Kaden Humphries won the toss for the home side and promptly decided to have a bat with Ben Holmes and Humphries getting the innings underway.

Humphries (three) was soon walking back to the pavilion, as Cameron Templeton had the early wicket in his keeping, thanks to a good catch by Hamish Cook.

Caleb Millard had Holmes’ wicket in his pouch after he bowled the opener for only 12 to end an innings that never got going and the Maroons were 2-20.

This gave Kane Forbes (26) and Rick Killey (23) the chance to post a 50-run third wicket stand before Riley Casey sliced through the middle order with the wickets of Forbes, Casey Megaw (zero) and Michael Jarrad (one) to leave the innings in tatters at 5-76.

Killey was still there though and the task of lifting the score to a defendable level fell to him, but after he and Justin Carlin (17) took the tally to 101, the next four wickets fell for no runs to leave the home side floundering at 9-101 in the 34th over.

Enter Fletcher Bright at number 11, as he and Jacob Edwards (19-not-out) came together looking to stage a final wicket rescue mission.

As the Hamilton bowlers tried everything possible to unsettle the last wicket pair, the batsmen continued to be bowed as the score mounted with each passing over.

The pair batted for 30 minutes together and took the final tally to 154 before Riley Casey finally ended the innings by having Bright (22) caught behind by Jake Lang.

Having the runs on the board gave the Maroons some hope but it was a target that was very gettable for the Blues even after the first five wickets fell for only 51.

Hamish Cook (37) and Nic Cullinane (21) added 30 for the sixth wicket, but when Cook was bowled by Bright, Hamilton lost its last five wickets for only 16 runs to be bundled out for only 97 and hand Casterton District a bonus point victory and a finals place.

Grampians d Macarthur

DUNKELD Turf hosted what should have been the match of the round, as top-placed Grampians battle fourth-placed Macarthur with not only the minor premiership on the line for the Pumas but a finals spot for the Demons too.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Macarthur watched on as the top order collapsed to be 5-34 in the 12th over, as Carl Joyce and Ryan Burgess tore the heart out of the Demons innings in a brilliant first spell with the new ball.

It fell to Jeremy Sheehan (30), Jack Wortley (21) and Matt Lyndsay (22) to try and post a total that their bowlers could defend, but the final tally finished on 138 with Ryan Burgess grabbing 4-26 to lead the Pumas attack.

In reply, the home side made the run chase look easy, as Will Collins (57-not-out) and Zac Burgess (41-not-out) added 103 runs for the second wicket with the Pumas losing only one wicket for 140.

Grampians must be outright favourites for the premiership after this bonus point with the form the team is showing with the bat and the ball in hand, while the Demons have all winter to contemplate their season going forward after missing the finals.

Pigeon Ponds d St Andrew’s

PIGEON Ponds has secured second spot on the ladder and will host College at Monivae Turf next weekend after earning a bonus point victory over St Andrew’s at Clem Young Oval on Saturday.

Peter Staude won the toss for the visitors as he and Simon Close strode to the wicket to get the game underway against the new ball attack of Latham Wishart and Dale Harris.

Harris would send down only one over though after injuring his back in the first over of the game which saw him take no further part in the match.

It was a huge loss for the Drews, as Harris has been their strike weapon all summer long, but Luke Purcell took over for him and bowled well without luck.

Staude and Close batted with ease and posted 94 for the first wicket before Close (66) nicked off to Sam Burns.

Close was on fire with seven boundaries and a further two maximums and appeared likely to post a hundred when he fell against the run of play.

Michel Close (two), Noah Hildebrand (zero) and Staude (33) all followed soon after.

Anthony Close (53), Hamish McCrae (31) and Jack Beaton (14) all batted well to help the visitors reach 7-231 at the end of their allotted overs, with James Guthrig (3-27) taking the honours from Wishart (2-24).

The home side needed a strong start to the run chase if they were going to chase down the target, but Guthrig (zero) fell to Jack Beaton in the third over and then trapped Darryl Fry, LBW, with the very next delivery and the Drews never recovered.

The top order collapsed with only Brendan Huf (23) and Cameron Pither (16) reaching double figures, as the score slumped to be 7-69, when Drew’s skipper Simon Hatherell was joined by Luke Purcell in the 29th over.

The pair ensured that the home side would bat out the allotted overs, as they took the score to 141 with one ball remaining in the match, only for Purcell (34) to be bowled from the last ball of the game and St Andrew’s finished on 8-141.