Carl Walton and Sam Welsh got the Miners off to a good start, sharing a 51-run opening stand before Welsh became Hardisty’s first victim.

The Miners struggled after that, losing 6-25 before Chris Hartshorn and Andrew Dishot restored order.

Dishot topscored with 42 and Hartshorn made 25 as the Miners recovered from 6-76 to reach a competitive 184.

Roos captain Mick Walker said his team was hopeful of chasing down the total after a good couple of weeks with the bat.

“We had a couple of early chances we should have taken, but I thought we were great in the field,” he said.

“Adam (5-43) bowled brilliantly, I brought him on to try to break a partnership and he seized his opportunity.

“The pressure is off us now. It’s good if we sneak into the finals but we’re just out to play some good cricket and enjoy our last match of the season.”

A Yackandandah win and an upset win by Wodonga would open the way for the Roos to sneak into the finals.

Walker said his team was keen to capitalise on recent good form.

“We batted well against a quality attack in Kiewa last week, so we hope we can find a bit of consistency, even if it is a little bit late,” he said.

“This is our chance to achieve against a very good side.”

Phillip Stahl took 5-28 to help cellar-dwellers Wodonga lay the foundations for an upset against finals contenders Howlong.

Scott Montgomery made 41 to save the Howlong innings from total collapse, but the Dogs still bowled the Spiders out for 129 in just 54 overs.

Paul Baker (23) and Nick Shelley (20) were the other contributors as Howlong slumped to its lowest total in weeks.

Stahl was well supported by Ben Greer, who snared 3-22.

The Bulldogs finished the day at 1-25, needing just 105 to snare an unlikely win, just their second for the season.

Kiewa and Baranduda are locked in a tight tussle that could go either way, after Kiewa set the Rangers 199 to win.

The ladder leaders built their innings around Jason Bartel, who top-scored with 56 before being run out by Matthew Martin.

He was well supported by Joshua Bartel (31) and Scott Bartel (20), but none of the Kiewa batsmen could settle, thanks to some sharp bowling from the Rangers.

Craig Scammell played a blinder, snaring 4-44 and taking a catch to lead the Baranduda attack, with Aiden Ryan grabbing 3-30.

Dederang rediscovered their form with the bat after a dismal few weeks, setting Bethanga a total of 217 after the first day of their clash at home.

Cameron Gregg top-scored with 74, as top-order batsmen Mark Nicholl (20) and Brad Westcott (17) chipped in to help the in-form Andrew Creamer (33) build the Demons’ innings.

Bethanga batted five overs at the end of the day to call stumps at 0-17.

The finals preview between Eskdale and Mount Beauty is shaping up to be a close match as well, with the second-placed Eskdale in the box seat after making 242 at Mount Beauty.

Clint Gilson led the way with 81 for the visitors, while Ashan Ranaweera took 5-65 off 28 overs for the Power.