Hamilton is Tigers’ perfect 10

Tat was held scoreless by the Tigers' stifling defence and fluid midfield, the ball rarely venturing away from Rochy’s attacking zone.

Rochester piled on seven goals in the first and second quarter to lead 94-0 at half-time.

While Tatura did find the scoreboard after the break and post a reasonably close third period, it was more of the same in the fourth as the Tigers strolled to a 140-point win, 24.14 (158) to 3.0 (18).

Rochester coach Ash Watson was pleased with the way his side maintained its intensity, even against a lower-ranked side.

“I was really proud of the way they played yesterday,” Watson said.

“Historically this year we probably haven’t put away sides, so it was good to put our foot down and play the way we want to play leading into the finals series.

“To finish on 15 wins, which is an improvement on last year, shows we’re progressing well.”

Hugh Hamilton continued his stellar form in front of goal.

After seven and six in the past two rounds, he eclipsed his own high bar with 10 majors in the contest.

Hamish Heine and James McPhee were also effective scorers with four each.

The premiership now appears to be anyone’s to win after the once undefeated Kyabram suffered its second loss in three outings against Shepparton Swans.

It means the Tigers finished the season only two competition points behind the Bombers, who they will now take on in a qualifying final.

The winners go on to a grand final qualifier, while the loser will have to take the long road, facing an elimination final.

“They’re the best team in the comp,” Watson said.

“They beat us pretty comfortably last time we played them, so we’ll put a few things in place and get ready for the challenge this weekend.”

Kyabram defeated Rochester by 62 points in the only meeting this year, but the Tigers haven’t lost a game since then.

“They just played the whole four quarters,” Watson said of that game.

“We had lapses in that game and it cost us pretty quickly.

“You can’t sleep for a minute against them because they put scoreboard pressure on very quickly.

“If we can stop that, we’ll be on our way.”

Rochester and Kyabram will clash in a twilight fixture at 5.15pm on Saturday at Moon Oval, Rochester.