The Talbot Hawks have played some fantastic football recently and have not been defeated since round five, when Harcourt triumphed.

Talbot drew with Carisbrook a fortnight ago as the Hawks showed they are a serious contender for the 2008 premiership.

Maldon has not been defeated since it went down to Carisbrook in round four.

The Dons disposed of last season’s grand finalists, Harcourt and Avoca, with considerable ease and seem to be improving each week.

The Bombers have a strong midfield, with Lachy Brown, Lee Stewart and David Carroll to take on the Talbot midfield led by Ian Martin.

Maldon will need to counter the influence of Tim Bright in the ruck as he has been a dominant force all season.

Matthew Bond will be missing from the Talbot forward line because of suspension.

Maldon has many avenues to goal and may just have a little more goalkicking power than the Hawks.

Dunolly host Campbells Creek and this shapes as being an exciting contest.

Both teams are at the lower end of the ladder, but have shown glimpses of some good form at times during the season. Campbells Creek celebrated a long-awaited win a fortnight ago against Royal Park and was well in the game at half-time against the strong Talbot side last round.

Sam Noble has kicked 25 goals in the last three rounds and will be a handful for the Dunolly backline.

Dunolly crashed to big losses to Talbot and Carisbrook and will be hoping to be more competitive against Creek.

Campbells Creek to win its second game of the season.

The derby between Rovers and Royal Park will be played at Hedges Oval and should result in a big win for Rovers.

The Magpies, who promised plenty early in the season but did not live up to expectations, are now starting to show signs of improvement, which included a strong showing against Harcourt a fortnight ago.

Rovers outplayed Trentham last round.

Royal Park is yet to win a game this season and will not do so against its hometown rival.

Trentham make the journey to Avoca to take on the confident Bulldogs.

The Avoca line-up steamrolled Harcourt last Saturday at the same venue.

The Bulldogs kicked eight final quarter goals last week and will be looking to start this game in the same fashion. Trentham pushed Avoca until the last change in round two, but Avoca finished the game strongly with 12 goals in the final term. Trentham is well led by Kallen Young, but will have its work cut out against a strong Bulldogs side.

Harcourt travels to Newstead and will be hungry for a win after going down to the Bulldogs last week.

Newstead will be at full strength after enjoying a rest last week.

The Kangaroos have improved markedly since the Lions defeated them at Harcourt early in the season.

However, it is rare that Harcourt is beaten in consecutive weeks and the Lions should win this contest.