1st Elimination Final
Two former premiership fancies find themselves limping to the finish line of season 2025. Though I suppose one is simply limping, and the other has donated several vital organs.
On offer for the victor is a date with a MaherShalalHashBaz outfit that isn’t mucking around. Does anyone in this matchup particularly want that prize?
This form guide makes for interesting reading. It’s typically been the Devils in recent years associated with the high ceiling, and yet it’s the Defenestrators who have reached higher heights over the last month. Of course, they’ve also had lower lows. Will the Devils’ recent brand of consistency pay dividends?
Head-2-Head Record
These two have had two classic encounters in season 2025. Let’s hope they deliver a third this weekend.
In round 8 the Defenestrators won by just 13 points, thanks in no small part to, you’ll never guess, Max Gawn, who topped scored with 158. The next best Defenestrator was Dangerfield, with a 106. No other player from coach Zerna’s squad hit the triple figures.
The Devils had twice as many centurions, but they also had a 28 and a 22 from Dockers pair Treacy and Bolton. Treacy didn’t stick around for much longer after that.
In round 17 it was the Devils’ turn to scrape by with victory, with Zak Butters earning best-on-ground honours with 119. Yet another score in the 20s, this time from Ben Long, threatened to derail the Devils, but their superior fire power was enough. The Defenestrators only had 1 player tonne up, in Josh Kelly.
Historically through the Defenestrators have held sway in this matchup, as they have done against every other team in the league’s history. They lost only once to the Devils between the start of the 2017 season and the midway mark of the 2023 season.
On paper this final seems like the tigher affair, which I suppose makes sense for the 4 v 5 matchup. A Defenestrators victory here would be quite stunning after their recent trades, so the Devils go in as favourites to return to the Preliminary Finals yet again.
2nd Elimination Final
The best third placed team in league history takes on a Vipers outfit that probably wouldn’t be here without a hefty dose of good fortune last week.
But they are here, and now they’re searching for a finals victory that has long eluded them. What an almighty upset it would be if this turned out to be the one where they break the drought.
Hard to get too excited here if you’re the Vipers, though if you block out the last 3 weeks this looks a very tight matchup indeed! If the Vipers can pull one out the box, an upset is perfectly achievable.
Head-2-Head Record
The Sparkles have won the last 5 encounters between these two, with the Vipers last tasting success at the tail end of the 2023 season.
They have some finals history too, with the Sparkles narrowly beating the Vipers in a 2022 Elimination Final. The Sparkles were led capably by North Melbourne duo Jy Simpkin (120) and Luke Davies-Uniacke (111) that day, and some guy named Nick Daicos (108). The Vipers got a mammoth showing from Luke Ryan (151), but were brought undone by a 34 from Max King and a 45 from club legend Ben Keays.
The Love Sparkles will go into this one with some deserved confidence.
But the 6th placed finisher has defeated 3rd no less than four times in this competition’s history. Both these teams have been on the receiving end of those upsets (the Vipers twice!). So both will be very familiar that upsets can, and do, happen.
Can one happen again this weekend?