Eastern: League adopts top six for Premier division finals series

The Eastern league has responded to the second Covid break by changing its finals system for the Premier competition.

Berwick and Noble Park battle it out early in the season.

The Eastern league started the Premier Division season with a top-five finals system.

It changed to a top-four after the first Covid interruption.

Now it has adopted a top-six as it deals with the second break to the season.

The Premier competition will resume on August 7 with the aim of all teams playing each other once.

Clubs will play out the rest of the home-and-away season with a floating fixture and all going well there will be four rounds leading into a three-week finals series.

Kicking off on September 4, third will play sixth and fourth will play fifth.

The winners of those games will go into preliminary finals on September 11 against first and second, and the grand final is set down for September 18.

Eastern CEO Troy Swainston said the fixture changes “may result in some inequalities in home and away matches’’ but “clubs agreed that this was unavoidable given the current climate we are operating within’’.

“Clubs may play an uneven number of matches so to offset this match ratio will be utilised in the ladder configuration. The league will not manipulate the fixture to place additional byes into the fixture to attempt to even the number of matches,’’ Swainston said.

The league will review the qualification requirements for finals to take into account the smaller fixture.

The Eastern league board has also decided relegation will not apply in Premier Division in season 2021.

“The board will consider options as discussed with clubs for the Premier Division competition structure in season 2022,’’ Swainston said.

“These are unique and challenging times, and the league appreciates the patience, understanding and support shown by all the clubs. This is the plan for today but as we have seen right through Covid, plans can change and change again.’’

Blackburn is sixth on the ladder with four wins and five losses, but Eastern newcomer Berwick, Doncaster and North Ringwood (all 3-6) can potentially still make the finals under the changes.

Pressure will ease on Rowville and bottom side Doncaster East (both 2-7) now relegation has been ruled out.

PREMIER LADDER

1 Vermont 7-1

2 Noble Park 8-2

3 Balwyn 6-3

4 Norwood 5-3

5 South Croydon 6-4

6 Blackburn 4-5

7 Berwick 3-6

8 Doncaster 3-6

9 North Ringwood 3-6

10 Rowville 2-6

11 Doncaster East 2-7