EFNL 2023: Premier Division finals fight set as Vermont outlasts Noble Park

The last spot in the Eastern Premier Division finals is up for grabs this Saturday, with Noble Park entering the final round clinging to sixth following its loss to Vermont.

A cliffhanging final round of the home-and-away season awaits Noble Park.

The Bulls fell to ladder-leader Vermont by 19 points on Saturday, with the reigning premier now clinging to the sixth and last finals spot ahead of the closing round this weekend.

The Bulls sit some 14 per cent ahead of Blackburn (seventh) with the pair sharing a 9-8 record.

Third-placed Balwyn awaits Noble Park at Pat Wright Snr. Oval to close out the regular season, while the Burners are pitted against East Ringwood (fourth), after a 59-point loss to Rowville.

Noble Park senior coach Steve Hughes backed his players despite the challenge posed by a Balwyn outfit which has won its past four matches.

Jackson Sketcher was “excellent” in a best-on-ground display for the Bulls on Saturday, coach Steve Hughes says. Picture: Andy Brownbill

“Luckily enough for us, our destiny’s still in our control, based on the result on the weekend between Rowville and Blackburn,” Hughes said.

“We get one more chance and we just have to 100 per cent assume that we have to win to get in and that’s the way we’ll approach it, which is exciting.

“If we get beaten, and if we miss, then we probably get what we deserve, to be honest.

“But if we do get in, we feel like we’re good enough, and that’s simply the way the competition stands at the moment.”

The Bulls trailed by just seven points at the final change in Saturday’s 8.11 (59) to 5.10 (40) loss – with the Eagles holding a one-point advantage at quarter-time and at the half.

Despite being overrun late in the match, Hughes said his group wasn’t “miles off” the Eastern Premier Division benchmark.

“They were just able to stay in the contest just that little bit longer than us,” Hughes said.

“You’ve got to stay completely engaged every minute against a good side and we almost did that, but we couldn’t.

“Probably a little bit of polish up forward hurt us as well – we’re not miles off, but unfortunately we couldn’t get it done.”

On-baller Jackson Sketcher finished best afield for Noble Park while Alex Greenwood stood out for the Eagles.

Adrian Kalcovski kicked three goals for Vermont to lift his season-total to 52.

Hughes lauded Sketcher as “excellent”.

“‘Sketch’ got a fair bit of attention as he does most weeks – but he was able to work through that as he does … he’s in really good form.”