By Jonty Ralphsmith
The NAB League draw has opened right up for the Dandenong Stingrays and Gippsland Power.
Both the Rays and the Power earned the weekend off as top three ranked sides – third and first respectively – while the rest of the teams faced off in a ‘wildcard round’ to get into the finals series.
The wildcard round is designed to give prospects in lower ranked sides at least one more match in front of AFL recruiters, but it was those teams that finished lower on the ladder that emerged victorious in four of the five games.
Bottom four teams Northern, Western, Bendigo and Calder all knocked out higher-placed GWV, Geelong, Oakleigh and Eastern respectively.
It opens up the draw for Dandenong, which now faces Western in the first final this Sunday at 11.00am at MARS Stadium, Ballarat.
Win that, and the club will play Tasmania, which finished second with a 10-3 record or Bendigo, which has won just 4.5 of its 14 matches for the season, for a shot in the grand final.
Gippsland is on the other side of the draw, facing Northern this Saturday at Ikon Park, Carlton, 2pm, with a clash against Sandringham or Calder to get into the grand final awaiting the Power if they win.
