While both sides have already secured their place in the top two, the minor premiership will be on the line when Leagues take on Coro. The two sides have shown their quality since an interrupted start to the season and were able to create quite a gap to the rest of the chasing pack. It has been an impressive season for the Panthers, who have only dropped two games this season, while Cougars have lost three. The Coro side comes into this weekend undefeated since round 11 and will have the knowledge of a commanding win over the Panthers, which is their only defeat since Christmas, where they were able to bowl Leagues out for just 44. Coro Cougars captain Tim Rand knows it would be nice to continue their run, given the two sides will face off in the first round of finals next weekend. "I'm sure both clubs are happy they have reached the top two with all the wet weather that was around at the start of the season," he said. "Taking the minor premiership would be nice, but it would also give us a bit of confidence into the final against them next week." RELATED This week will see the two sides return to Exies No 2, which saw one of the highest-scoring games in the season with the combined total between the two sides close to 400 runs. Rand wouldn't be surprised to see similar this weekend. "You look through both line-ups, and they are pretty evenly matched and bat all the way down," he said. "We are expecting the same this week because Exies 2 has been a really good wicket this season. It's one of the best around, I think." One of the shining lights this season has been the emergence of Jake Rand with both the bat and ball. "He has taken his chance at the top of the order, that's for sure. I think it suits him with the ball coming on a bit more," he said. "With the ball, he has been more consistent than he has been in recent years, and he has picked up a bit of pace as well. "With Floody (Alex Flood) missing this year, we needed someone to take those overs, and Jake has gone really well with Ben Signor and Nick Witherspoon since he has come into first grade as well." Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
