HIS side nearly caused the upset of the season in a heartbreaking one point loss to ladder leader Milawa at the weekend, but coach Ryan Kent has not given up hope of featuring in finals this season.
The Mountain Men now face an uphill battle to make the top eight, after a gallant effort against the Demons, who stole the game in the dying stages of the game at Pioneer Park.
In a special weekend at the club, which celebrated the 20 year reunion of the 1992 senior and reserve premierships, the home side led at every change.
If Kent was pleased with the effort shown by his charges against Whorouly in the previous round, the first year coach was thrilled by their performance on Saturday.
"Getting to this point of the season and finishing off with run, and challenging these top sides shows that we've progressed throughout the year," Kent said.
"It's about being able to play footy on our terms.
"We're a contested footy type side, and with our young blokes we need to make sure they've got their confidence up early and continue that for four quarters."
A spot in the finals will now come down to the wire between Bright and Greta, with the Mountain Men sitting one game behind the Blues, but desperately needing to win one more game than the eighth placed side because of poor percentage.
With both teams facing a tough run home, Kent believes his side is more than just a mathematical chance of stealing a spot.
"The way I look at it, there are going to be sides looking to protect players coming into finals, trying to get their side right," Kent said.
"We are one of those really dangerous sides to be playing at this time of the year, we've got nothing to lose and we're starting to play some really good footy.
"We still have a sniff, we need to win two out of the next three, and Greta has Whorouly, North Wang and Milawa so they've got tough games ahead of them, as we do.
"If we get Benalla this week and line ourselves back up for another shot at Moyhu in the last round, we could find ourselves sneaking in there to give it a bit of a shake."
The usual players like Kent, Steve Nightingale, Nick Howden, Dylan Bursill and Sean McGregor featured in the best at the weekend, but the highlight came from 17 year old Jesse Thomson, who was a standout for the Mountain Men.
"When you've got a bloke like Steve Nightingale receiving handpasses from hard ball gets from Jesse Thomson, you know that he's pretty committed," Kent said.
"He runs hard, he's got a pretty smart head on his shoulders and he hits the right spots whether he's in the contest or not.
"He had a big impact on the game on Saturday and he's only going to continue to get better he's only played three senior games."
The Mountain Men travel to take on Benalla tomorrow, with the Panthers sure to be fired up after going down to Greta last weekend.
The Panthers were outscored 8.5 to 1.1 in 30 minutes of football either side of quarter time, but more than matched the Blues through the rest of the match, which they lost by 13 points.
Coach Ben Wapling was at a loss to explain the lapse afterwards, but is certain to be doing everything in his power to address it and ensure there is no repeat tomorrow.
The Panthers still have their eyes on a top four berth, and with percentage important, they will be aiming to not only get the points, but win comfortably.
By - ALEX BAIRD and SCOTT ANDERSON.
www.nenews.com.au
TEAM LEADER: Two time Baker Medallist Steve Nightingale was in top form for Bright against Milawa last weekend.
PHOTO: Marc Bongers
Last Modified on 07/08/2012 07:06