Northampton has one foot in finals after Simpson six leads them to Mullewa win

Northampton are in prime position to make a run at the finals after Trent Simpson kicked six in a big win over Mullewa.

The Rams, despite not playing some of their best footy until the recent rounds, had looked set on playing finals from fourth spot all year with the bottom three teams rarely threatening.

However, recent weeks have seen Chapman Valley emerge with three straight victories putting them level on points heading into the weekend albeit the Rams with a big percentage advantage.

Regardless, the Rams were a chance to drop out of the top four should they have lost but a commanding display of forward craft from spearhead Trent Simpson ensured the result was never in doubt in the 13.13 (91) to 4.13 (37) win.

A strong breeze was sweeping across Purcher International Oval as Rams used it to their advantage to kick the opening goal as Simpson got his first.

They were on top early as Mullewa barely threatened to get inside their forward 50 let alone score as Beau Walker added their second goal.

The blustery conditions were making the ball move considerably, making it hard to read in the air as marks were at a premium but the Rams took a 16-2 lead into the break.

Mullewa got on the board early in the second quarter with a snap from the contest as the pressure was lifted from both sides.

It resulted in some scrappy play at times but Simpson got his second to keep the Saints in check before Dylan Corbett went down with a nasty-looking injury as he had to be helped from the ground.

Corbett was electric through the middle so it was a big loss, although he would return to the field after half time.

While he was off, however, Mullewa arguably had the better running but was inaccurate in front of the sticks, kicking 1.5 for the quarter to trail 4.7 (31) to 1.7 (13).

The Saints opened the scoring in the third term after getting some clean run and carry through half forward allowed Matthew Ryder to score.

Jayce Price worked his kick nicely in the breeze to get a response for Rams before a bizarre incident saw Simpson kick two goals at once.

Simpson scored after finding space out the back in the goal square before he was pushed into the goal posts after getting the ball away, which saw him awarded a free kick in the goal square and both goals were counted.

Simpson then got his fifth after soccering the ball through while he was lying on the ground to effectively kill the game as Rams piled on seven goals to one in the quarter.

Callum Papertalk kicked a lovely goal from a distance to open the fourth quarter but the Saints were outclassed on the day.

Nathaniel Mourambine kicked four to move to 31 for the season while Simpson’s six was his best haul all year.

It sees them move a game clear in fourth after Chapman Valley lost at home to the league-leading Brigades 5.5 (35) to 10.11 (71)

Kristerfer Ryder was outstanding with six goals as the Brigades kicked four goals to one in the final term to break the game after the Royals had hung in gamely until that point.

The Rovers lost at home to Railways in wild conditions as they managed just four behinds as they continue to struggle with player availability.

Despite making seven changes to the side, some players were still forced to double up over the weekend as Railways took a comfortable, if not commanding, win, 32 to four.

Northampton have a big opportunity next week to move up into third as they take on Towns as Rovers have a tough challenge against the Brigades. Chapman Valley will travel to Mullewa to try and keep their season alive.