mmg.com.au

The pressure is on Mooroopna Golf and Rushworth as the two sides enter the final home-and-away midweek pennant round today.

Mooroopna Golf needs a maximum-points win to move into the top four, but also needs current fourth-ranked team Hill Top to lose by maximum points to ladder-leader Shepparton Park.

Mooroopna Golf’s task will be made even harder with skipper Julie Williams out due to medical reasons.

In her place will be her lead Lorraine Stranger, with Edie Poliness to lead in Stranger’s spot.

The remaining two rinks remain unchanged.

Skipper Faye Wheelhouse said the task would be harder with a change of skippers, but it was out of her club’s hands.

‘‘It’ll be tough, but we probably cooked our goose earlier in the year when we lost a couple by a few shots, but we’ll be trying,’’ Wheelhouse said.

‘‘They’ve got to really do well too because they’re struggling to stay off the bottom, so they’ll be going as hard as they can to get a few points.’’

Rushworth is four points clear of the bottom of the ladder and will be seeking to win as many points as possible to stay out of danger of relegation.

It can take some comfort from the fact East Shepparton, which occupies 10th place, will go in as underdog against Tatura.

The biggest threat to Mooroopna Golf’s aim of taking all 10 points is likely to be Rushworth skipper Jean Sprague, who has found form in the past three weeks

Sprague’s rink did not win between rounds nine and 14, but she has won her past three matches against Kyabram’s Mia Nowosad 27-18, East Shepparton’s Josie Michielin 38-18 and Mooroopna’s Willy Graus 25-22.

Sprague said Rushworth should avoid the relegation position if it was able to pick up points today and was confident it would be able to.

‘‘I can’t see any reason why not. We probably should have done better in the last couple of weeks,’’ Sprague said.

June McIntyre retired unwell from the round 16 match against East Shepparton and did not play last round.

She is back in the team this week, but Kay Quirk will remain skipper.

‘‘She actually performed very well last week, (she was beaten by three) which wasn’t really bad,’’ Sprague said.