The weekend’s round of Ovens and King senior football was laden with massive matches between likely finals contenders.

It was also the O&K’s Terry Socks It to Cancer Round, which saw football and netball teams across the league wear colourful socks to raise money for the Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre Trust.

It was a showdown at the North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve where the Hawks hosted Bonnie Doon, with the Bombers eager to crack into the top five.

However, it would be the Hawks who would prevail, defending their home deck from the bombing run by 29 points, 15.9 (99) to 11.4 (70).

The match was incredibly closely contested for the majority of the first three quarters, with neither side able to establish a sizeable lead for long.

The Hawks may have had more shots on goal through the first term, but inaccuracy in front of the sticks meant they only led by 10 points at the first break.

Bonnie Don snatched the lead within five minutes of the second quarter, thanks to a run of three unanswered goals, before North Wang’s Nelson Bowey and Corey Smith made it a five-point margin by the half.

Smith continued to be a problem for the Bombers defenders, with the Hawks coach kicking his fifth for the day minutes after half-time.

Bonnie Doon responded in kind in their forward 50, booting three of the next four majors, but after Eden White converted in the dying minutes of the term, it was all tied up at 61 points apiece.

The two sides traded goals through the opening minutes of the final quarter, but the Hawks were the more deadly outfit in front of goals.

While the Bombers had their chances, kicking 1.3 through the fourth quarter, every time North Wangaratta went forward, they executed, booting the last five of the game to run away with it.

Smith would finish with seven goals, with Sam Allan, Zak Sartore and Tyler Schulze influential, while Bonnie Doon’s James Law (five goals), Jackson Macaulay, and Josh Smart were among the best for the Bombers.

Elsewhere, Bright continued to show why they’re hot favourites to defend their premiership after securing a 16-point win over Greta, 13.13 (91) to 12.3 (75).

After a balanced first quarter, Bright exploded, kicking 7.3 to 2.1 in the second term to open up a 36-point barrier by the long break.

The Blues refused to wave the white flag, locking down defensively to limit Bright to just the one goal for the third quarter while converting on their own chances, whittling the margin down to just 14 points at the finals change of ends.

The final term was a stalemate, with Bright withstanding the assault and matching every goal the Blues kicked with one of their own at the other end, with two minor scores the difference in output.

Bright’s Luke Quirk was the damage dealer up forward, finishing with four goals, while Cody Crawford’s three goals was the best from a Blue.

In other matches, Goorambat clinched their third win of the season, defeating Benalla All Blacks by 20 points, 13.19 (97) to 12.5 (77), Moyhu beat King Valley 13.19 (97) to 6.3 (39), and Whorouly knocked over Goorambat 17.11 (113) to 6.8 (44).

The results from the weekend see a three-game gap open up between the top four and the rest of the competition, with Greta nominally in the last available finals slot head on percentage from Bonnie Doon.

Whorouly and Bright lead the ladder with 40 points each, with North Wangaratta and Moyhu a game behind.

King Valley (20 points) sits seventh, followed by Milawa (16), Goorambat (12), Tarrawingee (8), and Benalla All Blacks (0).