Down by 27 points midway through the second quarter, the Cats looked anything like the ladder leaders.

But from that point on, the Dockers could only manage one more goal for the game as the home side steadily chipped away at the deficit and finally took the lead early in the final term through Kallum Kubicki.

A further three goals sealed the result for the home side, who prevailed 10.14 (74) to 7.11 (53).

At Girdlestone Park, Penguin has thrown a spanner in the works of East Devonport's finals preparations with a gutsy one-point win.

In a game where both sides enjoyed dominant periods of play, the Swans looked home with six minutes to play after a Damien Medwin goal gave them a 13-point lead.

But the Two Blues stormed home in the closing stages, regaining the lead through Mitch Hodgetts and claiming their third win for the season in style 14.14 (98) to 14.13 (97).

In the final game, third-placed Ulverstone were made to work hard all day against cellar-dwellers Latrobe before eventually emerging with a 13.9 (87) to 12.6 (78) victory.

The Demons were a chance after only trailing by two points at the final break, but the Robins' experience told out in the end.

The NWFL women's grand final was also held on Saturday morning at Girdlestone Park, with Devonport making it back-to-back flags courtesy of a 3.6 (24) to 1.0 (6) win over Penguin.