EFL 2019: South Croydon, Norwood and Noble Park left fighting for final spot in top five

Three teams are left fighting for the final spot in EFL Premier Division top five — and the side that qualifies may finish with a record low number of wins. Here’s how it could happen.

Marty Pask, Mick Fogarty and Luke McCormick are hoping to pinch the final spot in the Eastern Football League top five.

The team that qualifies fifth for this year’s Eastern Football League finals series could finish with a record low number of wins.

Since the league’s top tier moved to a top-five model in 2007, teams have traditionally needed 12 wins to feature in September.

But South Croydon, Norwood and Noble Park — the three teams left fighting for the final spot in the five — may only need to square their season record to qualify for finals.

Each finalist in the past five seasons has logged at least 12 wins in the home-and-away rounds, but the fifth-best team in the competition may only need nine victories in 2019.

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South Croydon and Norwood both have 6-6 records and Noble Park is 5-7 with six games remaining.

Only twice since 2007 — Croydon in 2010 and South Croydon in 2013 — has a team made finals with 10 wins.

Blackburn (2009), Balwyn (2011) and Noble Park (2012) each made finals with 11 wins.

Never has a team finished 9-9 and made finals, but the league’s restructure when the bottom two sides — East Ringwood and Knox — were demoted has made for a more competitive division.

South Croydon and Norwood meet on Saturday in a vital clash for both sides’ finals hopes.

South Croydon coach Luke McCormick said the league’s shake-up had been beneficial for the competition.

“It was a good decision to go to 10 sides … but it’s very interesting because we could make it with the nine wins,” McCormick said.

“It’s super, super close and that just makes it very exciting.”

The Bulldogs only play one more team in the top five in the run home — Vermont in Round 16 — and will start as favourites in four of their six remaining games.

Vermont is two games clear at the top of the table, while Balwyn, Blackburn and Rowville are eight premiership points back with a 9-3 standing.

“Obviously Balwyn has improved back to where they used to be, Rowville have certainly improved and built on last year and obviously Blackburn has as well,” McCormick said.

“Those four sides that are sitting above us, Vermont are still the ones to beat, but those sides sitting above us are all close but we sit three games behind them.

“We’ve beaten one of them, we’ve lost to one by a kick and one by two kicks in the last three weeks so that just shows how even it is.”

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