20/8/22 Premier Round 18Wins WinsDrawsStreakBlackburn26Vermont540B 1Noble Park4Doncaster40NP 3^Balwyn9Rowville50R 1South Croydon16Norwood130SC 1Doncaster East4Park Orchards10PO 1^Berwick2North Ringwood00B 2^
Blackburn need a win over neighbour and long time rival Vermont to confirm their finals position. If the Eagles win, Blackburn may still be safe unless Norwood can take down a recently rampaging South Croydon.
Rowville will finish as minor premiers in the top-flight for the first time.Division 1 FinalsWins WinsDrawsStreakMooroolbark12Mitcham31Mrb 4Montrose22Wantirna South191WS 1
EFL Finals RecordWinsLossesDrawsStreakMooroolbark17180L1Mitcham27181W5Montrose25210L2Wantirna South15100L1
Mooroolbark and Mitcham meet in a final for the first time. The Tigers have not previously played finals in Division 1.
Wantirna South won their way into Premier Division for the first time on the back of a second semi win and a Grand Final win in 2004, both over Montrose. These are the only finals the two clubs have played against each other.Division 2 FinalsWins WinsDrawsStreakRingwood25East Burwood461R 1The Basin10Boronia271TB 1
EFL Finals RecordWinsLossesDrawsStreakRingwood23270L1East Burwood38301L1The Basin19280L2Boronia24300L2
Ringwood and East Burwood have played just the two finals against each other in the EFL; the most recent in 1967!
Just the one final played against each other for The Basin and Boronia back in 1998.
Division 3 FinalsWins WinsDrawsStreakWaverley Blues12Warrandyte80WB 1Donvale5Coldstream30D 1
EFL Finals RecordWinsLossesDrawsStreakWaverley Blues1150L1Warrandyte19150W2Donvale1870W2Coldstream20270L5
Division 4 FinalsWins WinsDrawsStreakSilvan9Surrey Park90SP 2Chirnside Park11Kilsyth90CP 4
EFL Finals RecordWinsLossesDrawsStreakSilvan350W2Surrey Park030L3Chirnside Park1870W2Kilsyth14140L1
First up final between Silvan and Surrey Park. The Panthers have won eight games in a row which is their best ever winning streak since the club was formed.
Chirnside Park break a 13 year finals drought and will play a second final against Kilsyth; the clubs met in the 2009 Grand Final.
Current long winning streaks:
Waverley Blues 15, East Ringwood 13
Current droughts:
Premiership: Forest Hill 1984
Grand Final: East Ringwood, Nunawading 2002 (Surrey Park joined EFL in 2002 and have not competed in a Grand Final)
Finals: East Ringwood last made finals in 2008 and with Chirnside Park also making finals, Nunawading (2012) now have the longest finals drought.
A bit more on my unanswered question from last week about the likelihood of three of the five divisions having a first final where the round 18 match was the same. I phoned emailed a (twitter) friend who suggested that one way of approaching it is via a simulation. After running some numbers through his computer he suggested that the likelihood is about 1 in 25,000. If you like numbers like this consider following @MatterOfStats on Twitter.
All figures are for men’s EFL matches 1962 – 2022
^ Best Winning Streak against this week’s opponent
Acknowledgement: localfootystats.com
© Noel McPhee 2022