home-and-away weekend, and Wildcard Round. The structure for both can get a little complicated, so we take you though how things currently stand and what the next few weeks of postseason fixtures may look like.

The crux of the format is that the 13 teams are split into two conferences: Metro, and Country/Tasmania. Given the Devils make it an odd number of teams, the top-ranked side in their group bypasses Wildcard Round and moves straight into finals. Meanwhile, the remaining teams play off for finals spots.

A three-week knockout finals series consists of four quarter-finals, two preliminary finals, and the decider on the weekend of September 21-22. Teams will play off in their respective conferences until the preliminary final stage, where the two cross over to determine the competition’s top two seeds.

CURRENT LADDER

OVERALL

1. Sandringham Dragons (10-4, 131.7%)
2. Geelong Falcons (10-4, 127.8%)
3. Calder Cannons (10-4, 109.3%)
4. Tasmania Devils (9-5, 133.1%)
5. Dandenong Stingrays (9-4-1, 124.2%)
6. Gippsland Power (9-4, 97.2%)
7. Murray Bushrangers (7-6-1, 108.9%)
8. Eastern Ranges (6-8, 91.2%)
9. Northern Knights (5-8-1, 102.9%)
10. Western Jets (5-9, 98.9%)
11. GWV Rebels (5-9, 92.6%)
12. Bendigo Pioneers (4-10, 80.9%)
13. Oakleigh Chargers (3-11, 67.9%)

COUNTRY/TASMANIA CONFERENCE

1. Geelong Falcons (10-4, 127.8%)
2. Tasmania Devils (9-5, 133.1%)
3. Dandenong Stingrays (9-4-1, 124.2%)
4. Gippsland Power (9-4, 97.2%)
5. Murray Bushrangers (7-6-1, 108.9%)
6. GWV Rebels (5-9, 92.6%)
7. Bendigo Pioneers (4-10, 80.9%)

METRO CONFERENCE

1. Sandringham Dragons (10-4, 131.7%)
2. Calder Cannons (10-4, 109.3%)
3. Eastern Ranges (6-8, 91.2%)
4. Northern Knights (5-8-1, 102.9%)
5. Western Jets (5-9, 98.9%)
6. Oakleigh Chargers (3-11, 67.9%)

ROUND 19 FIXTURE

(Overall Ladder Position/Conference Ladder Position)

Geelong Falcons (2nd/1st) vs. GWV Rebels (11th/6th)
Saturday August 24, 11:00am @ La Trobe University

Bendigo Pioneers (12th/7th) vs. Murray Bushrangers (7th/5th)
Saturday August 24, 11:00am @ Queen Elizabeth Oval

Northern Knights (9th/4th) vs. Eastern Ranges (8th/3rd)
Saturday August 24, 11:00am @ Genis Steel Oval

Gippsland Power (6th/4th) vs. Dandenong Stingrays (5th/3rd)
Saturday August 24, 1:10pm @ Morwell Recreation Reserve

Oakleigh Chargers (13th/6th) vs. Sandringham Dragons (1st/1st)
Saturday August 24, 2:00pm @ Trevor Barker Beach Oval

Calder Cannons (3rd/2nd) vs. Western Jets (10th/5th)
Sunday August 25, 11:00am @ Highgate Recreation Reserve

WILDCARD ROUND FORMAT

Top Country/Tasmania seed advances to finals

Country/Tasmania 2nd vs. 7th
Country/Tasmania 3rd vs. 6th
Country/Tasmania 4th vs. 5th
—
Metro 1st vs. 6th
Metro 2nd vs. 5th
Metro 3rd vs. 4th

As it stands, Geelong Falcons will be the team which auto-advances to finals out of the Country/Tasmania conference. They take on GWV Rebels in Round 19. Second-ranked Country side, Tasmania has the bye, but Dandenong and Gippsland play off this weekend and could usurp the Falcons.

On the Metro side of things, reigning premiers Sandringham Dragons are top of the table with a sizeable percentage gap to Calder. The Cannons can jump into pole position with a win over Western, but only if the Dragons lose to bottom-placed Oakleigh. Sandringham is gunning for a third-straight premiership.

FINALS FORMAT

WC = Wildcard

Finals Week 1: Quarter Finals (QF)
1st QF: Highest ranked Metro WC winner vs. Highest ranked Metro WC loser
2nd QF: Second-highest ranked Metro WC winner vs Third-highest ranked Metro WC winner
3rd QF: First ranked Country/Tas team vs Third-highest ranked Country/Tas WC winner
4th QF: Highest ranked Country/Tas WC winner vs Second-highest ranked Country/Tas WC winner

Finals Week 2: Preliminary Finals (PF)
1st PF: Highest ranked Metro QF winner vs. Lowest ranked Country/Tas QF winner
2nd PF: Highest ranked Country/Tas QF winner vs. Lowest ranked Metro QF winner

Finals Week 3: Grand Final
Winner of 1st PF vs Winner of 2nd PF