The perennial finalists hold down the final spot in the top six with three rounds to go, with a handy buffer on their nearest two opponents.

But Armstrong is looking forward, well aware that the top three will play a mini-round robin of their own next month.

Wodonga (first) plays North Albury (third) this weekend, while the Hoppers play East Albury in the last round.

“There are some important games coming up at both ends of the ladder,” he said.

“The way it is shaping up we can finish anywhere from third to sixth.

“But we know we have enough firepower to be a threat in the finals wherever we end up.”

Armstrong said he was still coming to grips with not chasing down 200 against East Albury at home on Saturday.

“We had a chance to cement our spot in the finals but lost our way in the second half of the day,” he said.

“We would back ourselves to run down 200 at home most weeks but a couple of run outs probably cost us in the end.

“To their credit they restricted the run chase with tight bowling and good fielding and in the end we panicked and were all out with six overs still to go and about 20 runs to win.”