The penultimate round of the 2021 Bendigo Bank Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara football and netball seasons was full of emotion on Saturday.

As teams in finals contention gave it everything to survive in September, the battle between Penola and Padthaway at McCorquindale Park was extra special.

The final siren marked an end of an era when one of the Eagles’ favourite sons Adam Merrett strolled off his home ground for the final time.

Unfortunately the home side could not give “Hoggett” the send off he deserved after the Lions roared to a 52-point victory, but a fairytale finish was on the cards early.

Both teams battled to hit the scoreboard early as possession proved hard to gain and just two scoring shots were the result.

It was Penola who hit the lead early with the only goal in the first term, but the Lions started to claw back in the game during the second quarter.

Although the slow grind continued for the remainder of the first half, Padthaway managed to steal the lead with a couple of goals in a sign of things to come.

The shackles were broken after half time by the Lions, who found their full roar and ran away with the contest.

Despite the Eagles recorded their most prolific quarter of the game, Padthaway marched ahead to an unassailable lead.

Thomas Edwards and Archie Longbottom led the assault, while Joshua Vandermeer and Luke Harder had a lot of fun in front of the big sticks.

The onslaught continued until the end as the Lions completed their demolition job, outscoring the home side by 52 points in the second half.

Harry Porter and Brad Bryant were the leading lights for Penola, but all the focus was on “Hoggett” who received a guard of honour.

Naracoorte sent a shockwave down the KNT contenders spine by knocking over Keith in a thriller.

The hot pace was set from the opening bounce and the Crows flew from the blocks the quickest as Will Schreiber made his intentions clear.

Five goals pushed Keith to the lead, but the game turned of its head after quarter time.

Naracoorte kicked five straight goals to turn am 11-point deficient into a 21-point lead with the likes of Rory Taggert and Joshua Gregg making an impact.

Kicking with the breeze in the all-important third term, Keith turned the tables with five straight goals of its own to steal the ascendancy.

But the question heading into the last was whether eight points were enough for minor-premiership contender the Crows to defend against a hungry Demons team with a tailwind.

Despite the best efforts of Ben Simounds, who bagged six majors, Naracoorte stormed home with four late goals to record a memorable 82-72 win.

Aaron Slorach led the scoring with four goals and the result pushed the Demons to sixth position on the ladder, 0.1% ahead of Bordertown.

Kingston jumped clear of Kybybolite, but it was not as easy as many expected.

The Saints marched ahead in the first term, but Kyby fought hard and went goal for goal across the second and third quarters.

But in the end, Kingston’s class shone through to win by 41 points with Jacob Fisher and Jake Wehl impressing.

Ladder-leader Mundulla prepared itself for bigger things to come with a huge 132-point demolition of Border Districts.

The entire forward line was in fine form with Tom Gaden, Jake Mcgrice and William Nankivell all slotting four goals.

A late charge vaulted Lucindale to an unexpected win over Bordertown.

The Roosters hit the lead early and looked the goods with a 16-point advantage before half time after Curtis McCarthy dominated the 50-metre arch.

However, the Roos bounced back and levelled the scores before the final break to setup a thrilling finale.

Thanks to the likes of Scott Spriggs, Jack Walker and Henry Tregoweth, Lucindale stepped up when it mattered and won by the comfortable margin of 19 points.

The KNTNA round was headlined by a nail-biting battle at Mundulla, where Border Districts almost slipped to its second defeat of the year.

During the opening stages, it appeared business as usual between the second and fifth placed teams with the former drawing clear.

Emma Hausler was dominant in the goal circle for Border Districts, but Mundulla flew home.

Trailing by 13 goals at the final break, the Tigers clawed the deficit down to three thanks to Chantelle Fromm and Paige Wiese to setup a thriller.

In the end, Border Districts held on to breathe a sigh of relief.

Ladder-leader Keith looked in complete control overcoming Naracoorte 55-38, while Lucindale outscored Bordertown by 17 goals.

Penola hit top gear, smashing Padthaway 85-16 with all players making an impact.

April Possingham outscored the Lions by 49 goals on her own.

The race for finals will go down to the wire in this weekend’s final round.

Lucindale, Naracoorte, Bordertown and Border Districts are only split by one win and 7%, while the top four of Mundulla, Kingston, Padthaway and Keith are set.

In the netball association, Mundulla, Kybybolite and Naracoorte are all in the mix to snatch the last spot in the final five.