The seventh round of the 2021/22 Hoggies Wines Barber Shield season will be unlike any other this Saturday as the entire Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association dedicates the weekend towards mental health.

It will be an emotional afternoon for many reasons with clubs, players and spectators alike encouraged to raise money for Beyond Blue and the Case family.

There will also still be a game of cricket to win and after a weather-impacted return last weekend, the final One-Day round of the season shapes up to be arguably the most important yet.

All six clubs were hoping to return from the Christmas break in fine style last weekend, but only two teams were able to get on the park due to the rainy build-up soaking the Mount Gambier pitches and washed out the West Gambier v North Sportsman’s and East Gambier v Mil Lel contests.

The affected games were abandoned with the teams sharing the premiership points.

Penola and South Gambier were the lucky ones at McCorquindale Park with the home side taking full advantage of the opportunity.

A tight three-wicket win allowed the Eagles to soar ahead of the pack on the ladder lead with Mark Smith’s men now 14 points clear and looking in strong shape.

The performance was inspired by the all-round feats of Jack Mullan.

The left-arm chinaman and hard-hitting right-hand opener was a captain’s dream for Smith standing up at the key times in the game.

Mullan initially was all over the Demons with the ball picking up three maidens and two wickets in an economical eight-over spell costing just 15 runs.

He was well backed up by a deep Eagles’ bowling line up with six bowlers used taking wickets to restrict South to 133 from 40 overs.

Penola did not cruise through the run chase, but the journey was made a lot easier by Mullan.

The opener will be the number-one prize for bowlers after his crucial 78-ball half century carried the Eagles to the target.

He is not the only batter to watch in Penola’s top order with Smith, Drew Clayfield, Michael Waters and Jack Schulz all deadly on their day.

A trademark of the Eagles’ batting order is its ability to bat down the entire order and that proved the difference against South.

A flurry of late order wickets could have shattered many teams run chases, but for the second time this season young gun Zac Zema showed his maturity to get the job done alongside Schulz in a tight finish.

Penola’s depth across all disciplines means its next opponent West Gambier cannot take its foot off the throat.

The Roos have shown the qualities to challenge for the trophy this summer but have been found wanting in the big games.

During the first white-ball leg of the season West was outsmarted by East Gambier and could only register 102 on the scoreboard.

The Roos did not handle the pressure much better in the previous match-up with the Eagles just before Christmas either.

Chasing a formidable 245 in the Two-Day contest, the entire West Gambier batting line up fell nine runs short of Drew Clayfield’s knock alone.

The Roos possess many quality individuals from Jake Blackwell, Sam Willis, Connor Prior Kyal Chapman and captain Richard Crute, who will love to perform in such a meaningful round.

High-quality cricket is guaranteed at Marist Park in the one v two battle on the ladder as a fresh West team looks to shake off its rust against a battled hardened Penola.

South Gambier may sit on the bottom without a win for three months, but there will be no better chance to bounce back into form than this Saturday at Frew Park.

Unlike the Demons’ upcoming opponent Mil Lel, Cam Jorgensen’s men were able to resume their season last weekend.

Although South fell short to Penola, it will be in much better shape for the hit and can launch into the final One-Day round of the season with some momentum.

Jorgensen and Dan Loups were ever-present threat on the pitch with ball in hand, while Stephan Easterbrook and David Somerfield showed some nice touch during their stints at the crease.

Meanwhile, Mil Lel has played the better cricket throughout the summer, but enters the contest cold after more than a month on the sidelines through no fault of their own.

But the side can draw plenty of confidence from its previous battles against the Demons this summer.

During the red-ball portion of the summer the likes of Craig Lock, Will Rowland and Henry Smith did the heavy lifting to overcome South in a low-scoring battle away from home.

More importantly though, Mil Lel gave the Demons a touch up in their only white-ball battle this season.

Playing in the T20 arena a pair of quick-fire half centuries from Rowland and Josh Smith, plus a magic spell from Carey Megaw set up a convincing win as South was skittled for 93.

Jack Miller’s men have been the surprise of the season and have a long-awaited finals berth within their reach, so a strong performance could go a long way towards achieving the goal.

Ever since the 2019/20 summer East and North have developed a fine rivalry and this weekend’s One-Day battle should be another fascinating installment at Marist Park.

Both teams are in the finals chase once again and a win will be at the top of their priority lists.

A high-scoring contest should be expected after each side scored in excess of 200 in a tense Two-Day fixture in their previous hit out.

Names such as Nick McInerney, Declan Kenny, Michael Johnston, Alex Hentschke, Liam Turley and Steven Cameron will have significant roles to play.

With playing squads heavily impacted by the rising number of COVID-19 cases two thirds of the competition yet to have a hit in the New Year, there is a recipe of drama in the inaugural Mental Health round.