Injuries have hurt their cause but Warrnambool Mermaids' finals hopes are still alive heading into their final home game of the Big V women's championship division season.
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The side takes on ladder-leader Wyndham at the Arc on Saturday, July 27 before facing Hume City on the road the following Saturday in its final home-and-away game.
Stakes are high for the Mermaids who sit seventh and need to finish in the top-five to play finals.
They have the same amount of wins as sixth-placed Pakenham (10) and one more than fifth-placed Sunbury however the latter has four games remaining.
Mermaids coach Louise Brown believes her team is capable of making the play-offs but knows they're relying on other teams to be beaten.
"This weekend's going to be a really tough game," she told The Standard.
"We play top of the ladder Wyndham. So they're going to be really tough but we are the only team in the competition to have beaten them...
"That was when we had our full-strength team, so obviously going into this weekend we do have a few girls missing but we'll have a crack. It's our last home game so hopefully the girls get a bit excited for that and play well.
"And then we're on the road to Hume City for the last round and that is a must-win if we want to give ourselves any chance of making the finals.
"They're sitting below us on the ladder but they've definitely been competitive. We've played them twice already and have only just beaten them, so that won't be an easy game by any means."
Unfortunately injuries, specifically to the knee, have plagued the Mermaids throughout the campaign.
They lost Molly McKinnon to a long-term knee injury in May while Ava Bishop snapped her ACL against Bellarine on July 14 and is looking at 12 months on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, teenage talent Cigi Lual has been battling an ongoing knee complaint all year and has been ruled out for the rest of the season to recover after last appearing on July 6.
The side's depth is set to be be tested further with French player, Maelys Pineau, playing her final game on Saturday, July 20 before returning to her homeland.
The shooting-guard leaves a big hole, averaging 11.5 points, 1.5 assists and four rebounds per game.
"(They're) four really big outs in the back-end of the season really," Brown said of the four missing players.
The Warrnambool Seahawks, also play at the Arc on Saturday, July 27, with the fixture their final outing of the season.
The ninth-placed Seahawks take on Whittlesea and can record their fifth win of the season with a victory.
American import Kester Ofoegbu has been a standout for the Shane Smith-coached side all season, averaging 26 points per game, the third most across the league.
Matt Hughes
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
