While Rochester sat out the second half of the split round, Mansfield pulled off the upset of the season so far, downing previously unbeaten league-leader Kyabram by a point.
The result will give heart to the other finals sides that the Bombers are beatable going into the postseason.
Rochester is currently in second place on the ladder, and the Tigers stack up pretty well to their finals rivals statistically.
Ash Watson’s side possesses one of the more miserly defences in the league, giving up only 895 points this year, trailing only Kyabram (880) and Shepparton (882) in the category.
In contrast, the Tigers have scored the least points (1344) of anyone in the top six, and have only the fifth best percentage in the league.
Runner-up for the 2024 Morrison medal, Mitch Trewhella, has been key to Rochester’s success again this year.
Trewhella leads the league in overall ranking points, having racked up 2225 this year.
Those points are coming from across-the-board contributions, with Trewhella logging 30.1 disposals, 9.9 tackles, four inside 50s, 7.1 clearances and 4.3 intercept possessions per game.
At the scoring end, brothers Hugh and Wil Hamilton have held the majority of the Tigers’ scoring hopes.
Hugh has 43 goals this year, good for sixth in the league, while Wil has 35 (ninth).
Rochester is in the box seat to finish the season in second, needing only to defeat strugglers Benalla (ninth) and Tatura (12th) to guarantee its spot.
Rochester returns to action this Saturday at Moon Oval against the Saints.
17°C