Waratah and St Mary's emerged as big winners in a wet and slippery Round 15 of Men's Premier League.
The second-placed Tahs beat Wanderers in a genuine arm wrestle in the annual Foundation Cup clash, while St Mary's flexed its muscles by beating finals aspirants Southern Districts by 53 points.
Abe Ankers and skipper Brodie Carroll on his return to league football after an enforced six-week break were the best for Waratah, who only sealed a 24-point win with a three-goal to nil last quarter.
Now half a game behind frontrunners and reigning premier Nightcliff, the red and white jumpers face a tough run home with matches against St Mary's this week, the unpredictable Buffaloes in Round 17 and Nightcliff in the last home and away round.
Carroll said his players were looking forward to all three matches and the chance to finish on top of the ladder and within reach of a senior flag after a 22-year gap.
"We can go all the way with this side, we're all on the same page and know what we have to do so all that's left is to put the work in to get to the last game of the season,'' he added.
St Mary's continued their push for a third successive grand final and their first flag since 2017 when they beat an up and down Dean Staunton and Michael Bowden inspired Districts on a rainy night at league headquarters.
Skipper Nate Paredes celebrated a century of Premier League matches with four tough quarters and Lachlan Taylor and Nick Yarran did their Nichols Medal chances no harm with big games in the wet.
The Buffaloes moved to within a game of fifth-placed Districts by beating Palmerston by 24 points, but a 26-point percentage gap and tough games against Wanderers and Waratah in the next fortnight make for testing times for Cameron Stokes' side.
Waratah and PINT were the big movers in the WPL after Tahs crushed Wanderers by 100 points after the Lisa Miceli-Annabel Kievit goalkicking show grounded the Eagles.
Miceli's six goals and three each from Kievit and the productive Jenna Singh kept the scoreboard ticking over at Gardens Oval as Tahs stayed in third spot on the WPL ladder and within sight of the coveted double chance.
And a Rhiley Huppatz special on a waterlogged Marrara Cricket Ground powered reigning premier PINT to a big win over cellar dwellers Tracy Village.
The Queenants are on the same number of points and Tahs and only 11 percentage points behind, with a Round 16 bye and tough games against the second-placed Buffettes and St Mary's to decide their top three chances.
The Greg West coached Southern Districts upset the Saints on Saturday night when a superb defensive performance and outstanding games from midfielders Emma Forsyth and Malory Nankervis lifted the snappy Crocs to a confidence building 34-point win.
Districts can move to within half a game of St Mary's this week by beating Tracy Village on the same day the Saints players are idle with the bye.
But season defining games against Nightcliff in Round 17 and the Buffaloes - both of them at Norbuilt Oval - will decide the fate of the 2021-22 Crocodiles.
