Nestles is one step closer to sealing a top-two regular season finish after rain forced all Warrnambool and District Cricket division one matches to be abandoned on Saturday.
The Factory (second) were scheduled to take on Allansford-Panmure (third) in the penultimate round; a battle that would have likely decided which of the two teams finished second and earned a week off.
The two clubs sit equal on 42 points however a win for the Factory next week against eighth-placed Merrivale will almost guarantee it finishes second - even if the Gators win - due to its superior net run rate.
Nestles skipper Jacob Hetherington was delighted that his side had officially secured a finals berth - its first since 2011-12 - and said it would now turn its focus to the Tigers game.
"We've cemented our finals spot, so that's a big tick for the club as a whole but just to execute it with second spot would be amazing as well," he said.
"Either way it's a massive win for the club."
Hetherington praised his side and the club for its efforts during the season to date and said there was a high-level of belief amongst the division one group.
The Factory hasn't won a division one premiership since the 2002-03 campaign.
"As a senior group everyone's just gelled together," Hetherington said.
"After today every division one, two and four team have cemented finals which I don't think we've done for 10 or so years which is a very exciting experience to be a part of.
"We've showed we're a pretty dominant side throughout the season with bat and ball.
"We've got a great group at the moment that can I reckon take us to a grand final if not more."
Saturday's washouts mean that the seventh-placed Northern Raiders must win next week against fifth-placed West Warrnambool to qualify for finals.
Should the Panthers lose, they need Wesley Yambuk (12th) to defeat Mortlake (sixth), for them to play finals.
Saturday's fixtures were called off individually on a case-by-case basis and weren't done so by the association.
As a result, all players on the team sheet before the start of play earn a match towards qualifying for finals.
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Matt Hughes
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
