Needing a win to stay in contention for a finals spot, the Tigers were unable to match second- placed Melton which won easily.

The Tigers were able to make 9-253 on a batting-friendly pitch and Melton passed that with reached only three wickets down.

Captain-coach paul Murray said: "It was a disappointing loss and in the end we didn't have enough runs on the board. It was a good pitch and we weren't able to turn starts into big scores and they did."

Coming in at No.7, wicketkeeper Travis Bean top-scored for the Tigers making 62.

"Travis batted brilliantly coming in down the order and played a perfect innings in the afternoon," Murray said.

Following the trend of the Tigers' batting, it was also a case of missed opportunities in the field.

"We did pretty well, but in the end they had wickets in the shed which was the difference," Murray said.

"We dropped their captain on 30, which didn't help. If we could have got into the middle order quicker we may have had a chance."

Also not helping the Tigers' chances was injuries and the heat.

"Our opening bowler Michael Douglas hurt his wrist and was unable to come back on and bowl after his first spell.

A number of players suffered with the heat as well - our other opening bowler Matthew Thomson came off the ground spent after bowling 19 overs."

Werribee's next match is a two-dayer against Ormond at Chirnside Park. "They are sitting below us on the ladder, so hopefully we can come away with a win," Murray said.