The Goulburn Valley retained its Number 1 ranking in country football after a dominant performance against the Ballarat Football League on Saturday night to conclude the 2011 WorkSafe Country Championships.

The GV ran out 38 point winners in a polished performance under lights at Deakin Reserve to conclude an incredible day of interleague footy across the VCFL.

Matches were staged from Mount Gambier in the west to Morwell in the east, with two double headed fixtures proving to be big drawcards for local footy fans and travelling supporters.

Three matches were decided by a goal or less in a strong indication of the evenness of the ranked leagues from across the VCFL.

The MPNFL have proven themselves as the ‘form team' of the interleague series with a 2 point win over Ovens & Murray. The Sharks led the match all game, albeit narrowly, until 10 minutes into the last quarter when O&M hit the front after a Chaz Sargeant goal.

What followed was incredible football from two tough and uncompromising teams willing themselves to win.

Co-captain of the MPNFL, Justin Berry, proved to be the hero of the day with two running goals from long range in the dying moments to break the hearts of the O&M players and supporters.

The MPNFL have won the right to challenge the GV for top spot in 2012.

Other Winners:

· Geelong accounted for a strong starting Bendigo by 20 points in a great match at Skilled Stadium. The three Geelong forwards combined for 16 goals between them. Grant Weeks kicked 7 at the other end.

· Hampden got back on the winners list after a long interleague drought with a dominant and gutsy display against the Murray League. Hampden the winners by 69 points.

· Gippsland too strong against Central Murray in terrible weather at Morwell. Gippsland by 71 points and dominant in all positions.

· Sunraysia narrow victors over the Bellarine by 6 points in an incredible match in which Bellarine came very close to stealing a win at the death. Would have brought a big smile to Congo's face.

· Yarra Valley had another narrow win - this time over the Wimmera under lights at Woori Yallock. The match was tight all game with Yarra Valley having more opportunities in the last term proving the difference.

· Western Border got the chocolates at home against the Geelong & District League. Western Border were a bit wasteful in the 2nd term, and Geelong & District finished strongly. Western Border by just 11 points.

· In the local derby, the Mallee boys tasted victory in fading light at Donald. The final margin was 35 points but by all accounts the final score didn't reflect on how tight the contest was.

· Heathcote saw off a tenacious Horsham District to come out 27 point winners. A six goal third quarter was the difference.

2012 RANKINGS

Goulburn Valley
MPNFL
Ballarat
Geelong
O&M
Hampden
Bendigo
Gippsland
Murray
Sunraysia
Central Murray
Yarra Valley
Bellarine
Western Border
Wimmera
Mallee
Geelong & District
Heathcote District
North Central
Horsham & District

By Jock Allan