George Town supporters may be believing in miracles after the Saints claimed their eighth win in nine games with victory at Hillwood 12.7 (79) to 8.7 (55).
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Saints delivered a stranglehold over their arch-rivals in the second term as they kept Hillwood goalless in front of their supporter at Shark Park while notching three of their own.
It was a lead that the Saints held until the final siren with George Town co-coach Joel Coad enthused about his side's prospects.
"We did the right thing this week and really planned to get the win this weekend and went about it the right way, it's always nice [because] they're kind of our arch-nemesis," he said.
"We haven't had this feeling for a while, we copped some hidings last year and we certainly set some targets to beat some teams that we haven't for a long time ... and I think the guys are starting to believe that we can do some damage come finals time."
READ MORE: Inside the Hillwood and George Town rivalry
Saints captain Brady Gee led the way out of the middle while James Long competed hard against Hamish Leedham in the ruck.
Leedham was the Sharks' best player while Kieran Fullard kicked three goals.
Elsewhere, Longford managed to get the points in front of their home fans over an improved Deloraine side 13.10 (88) to 7.3 (45).
Lochie Dornauf marked his return to the Roos with four majors as Deloraine's accuracy had them level with the Tigers at the halfway mark at 31 apiece.
A blistering third term from Longford, which saw them kick six goals to one, was the catalyst for the Tigers as they held the lead to the final siren.
Ward Rakei and Jarrod Scott were good for Deloraine alongside Dornauf. For the Tigers, Liam Davies starred in the midfield while Luke Murfitt-Cowen kicked four majors and emerging talent Jesse Shepheard added three.
Rocherlea were comfortable victors against Bridgenorth with only the Tigers' inaccuracy prohibiting a larger margin in the 16.16 (112) to 6.4 (40) win.
The Tigers added eight goals either side of half-time while the Parrots went scoreless in the final term as Rocherlea notched their seventh win of the season.
Josh Holton led the Tigers' goal-kicking with four while the usual suspects of Jordan Cousens, Josh Ponting and Dakota Bannister were named in the best players.
Casey Walker-Russell and Solomon Scott were among the Parrots' best players while Jordon Partridge kicked two goals.
Bracknell repeated the outcome of last year's grand final against South Launceston 17.8 (110) to 9.5 (59).
The Bulldogs claimed the previous encounter back in round three but the Redlegs turned the tables on the back of a strong opening half in front of their home fans.
"We learned from what we did wrong at South out in round three and took that into [Saturday's] effort and to be honest, we wanted a good start which is something that we've lacked in previous weeks," Bracknell coach Corry Goodluck said.
"I was really pleased with the way the boys came out and started the game and had a good first half."
The Bulldogs came out of the main break with a renewed intensity as Luke McCarty and Leigh Harding had an impact on proceedings while Lachie Cocker bobbed up with a couple of goals.
Goodluck kicked four goals as did Glenn Dawson while Callum Mulder added three majors from midfield which was a feat replicated by Matty Dennis.
Despite the attacking power on display from Bracknell, it was co-captain Jack Dyer was highlighted by Goodluck after the game.
"It was a really good captain's game from Jack, he led the way for us and that's what he does as captain, he's tough over the ball and he led the way from in the midfield," Goodluck said.
"It was a good first half, everyone played their role but Jack's game after half-time. really kept us going."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
- Follow us on Google News: The Examiner