Terang hosts the Cats today as the final round of South West Cricket matches begin but barring major upsets they could meet in a sudden-death semi-final in two weeks.

While the Cats are well clear at the top of the ladder, just 6.37 points separates second-placed Cobden, third-placed Bookaar and Terang in fourth. 

Hunger hopes his side’s 18.79 points buffer on fifth-placed Pomborneit is enough to stave off any challenges from behind, leaving open the possibility of climbing the ladder.

“You go into every game wanting to win,” he said.

“We know they are a good team but they are the ones you want to play against. You look forward to these games. We are excited to have this one before going into the finals. It’s a good opportunity to prepare properly and get match practice. We know in the finals they set the standard and if you have to play a side coming in, you want it to be the best one.”

Hunger said his side was keen to assess its improvement from round four when it suffered a heavy loss to the Cats. But on that occasion they were missing Country Week all-rounder Liam Geary, in-form batsman Tommy Moloney and batsman Hamish Bruckner. All three will play today. “There are a few things to tidy up before finals,” he said.

Second-placed Cobden faces a tricky away clash against Pomborneit with the home side chasing a big victory to keep alive its finals hope. Third-placed Bookaar could leap-frog Cobden if it beats Noorat away and Pomborneit upsets Cobden. Sixth-placed Heytesbury Rebels could jump over both Pomborneit and Terang if it can claim an outright win over bottom side Simpson at Timboon.