20/8/22
| Premier Round 18 | Wins | Wins | Draws | Streak | |
| Blackburn | 26 | Vermont | 54 | 0 | B 1 |
| Noble Park | 4 | Doncaster | 4 | 0 | NP 3^ |
| Balwyn | 9 | Rowville | 5 | 0 | R 1 |
| South Croydon | 16 | Norwood | 13 | 0 | SC 1 |
| Doncaster East | 4 | Park Orchards | 1 | 0 | PO 1^ |
| Berwick | 2 | North Ringwood | 0 | 0 | B 2^ |
Blackburn need a win over neighbour and long time rival Vermont to confirm their finals position. If the Eagles win, Blackburn may still be safe unless Norwood can take down a recently rampaging South Croydon.
Rowville will finish as minor premiers in the top-flight for the first time.
| Division 1 Finals | Wins | Wins | Draws | Streak | |
| Mooroolbark | 12 | Mitcham | 3 | 1 | Mrb 4 |
| Montrose | 22 | Wantirna South | 19 | 1 | WS 1 |
| EFL Finals Record | Wins | Losses | Draws | Streak |
| Mooroolbark | 17 | 18 | 0 | L1 |
| Mitcham | 27 | 18 | 1 | W5 |
| Montrose | 25 | 21 | 0 | L2 |
| Wantirna South | 15 | 10 | 0 | L1 |
Mooroolbark and Mitcham meet in a final for the first time. The Tigers have not previously played finals in Division 1.
Wantirna South won their way into Premier Division for the first time on the back of a second semi win and a Grand Final win in 2004, both over Montrose. These are the only finals the two clubs have played against each other.
| Division 2 Finals | Wins | Wins | Draws | Streak | |
| Ringwood | 25 | East Burwood | 46 | 1 | R 1 |
| The Basin | 10 | Boronia | 27 | 1 | TB 1 |
| EFL Finals Record | Wins | Losses | Draws | Streak |
| Ringwood | 23 | 27 | 0 | L1 |
| East Burwood | 38 | 30 | 1 | L1 |
| The Basin | 19 | 28 | 0 | L2 |
| Boronia | 24 | 30 | 0 | L2 |
Ringwood and East Burwood have played just the two finals against each other in the EFL; the most recent in 1967!
Just the one final played against each other for The Basin and Boronia back in 1998.
| Division 3 Finals | Wins | Wins | Draws | Streak | |
| Waverley Blues | 12 | Warrandyte | 8 | 0 | WB 1 |
| Donvale | 5 | Coldstream | 3 | 0 | D 1 |
| EFL Finals Record | Wins | Losses | Draws | Streak |
| Waverley Blues | 11 | 5 | 0 | L1 |
| Warrandyte | 19 | 15 | 0 | W2 |
| Donvale | 18 | 7 | 0 | W2 |
| Coldstream | 20 | 27 | 0 | L5 |
| Division 4 Finals | Wins | Wins | Draws | Streak | |
| Silvan | 9 | Surrey Park | 9 | 0 | SP 2 |
| Chirnside Park | 11 | Kilsyth | 9 | 0 | CP 4 |
| EFL Finals Record | Wins | Losses | Draws | Streak |
| Silvan | 3 | 5 | 0 | W2 |
| Surrey Park | 0 | 3 | 0 | L3 |
| Chirnside Park | 18 | 7 | 0 | W2 |
| Kilsyth | 14 | 14 | 0 | L1 |
First up final between Silvan and Surrey Park. The Panthers have won eight games in a row which is their best ever winning streak since the club was formed.
Chirnside Park break a 13 year finals drought and will play a second final against Kilsyth; the clubs met in the 2009 Grand Final.
Current long winning streaks:
Waverley Blues 15, East Ringwood 13
Current droughts:
Premiership: Forest Hill 1984
Grand Final: East Ringwood, Nunawading 2002 (Surrey Park joined EFL in 2002 and have not competed in a Grand Final)
Finals: East Ringwood last made finals in 2008 and with Chirnside Park also making finals, Nunawading (2012) now have the longest finals drought.
A bit more on my unanswered question from last week about the likelihood of three of the five divisions having a first final where the round 18 match was the same. I phoned emailed a (twitter) friend who suggested that one way of approaching it is via a simulation. After running some numbers through his computer he suggested that the likelihood is about 1 in 25,000. If you like numbers like this consider following @MatterOfStats on Twitter.
All figures are for men’s EFL matches 1962 – 2022
^ Best Winning Streak against this week’s opponent
Acknowledgement: localfootystats.com
© Noel McPhee 2022
