Although owing to superior percentages Dunnstown and Hepburn can still mathematically claim top position from Gordon with one home and away round to play, this will not happen.

The Eagles play Ballan on Saturday and will win to claim the minor premiership.

With Springbank having a bye and unable to bank anymore premiership points, the Tigers have to settle for fourth.

Gordon will play Springbank on Saturday, August 20, and Dunnstown will face Hepburn on Sunday, August 21.

Waubra will have to wait another week before knowing whether it gets an opportunity to extend its Central Highlands Football League premiership defence into the finals.

The Roos missed a chance to cement eighth place and a finals berth in a 29-point loss to Dunnstown at Dunnstown on Saturday.

This leaves eighth-placed Waubra one win ahead of Rokewood-Corindhap and Bungaree, and almost certainly needing to defeat arch-rival Learmonth in the last home and away round in five days

Rokewood-Corindhap and Bungaree have better percentages than Waubra.

If Waubra beat the Lakies it is in the finals.

A loss will open the door, with the Grasshoppers the most likely to take advantage of it. They meet Beaufort.

Bungaree needs to beat Skipton and rely on Waubra and Rokewood-Corindhap losing to leap from 10th to eight. Bottom line is, the trio have everything to play for in round 17.

Dunnstown proved too accomplished for Waubra in an error-riddled match in which each side repeatedly turned over possession.

REWATCH DUNNSTOWN'S WIN OVER WAUBRA - VIDEO REPLAY

WINNERS AND LOSERS - ALL WEEKEND BALLARAT REGIONAL FOOTBALL AND NETBALL RESULTS AND LADDERS

CHFL RD 16 PICTURES FROM BALLAN V BUNINYONG, CARNGHAM-LINTON V HEPBURN, DUNNSTOWN V WAUBRA

The Towners eased their way to a 23-point lead in a dour first half, but it was a three-goal burst - including two goals in quick succession to Joe Stefani - midway through the third term that put Waubra out of reach.

Waubra rallied in the last quarter with its best football of the day, but two goals would be enough for Dunnstown.

Dunnstown ruckman Khyle Forde's battle with Hayden Hughes provided one of the highlights of the day.

Hughes was all over Forde in the first half in a best-on-ground display.

He out-muscled the lighter-framed Forde to clearly win the tap-out count and also dominated stoppages with his second efforts.

Forde worked his way into the game after half-time, using his superior leap to start influencing ruck contests and getting more of the ball around the ground.

Dunnstown gave Will Henderson the job on Waubra star James Lukich, and for a large part of the day neither had a great influence on general play. That was a win for Henderson though, with him still being able to find the ball.

Ironically, it was Lukich who sparked a minor Roos' fight back in the last quarter.

He finally shook off Henderson, kicking two goals and momentarily giving Waubra a glimpse of hope. However, it was not to be.

Waubra coach Matt James said the Roos had some strong patches of control throughout the day, but in contrast to Dunnstown had been unable to hit the scoreboard.

He said he felt they still had a chance with the last term surge with Lukich getting some vital touches, but as had been the trend Dunnstown had the answers.

James said the Towners had been impressive in the way they stifled Waubra in that period and put the game back on their terms.

Dunnstown coach Glenn Wilkins said he felt the Towners could have been more composed in their forward half over the day, but at the same time the sticky conditions had made it more difficult for players than it looked. "With more inside 50s we probably didn't quite get bang for our buck, but we got the win."

Buninyong can now set its sights on playing finals after downing Ballan by 78 points at Smythesdale.

The Bombers eased away with a steady performance to climb above Learmonth to sixth.

While one home and away rounds remain, Buninyong will play Learmonth in an elimination final on Sunday, August 21.

Buninyong lost Jarrod Morgan (knee/calf) from its selected side.

He had been set to make his first appearance since round eight, but coach Shaun O'Loughlin said Morgan had not felt quite right on the morning of the game and they had decided to wait another week.

This allowed Jesse Marshall (arm) to play for the first time since round 11.

The Bombers have now won in a row.

O'Loughlin said there was no doubt it had been a good few months for them.

He said while they had the best of starts he had always believed they would improve as the season wore on given they had a young group.

Already undermanned and missing Daniel Niselsen (ankle), Ballan lost its second key defender Shaun Lord pre-game with illness and was forced to have three youngsters back up after playing under-18s and another two play reserves and seniors.

Ballan coach Tristan Batten said taking all this into consideration he had been pleased with the Blues' first half.

"We played well.

"Unfortunately we just ran out of legs."

He said that had been the story of most weeks in the second half of the season.

"We can get the possessions and 50m entries, but we're just as polished."

Skipton quickly put a loss to Springbank by running over Beaufort by 87 points

It was a gradual build by the Emus.

The third term was their most productive of the day with 5.3.

Most of the damage was inflicted by the Skipton defence at the other end of the ground, with the crows kept goalless in the second half.

Beaufort will not like being reminded, but that is its 10th consecutive loss.

Skipton, which will finish fifth, is now waiting to see who it plays in an elimination final.

The Emus will face the eighth team - most likely either Waubra or Rokewood-Corindhap.

Daylesford coach Hamish Jarrad said he pleased the way the Bulldogs had played out the game after Newlyn was the better early.

He said in the end Daylesford was able to get the match on its terms and capitalise on the Cats not taking their chances.

Newlyn spearhead Marcus Darmody was a dominant player - kicking all its eight goals.

Jarrad said as damaging as Darmody, with Newlyn's total focus on him the Bulldogs had also been able transition well out of an often open defence.

While Darmody was getting the job at one end, Daylesford's Sam Winnard was also prominent in front of goals in his 200th game.

Winnard kicked six majors in a match-shaping effort.

This gives Daylesford five wins and lifts it to 12th.

Jarrad is in doubt for the last round of the season after being hindered by back-related hamstring soreness and sitting out the second half.

Bungaree remains in finals contention after defeating Clunes by 17 points at Bungaree.

"There's a heartbeat. It's small, but it's still there."

This is how Demons coach Ryan Waight describes it.

The Demons need the cards to fall their way in the last round to go from 10th to eighth and playing finals, but it is possible.

Waubra (v Learmonth) and Rokewood-Corindhap (v Beaufort) need to lose, and Bungaree beat Skipton.

Waight said he felt the Demons played well enough for a win for a large part of the day against Clunes, but could not quite make it stick on the scoreboard until the last quarter.

They led by two points at the last change and finally managed to break the game open with what would be the only three goals of the last quarter.

"It was a pleasing result.

"We had seven changes from the previous week - all forced - including two withdrawals.

"With all that considered, it was good to get the result."

Clunes coach Luke Davidson said Bungaree had shown how well they played on its own deck.

"They got numbers behind the footy and got us on the slingshot in a game in which goals were hard to come by.

"It is another close one (loss).

"We're three (wins) and five (losses) in these close games under three goals.

"If we flipped that around and had six wins going into the last round we'd look on that as a success year.

"We still think it's a successful year. We just need to learn to win these close wins," he said.

Gordon locked away the minor premiership with a 116-point win over Creswick at Creswick.

Although Gordon can mathematically lose top spot, that is not going to happen with the Eagles only needing to defeat Ballan to stay there.

Gordon's main focus now is trying to get a group of injured players fit for the finals - either week one or two.

Brad Horsham added to the Eagles' concerns by aggravating an AC joint issue to join the group of players being monitored.

Gordon was steady in the first half, with Creswick staying within 22 points.

However, it was all the Eagles from there with 12 goals while keeping the Wickers goalless.

Adam Toohey (five goals) and Lachie Reynolds (four) were a formidable combination in attack.

Reynolds has emerged as a key avenue to goal with nine majors over two weeks.

Springbank took the game away from Rokewood-Corindhap in the second half to score by 37 points at Wallace.

Stephen Staunton ensured the home side took the points with seven goals.

Tigers coach Andrew Challis said they were ready for the Grasshoppers, knowing how much they had to play for.

A win for Rokewood-Corindhap would have lifted it into the top eight and given it the frontrunning for eighth place.

He said it had been a tight midfield battle early, but a positive second half had allowed the Tigers to get away.

As well as getting the win, Challis was pleased to come out of the game injury-free.

"That's a big plus for us."

Springbank now has a bye before facing Gordon in a qualifying final.

Rokewood-Corindhap joint coach Brad Macgowan said they were pleased with the first half and while key measurements such as inside 50s and clearances remained fairly even, matching Springbank's big key position players had proved too much.

The Grasshoppers lost defenders Ash Gay (ankle) and Rupert Armstrong from their selected side, and was also undermanned in the ruck without Ed Denouden.

Macgowan said this was compounded by losing tall Dan Christie with cramp, which left Pat Glanford to dominate for Springbank.

Hepburn continued its push to the finals with a 165-point defeat over Carngham-Linton at Snake Valley.

The Burras were too accomplished in most areas of the game - highlighting the difference between a premiership contender and a side still searching for a first win of the season.

Hepburn coach Mitch Banner, who kicked 12 goals, said the scoreboard was never a focus.

He said one again it was all about playing the style of game the Burras want to take into the finals.

Carngham-Linton coach Clayton Scoble said the return of experienced pair Mitch Giddings and Tom Giddings had been a big plus.

He said getting players of this nature into the side made the youngsters walk taller.