THREE of the four Talent League Girls Country sides are locked in to the knockout finals in a few weeks with the dominant Dandenong Stingrays – 22 points clear on top – Tasmania Devils and Murray Bushrangers all unable to be dislodged from the post-season series. Geelong Falcons’ win over Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels on the weekend put the Falcons in the box seat for fourth, though nothing is locked in yet with the bottom four country teams fighting it out.

We take a look at the State of Play leading into the finals series and what can happen across the last fortnight of the season. Note that the Talent League Girls (TLG) position is only based off the 13 full-time teams and not the Academy side who played limited stints and are not involved in the finals series.

COUNTRY CONFERENCE:

Dandenong Stingrays
TLG Position: 1st
Country Position: 1st
Played: 12
Record: 11-0-1
Points: 46

Remaining opponents: Tasmania Devils, Sandringham Dragons

Dandenong Stingrays are red-hot favourites to enter the finals series undefeated. They continue to rack up the victories, and only a tough draw against the Giants Academy earlier in the season blemished an otherwise perfect record. The battle against Tasmania will be intriguing, but the depth of the Stingrays looks that class above the rest of the field, while a win against the lowest ranked metropolitan side in Sandringham Dragons looks likely. Scarlett Marsh, Evi Irving and Zoe Zach are among a host of ball-winners who can play inside or out, and just get the job done in a really deep side.

Tasmania Devils
TLG Position: 3rd
Country Position: 2nd
Played: 11
Record: 6-5
Points: 24

Remaining opponents: Dandenong Stingrays, Geelong Falcons

Tasmania bounced back from a slower start to the season to be firing on all cylinders even when without some key players due to Allies representation. Their top-end talent – headlined by pick one contender next year Matilda Lange – and pair of National Academy members does enough against the lower ranked sides, and it will be interesting to see how they stack up against a Stingrays team that has not made a mistake all year. Defeating the Falcons in the final round will secure second spot on the match ratio, playing two less games than the rest of the sides.

Murray Bushrangers
TLG Position: 7th
Country Position: 3rd
Played: 13
Record: 6-7
Points: 24

Remaining opponents: Bye, Calder Cannons

Murray looks set to play Tasmania in the first week of the finals series unless the Bushrangers somehow lose to Calder and the Falcons knock off both Sandringham and Tasmania. Those results are not all that’s needed, with the Bushrangers just about double the Falcons’ percentage (96 to 50) so it’s all but officially in the books. Incredible to think Majella Day has not featured for the Bushrangers this season and Murray has still risen up to be a finalist. Rose Bell is one who has stepped up in her absence, while Carmela Perri and Skylah McPherson are more top-agers having profound impact.

Geelong Falcons
TLG Position: 10th
Country Position: 4th
Played: 12
Record: 4-8
Points: 16

Remaining opponents: Sandringham Dragons, Tasmania Devils

As mentioned above, theoretically two massive victories and a Bushrangers heavy loss could mathematically keep them in the running for third spot, but realistically, it’s going to be a fourth placed finish for the Falcons. Their win over the Rebels was absolutely crucial as it put them above the Power and in the box seat heading into the final two rounds. To make sure of it, Geelong will need to knock off Sandringham as Tasmania looms as an incredibly tough challenge. Tough to see the Power rolling Oakleigh, but the Falcons won’t want to come into the final round only two points clear as they have the tougher opponent as well. Ava Bilyk and Greea McKeegan make a massive difference.

Gippsland Power
TLG Position: 11th
Country Position: 5th
Played: 12
Record: 3-8-1
Points: 14

Remaining opponents: Oakleigh Chargers, Northern Knights

Gippsland slipped out of the top four country sides with Geelong’s win over GWV, but would have done so had the result been reversed anyway. Now the Power must win at least one game – the Knights clash in the last round is the easier of the two – in order to get back into the finals series. They’ll also need the Dragons – lower ranked than the Knights – to roll the Falcons, otherwise Gippsland will need to cause an almighty upset against the top ranked metropolitan team, Oakleigh. Lily Milner, Grace Dillow and Olivia Holmes have been superb this season.

GWV Rebels
TLG Position: 12th
Country Position: 6th
Played: 12
Record: 3-8-1
Points: 14

Remaining opponents: Calder Cannons, Western Jets

Incredible that six of the seven teams are still in contention for finals heading into the last fortnight, with GWV Rebels competitive enough to be in the mix. Calder Cannons and Western Jets both need a win to secure their place in the finals so will not be taking the Rebels lightly, while the Rebels having that draw means percentage is irrelevant when it comes to overtaking the Falcons. If the Power win though it makes life difficult. Still in with a shot if Peggy Rock can continue doing her thing and Sarah Burton‘s recent form continues.

Bendigo Pioneers
TLG Position: 13th
Country Position: 7th
Played: 13
Record: 1-12
Points: 4

Remaining opponents: Western Jets, Bye

It has been another tough year for the Pioneers on the scoreboard, though they still have a number of genuine draftable talents. Lacey Nihill and Georgia Garlick lead the way, and Bendigo will head into its final Talent League Girls game of 2026 against the Western Jets on the weekend. A win will give them a boost heading into 2027, but as mentioned, the Jets need to win to try and lock in a finals spot of their own, so will be a tough contest.