A big weekend ahead for the Under 18 TAC Cup competition with the start of their finals series. All games are to be played at Optus Oval with the Dandenong Stingrays playing the Western Jets and the Oakleigh Chargers playing Gippsland Power on Saturday.

On Sunday the Calder Cannons play the Eastern Ranges and the Geelong Falcons play the Sandringham Dragons.

This year's final series is as open as it has been for many years with every team a real chance of going all the way. The Calder Cannons dominated the first half of the year but have dropped back to the field in the latter part. All the metropolitan teams will be boosted by the addition of all their private school players and in almost all cases will be at full strength for the first time for the year.

North Ballarat capped off a fine home and away season by winning their 11th game at a rain soaked Cramer Street Oval.

The skill level of the roosters was the difference between the 2 sides, with North Ballarat players often gaining more yardage with their kicks in a game were goals were at a premium.

Yet again the bullants tried very hard, but were unable to hold out North Ballarat. Aided by the strong breeze blowing towards the Cramer Street end of the ground, they kicked 3 goals in a match winning 3rd quarter burst.

Whenever the wind blows towards the Cramer Street end you know that it's going to be a bitterly cold day. At one stage in the final quarter all but 1 North Ballarat player was wearing long sleeves.

On a day when best players were hard to find on both sides, Brett Zorzi and Jon McCormick were fine contributers for the Bullants. Zorzi kicked the only goal of the day against the breeze after a poor kick in.

Down back Brett Maloney was almost unbeatable for the roosters. For a big man Moloney played the conditions superbly and never gave the smaller bullant forwards much of a look in.

The roosters spilt the game open with a brilliant snap goal from Garth Taylor and a solo effort from Nathan Saunders who was aided by opponent Murray Boyd slipping over.

Bullants coach Barry Mitchell blasted Boyd at 3 quarter time for his choice of moulded souls, with Mitchell saying that sometimes players have to put up with playing with sore feet.

Taking a 19 point lead into the final change Nth Ballarat were almost ensured of a win but the home side fought the game right out.

After scoring just 1 goal in their last 5 quarters, the bullants managed 2 in the last thanks to some clever work from Saad Saad. Saad kicking 1 himself and setting up another for David Clarke.

It was a long day for all but imparticular Saad as he played the first half of the reserves game. He came into the Bullants side as a replacement for Ricky Mott.

The Coburg Tigers have taken another step towards securing a top 4 position by defeating the Northern Bullants at a rain soaked Coburg City Oval.

Heavy showers marred the clash with the game becoming a slog as players faced some of the worst weather conditions of the 2004 season.

After half time the Tigers were first to the ball and just too strong for the depleted Bullants line up. Matthew Hyde and Mark Janz both made their debuts for the Bullants, with Hyde playing a serviceable game while Janz had little game time.

Of concern for the Tigers is the report of Mark Coughlan who was reported for striking direct opponent Josh Vansittart. Vansittart had the better of Coughlan but it was Coughlan who set the tone of the 2nd half with a soccered goal from 20 metres out early in the 3rd term.

On a brighter note Andrew Raines was very impressive. On a day when players could have been forgiven for slipping over, his ability to keep his "feet" was a highlight.

For the Bullants Callan Beasy worked tirelessly and several others tried hard but injuries have tested the Bullants depth. Testimoney to the club's long injury list was the sight of assistant coach Peter Dean wearing the number 60 out of the goal square in the early game.

Only 3 points seperated the sides at the last change but a superb running goal from ruckman Ben Marsh deflated any hopes of a Bullant recovery.

For what seems the upteenth time in the past few seasons, Box Hill has come from a seemingly hopeless position to win.

Trailing by 25 pts during the last term the Hawks stormed home over a weary Northern Bullants outfit who had given it their all during the first 3 quarters.

Ben Kane expoliting opponent Frank Raso's lack of match fitness, was a driving force behind the Hawks late surge, kicking 2 goals and driving several long kicks inside 50 to bigmen Clinton Alleway and Robert Campbell.

The Bullants were game and probably didn't deserve to lose the way they did after leading until the 28 minute mark of the last quarter.

Coming into the game a win and 8% behind the Hawks the Bullants burst out of the blocks to kick the first 5 goals of the game.

The Hawks responded by putting several men behind the ball in an attempt to suffogate the Bullants scoring power. In effect they turned defence into attack as they gathered momentum to trail by only 6 pts at the main break.

A tense 3rd term saw only 2 goals scored, both late in time on to the Northern Bullants. The lat quarter was played at a furious pace with the Bullants being the team to wilt under the finals like pressure.

The Bullants committment can't be questioned over the past 5 weeks but their depth remains a concern. Losing in form bigman Ricky Mott and Daniel Harford during the last term was too much for a Bullants side already somewhat depleted.

The Hawks look like playing in yet another final series, while the Bullants can look forward to 2005 with some optimism.

The Northern Bullants have moved to equal 8th after a solid 18 point win over Williamstown at Cramer St.

Celebrating Brett Zorzi's 100th game, which was against Tasmainia 2 weeks ago, the Bullants lead throughout with only a last quarter fade out preventing them from moving into the 8.

Up forward bigmen Ricky Mott and Michael Hooper teamed well to outpoint their undersized opponents.

Mott has been a revelation up forward for the Bullants since the mid season break, with his height troubling the smaller VFL defences. As his confidence continues to grow so does his marking, which was at its best for the season.

Brett Zorzi proved to be a handfull for Seagulls veteran Troy West. Zorzi is a hard player to match up as his overhead marking is often an underestimated part of his game.

Williamstown tried hard throughout but couldn't match the Bullants hardness and more potent forwards. David King had a big first half kicking 3 goals but went missing after half time. Heath Shaw also showed glimpses that he has a big future with a solid contributon across half forward.

For the 3rd week in a row the Bullants came out running after half time and put the game beyond doubt with a 5 goal to nil burst. This was possibly the Bullants best quarter of the season considering the state of the game.

Williamstown gave it their best in the last term as the Bullants stopped and mentally seemed to relax. The Seagulls inaccurate kicking snuffed out the remote chance that they had. Maybe coach Barry Mitchell can review his position on the use of the bench as the Bullants midfield was clearly tired and stopped running with the result being there for all to see.

The Bullants have the bye next week before taking on Box Hill in what shapes as a mini final for both sides.

Northern Bullants 13.5.83

Werribee 9.21.75

For the first time in 2004, luck has fallen the way of the Northern Bullants as an inaccurate Werribee presented them with their 4th win of the season.

The tigers inaccuracy caused by some haphazard ball movement into their forward 50 and some average kicking from set shots. Patrick Wiggins, a serial poor kick for goal, was the main offender kicking 3 behinds and an out of bounds on the full. The normally reliable David Mitchell also missed 2 gettable goals from inside 50.

The Bullants were never headed throughout in what may be a season defining win for the club. Daniel Harford continued his recent good form and was clearly the Bullants best player. His experience was invaluable during a tense last quarter as the tigers continually attacked.

Since the break the Bullants have been a different team and a finals berth isn't impossible. Most pleasing has been the attitude and work rate of the Carlton listed players who seem to be playing a more team orientated game.

Coach Barry Mitchell has shown more faith in some of the VFL listed players and has certainly upped the ante when speaking during the beaks. His decision to play Paul Bunn after an inglorious game against Tasmainia last week was a brave one. Bunn repayed the faith shown by being one of the Bullants best and showed that he can adjust to the quicker tempo of senior football.

Ricky Mott and Stephen kenna were again the Bullants major goal scorers kicking 4 apiece. Brett Zorzi was also good up forward.

For Werribee Adam Cooney had an outstanding first half booting 3 goals while vetran Matthew Croft was very good of half back for the tigers.

Northern Bullants 11.6.72

Tasmainia 12.5.77

N.B- [G] S.Kenna 4, R.Mott 3, L.Livingston 1, D.Clarke 1, J.Vansittart 1, A.Carrazzo 1.

Tas- [G] C.Blight 2, B.Beams 2, K.Ritcher 1, J.Ling 1, B.Robertson 1, J.Plapp 1, N.Heanley 1, B.Savage 1, T.Bartlett 1, B.Geappean 1.

Tasmainia has broken its losing streak with a thrilling win over a game Northern Bullants side at North Hobart.

Northern Bullants 22.14.146

Bendigo Bombers 9.13.67

Rekindling the spirit that has been missing for the most part of its 2 year alignment with Carlton, a fired up Northern Bullants thumped the Bendigo Bombers by 79 points at Cramer St.

The victory is a major relief for the Bullants as to date 2004 has been a tumultuous year. Recently the club slumped to the bottom of the ladder after inglorious away performences against Frankston and Springvale.

In front of a large crowd the Bullants came out firing and led a disappointing Bendigo who had first use of a 3-5 goal breeze. The Bombers could only manage one goal for the quarter, which came from a poor kick in that ended up in the hands of Marc Bullen. Bullants coach Barry Mitchell attributed the goal to a sloppy kick in set up rather than a poor kick from Kade Simpson.

The Bullants 2nd quarter score of 10.8.68, eclipsed their score in 7 completed matches this season and put the game beyond doubt.

Giving away 7 cm in the ruck, Callan Beasy set the tone for the Bullants attack at the ball with a sterling effort against Tristian Cartledge. Midfielders Justin Davies, Jarrod Waite and Kade Simpson ensured that the Bullants were always going to have plenty of scoring opportunities.

Davies was also defensively good with his tackling a highlight of the game. Defence was the area of the game that the Bullants improved most and ensured that the Bombers were never going to get back into the game.

The Bombers resembled a rabble in the 2nd term and gave the Bullants a free ride with several undisciplined free kicks and on ocassions subsequent 50 metre penalties.

Gary Moorcroft and Sam Hunt were the main offenders with Moorcroft being benched before half time to the delight of the Bullants crowd after he had been involved in an altercation with several Bullant players. Full back Hunt had a game to forget, with his only highlight being a booming torpedo punt that reached the centre circle in the 3rd term.

The Bullants 2nd half was just as impressive as they crushed their dispirited opponent. Captain Brett Zorzi relished being on the forward line after weeks of being deep in defence. He finished the game with 2 goals as 13 players contirbuted to the Bullants total of 22 goals.

Marc Bullen and Ricky Dyson were the best for Bombers who had a day they'd rather forget.

The question Bullant supporters will be asking is will the spirit shown today continue next week in the unfamiliar surrounds of North Hobart.