Can the reigning premiers continue their strong late season form, or will Pascoe Vale bounce back from a disappointing showing to seal the second Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division Grand Final spot.
The two sides enter the prelim in contrasting fashions, the Mores were impressive against East Keilor, while Pascoe Vale was no match for Keilor.
The Mores did all the damage in the first half, leading by 26 points at quarter time and then 42 points at half time.
With the game already over, the Mores continued with their strong form in the second half. Will Jury, Cooper Keogh, Brock Egglestone, Liam Cavanagh, and Daniel Mighell all returned to the side, with Jury named best on ground.
The Panthers were on the end of another strong performance from a red-hot Keilor.
While they tried hard early, the Blues defence was strong throughout holding the Panthers to just six goals.
Most of the Panthers stars were out there, with Liam Forbes and Daniel Guccione named their best.
That’s twice now the Blues have been able to get a hold of the Panthers this season, showing a gap between the two sides.
If form this season is anything to go by, the Preliminary Final should be a close one.
The two matches between the sides have been close, with the Panthers winning the first one by eight points and the Mores winning the second by three points.
Not much separated the two teams throughout the regular season.
The Mores scored 14 more points total during the regular season, while conceding six points less than the Panthers.
Outside of Keilor, the Mores have been the most inform team in the competition in the back half of the season.
Since Round 11 they’ve had just one loss, to Keilor, while they had a draw with Aberfeldie in Round 17.
Mores coach Marty Allison told EDFL Media that they’ve been coming together at the right time of year, with players returning from injuries and holidays.
He said the Semi Final win was their best performance of the season.
The Panthers suffered three losses in that same period, including a three-point loss to the Mores.
The Panthers have been sitting in second place for much of the season and deserve that spot, but came back to the chasing pack a little bit in the back half.
Throwing into the mix, the two teams were in the exact same position as 12 months earlier.
On that occasion, the Mores finally broke through after two close Preliminary Final losses in recent years.
The Panthers are a team that has been thereabouts without breaking through, with lots of talk about potential without going on with it.
They’ll be hoping that it’s their chance this year.
It’ll be interesting how both sides handle playing at Highgate Reserve in Craigieburn, where neither team has played very often.
Expect a red-hot start from both sides to set up a cracker of a match.
