Tongala takes finals spot with win

Milly Brock made her return to the starting line-up in the next step in her recovery from encephalitis earlier this year and helped bolster her side on the way to the big win.

Echuca United, which Tongala defeated the previous week, did one set of Blues (Tonny) a huge favour when it defeated another (Nurmurkah), allowing Tongala to return to the finals places for the first time since mid-season on the back of four straight victories.

In a tightly-packed race for two places, Moama (8-1-6), Tongala (8-7) and Numurkah (7-1-7) are all within one win of each other.

Another twist in the race comes on Saturday when Tongala visits Moama.

The second half of the split round, on August 9, sees Numurkah with an easier draw against Barooga, so the loser of Moama and Tongala is likely to leave the top six by the end of round 16.