With 2 minor rounds remaining, the 2008 Central ABL will see some of the closest finishes in recent history.

In the event of teams being tied on premiership points, the head-to-head results of the games between the tied teams is used to separate them. This could be critical for many teams, as my ramblings below indicate.

In the men’s competition, the content of the top 3 has been decided for months, but the order is still unknown. The winner of the Forestville v Norwood game at Wayville should seal top spot, while if Norwood lose, they will likely finished tied with North for 2nd place, and be relegated to third due to an inferior winning margin in their split series.

The battle for 4th and 5th is well and truly alive too. Sturt is currently 5th, a game behind South, but if the Sabres defeat the Panthers by over 16, they could sneak into 4th should the teams remained tied.

A lesser win by Sturt would guarantee it a finals berth, but a loss would leave the way open for the resurgent Southern, who could make a momentous return to the finals if they upset North this weekend. Coaches Liam Flynn and Heath Jury would be well aware of this scenario, as In the dying seconds of last week’s matchup when Southern’s victory was already assured, the game was most definitely still on, as Southern successfully beat the necessary 6 point spread required to give them the head-to-head edge on Sturt.

Not complicated enough for you? Then have a look at the women’s league …

Sturt, Forestville and North are tied for first place. It is quite possible (though far from guaranteed) that these teams could defeat South, Norwood and Southern respectively, and bring the tie into the final round. Under that scenario, if Forestville defeat South, the North v Sturt game will be huge, a win to North giving it a minor premiership on a superior head-to-head with Forestville, and a win to Sturt giving Forestville the minor premiership on a superior head-to-head with the Sabres.

Southern is still a possibility of throwing a spanner into the works and finish in the top 3, this scenario being most likely if the Tigers and Sabres can both defeat North.

Beneath these teams, the race for 5th is well and truly alive too. West is a game clear of Norwood and Eastern, but if Norwood can beat Forestville and then reverse a 6 point loss to West in a grand final rematch, the Flames will knock the reigning premiers out of the finals. On the other hand, if Eastern can defeat Woodville and Southern (both at home), and West defeat Norwood, the Mavericks could snatch 5th spot on a head-to-head split with the Bearcats.

Simple, right?