THE Lavington Panthers will consider themselves unlucky if they miss the finals, with captain Sam Harris saying Belvoir would deserve to play if they manage to sneak in.
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It will take a healthy dose of luck for them to sneak in, needing an outright victory over the Raiders and other results to go their way.
Either Lavington or Tallangatta would have to lose as well, but Harris is confident the Panthers have got the goods to play finals.
“If we get flogged and they win outright we’d be a little bit unlucky,” Harris said.
“The Raiders have improved throughout the course of the season, even if things haven’t gone their way.
“We’re not too worried about all that, we’re just going to go out and play our own game, and try and get a win on the board against some quality opposition.”
Harris led from the front at the crease last weekend, with his 108 guiding the Panthers to a solid total of 256 at the end of the day’s play.
Thomas Harvey (42) and Joshua Jones (34) gave Harris plenty of support after the top order struggled early.
Harris said the Panthers would draw on their experience from the finals last year as they took to the field.
“We’ve bowled pretty well for most of the year, so I’m backing our guys to get the job done,” Harris said.
“A win at this time of year will do us a world of good.
“It’s no use worrying about anyone else at the moment, we’ve just got try and finish as high as we can.”
They’ll have their work cut out for them against the likes of BJ Garvey, Trent Ball and Jack Craig, who have all shown form with the bat for the dominant Bulldogs.
All bar one of their batsmen made double figures against Belvoir two rounds ago, and Harris is wary of the depth they have on their day.
“We’re pretty confident in the total we put up, it’s defendable, they’d certainly deserve to get in if they chase it down,” he said.
“We’re not worried about dropping from the finals, we’re aiming to finish in fourth place, which is a real possibility for us.”
The wicket of Josh Warren-Marmo will be key for Belvoir if they have any hopes of an outright victory, with the youngster proving to be a significant roadblock to the finals.
Tallangatta will also be looking to avoid a loss as they chase down Albury’s total of 265.
Five wickets to Mat Armstrong and three to Sam Stephens kept Tallangatta in the game, after Kade Brown hit 102.