Only Sunbury knows where it will finish in the top six with the one home and away round to play. It is fifth and will stay - win, lose or draw.

Bacchus Marsh and Lake Wendouree will make up the top two - in either order.

Darley and Redan will fill third and fourth. The order is still to be determined.

Then there is the ongoing tussle for sixth position, which has been trimmed East Point,  Melton South and North Ballarat City.

And this is how it will work:

EAST POINT: in control of own destiny. Win and it's in. Lose and must rely on Melton South and North Ballarat City losing. 

MELTON SOUTH:  must win and rely on East Point losing.

NORTH BALLARAT CITY: must win and rely on East Point losing and Melton South losing. It is tight with less than one percent between East and North, but if each finishes on the same points expect the cards to fall City's way.

REDAN V BACCHUS MARSH

at City Oval, Saturday, 2.15pm

LAST MET: round 6 - Cobras 12.9 (81) d Lions 4.6 (30) 

STANDINGS: Redan 3rd - Bacchus Marsh 1^st

Redan will face reigning premier Bacchus Marsh without captain Liam Hoy in Ballarat Football League at the City Oval on Saturday.

Hoy spent time on a drip in hospital this week after an infection caused swelling around a knee.

Lions coach Brendan Peace said a cut hand suffered outside football was believed to have led to leg issue.

Hoy had been set to return for the big encounter fresh from a two-week break, having been rested against Lake Wendouree for general soreness leading into a bye.

Hoy’s absence is a substantial setback for Redan, which is looking to make a statement against the Cobras ahead of the finals.

Redan coach Brendan Peace is looking for the Lions to make their presence felt – especially after losing to Bacchus Marsh by 51 points earlier in the year.

Redan had more than its share of the football that day, but failed to convert this into scoreboard pressure.

Peace says the Lions need to deliver on this aspect this time around.

Physically, Redan is one team which can match the Cobras and it will get a real opportunity to exploit this aspect of its game on a heavy surface.

The BFL has seen little wet-weather football this year, but there was surface water on the ground mid-week, which could mean a real slog. 

There is a touch of irony in this likelihood, given this will be the last match on the City Oval before it undergoes a major redevelopment.

The ground will be reconfigured and receive a complete upgrade just as CE Brown Reserve at Wendouree, Alfredton Reserve, Northern Oval No.2 and Marty Busch Reserve have as solely domestic venues.

While Hoy remains out, Redan has regained brothers Jarrett (corked leg) and Chris (hamstring) Giampaolo.

Bacchus Marsh has chosen to rest Matt Denham, Declan Phyland and Jake Bolton to ensure they are over minor niggles for the finals. Blake Graham returns from the Western Jets.

PREDICTION: Cobras

REDAN

In: J. Giampaolo, C. Giampaolo, H. Edwards, T. Douglass

Out: R. Waight, P. Fitzgibbon, J. Baker, K. Waterbury 

BACCHUS MARSH

In: L. Noonan, D. Bishop, B. Graham 

Out: M. Denham, D. Phyland, J. Bolton

LAKE WENDOUREE v EAST POINT

at CE Brown Reserve, Saturday, 2.15pm

LAST MET: round 3 - Lakers 17.7 (109) d Kangaroos 13.13 (91)    

LAKE WENDOUREE (2nd): Lakers have chosen to freshen up Jayden Hooper. This is on top of first-choice ruckman Arthur Armstrong also missing as a precautionary measure after popping a shoulder in their latest outing a couple of weeks ago. Isaac Kirby (hand) is back though. Despite the cautious approach Tim Malone is wary on two fronts, knowing the Lakers have been flat off previous breaks and East Point did give them a care last time they met.

EAST POINT (6th): with the Kangaroos' season hanging on this game, coach Jake Bridges has put an emphasis on ensuring their preparation is spot on  - on and off the ground. He said a holistic approach was needed for the best outcome. East Point has a largely settled line-up, which has steadily improved throughout the season through better concentration and resolve to play out games. The Kangaroos gave Lakers a real scare earlier in the season and Bridges has no doubt his charges will be "up and about" for this one.

PREDICTION: Lakers

LAKE WENDOUREE

In: I. Kirby, H. Monk, Sam Clifton

Out: A. Armstrong, J. Hooper, T. Littore

EAST POINT

In: C. Bilney 

Out: C. Quinlan

MELTON SOUTH V DARLEY

at Melton Recreation Reserve, Saturday, 2.15pm

LAST MET: round 5 - Devils 27.14 (176) d Melton South 8.10 (58)

MELTON SOUTH (7th): the Panthers are determined to keep the finals dream alive, which means a massive turn around on last time they met Darley. Joint coach Sean Triplett said they had had a huge turnover in players since then and had a deep resolve to succeed. "We'll be taking it on. There's no choice." He said the match held no fears for Melton South. Triplett said the Panthers had effectively started a run of elimination finals last round. "We won that. Now we have to win this one."  

DARLEY (3rd): coach Heath Scotland says the Devils will most likely have to wait until at least Friday before finalising their line-up with several players under injury clouds. One thing he is sure about is his own return. Scotland (Achilles/calf) said he had been close to playing against Ballarat, but chose a safety-first approach. He said he had been happy with the Devils, which had a determination to win and lock up third position. Scotland said even though Darley knew it would play finals it had just as much incentive as the Panthers to play well. Brian Graham has been named, but it also in the Essendon VFL line-up. Kyle Docherty is another important inclusion after missing with hip trouble.

PREDICTION: Devils

MELTON SOUTH

No change

DARLEY

In: K. Docherty, B. Graham, A. Kur, H. Scotland

Out: C. Pepi, J. Zeestraten, J. Ancrum, D. Edwards

MELTON  V NORTH BALLARAT CITY

at MacPherson Park, Saturday, 2.15pm

LAST MET: round 9 - Bloods 10.8 (68) d North 8.15 (63)

MELTON (9th): assistant coach Michael Licciardo will take the reins. Outgoing coach Brad Murphy will be on hand, but Licciardo, who has not played since knee surgery mid-season, will be in charge. The Bloods can end North's finals aspirations, but Licciardo said more than that Melton wanted to finish the year on a high. Melton can mathematically still play finals, but would need to make up 10 per cent and that would be a massive ask. While there is life there is hope though and the Bloods will take that into the game.    

NORTH BALLARAT CITY (8th): key tall Ryan Hobbs will make his first senior appearance since knee surgery mid-season in a do-or-die game. He has played only a handful of games this year, but coach Jordyn Burke has been left no choice but to roll the dice with big forward Will Young (hamstring) out. Needing to win to have a chance at playing finals, City will go "full tilt". He said "butchering" the football had cost it dearly in losing to East Point. He is confident that if City gets that right it can get the right result.

PREDICTION: City

MELTON

In: K. Baker, J. Jenkins, L. Heaney

Out: J. Cotter, M. Maric, N. Wallace 

NORTH BALLARAT CITY

In: E. Lamb, R. Hobbs

Out: W. Young, T. Bromley-Lynch

SUNBURY v SEBASTOPOL

at Clarke Oval, Saturday, 2.15pm

LAST MET: round 6 - Lions 17.11 (113) d Burra 7.6 (48)

SUNBURY (5th): despite having had a week off, the Lions continue to struggle with injuries. Coach Ben Jordan says it is far from an ideal situation so close to finals. The season is over for Tim Hill (broken arm) and Nathan Wood (hand), while leading goalkicker Ben Said (knee), Andrew Duhau (hip) and James Rizk (ankle) could not be considered this week. Key defender Adam Short is working hard to get fit, but he will not risked if there is any doubt.

SEBASTOPOL (11th): this is a season which cannot finish quickly enough. It was never going to be easy, but long-term injuries to the likes of Jack McNab, Brett Goodes, James Richards and Michael Powell have hurt - making coach Shane Snibson's hopes of building on last year virtually impossible. There have been some good signs from youngsters such as Geoff Lovett, Billy Hoye and Harli Givvens, but unfortunately the depth just has not been there.  It might be long trip home from the far east.

PREDICTION: Lions

SUNBURY

In: J. Guthrie, D. Sanderson, N. Cox, G. Valles

Out: A. Duhau, T. Hill, M. Trimboli, J. Rizk

SEBASTOPOL

In: A. Young, G. Lovett, M. Jolly, D. Cuthbertson, J. Mason

Out: D. Widgery, J. Grills, B. Trew, A. Wallis, J. Hardy