20. Back to back Grasshoppers – winning back-to-back flags is one thing.
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Doing it undefeated is another, yet that’s what Navarre achieved in the Maryborough-Castlemaine District Football League this year.
Apart from a couple of tight finals, the Grasshoppers barely had to break a sweat this year in going 19-0 with an average margin of 78 points.
The statistics showed a season of utter domination by the Grasshoppers.
They kicked 355 goals to 131; won 67 of 76 quarters; averaged 124 points for and 46 against; and spent 95 per cent of the season in front on the scoreboard.
The season culminated in a 55-point grand final win over Carisbrook.
19. Selwood purrs again – what a proud moment it must have been for Bendigo parents Bryce and Maree Selwood to watch their son, Joel, lead Australia on to Patersons Stadium to take on Ireland in the International Rules Test last month.
The Australian captaincy was one of many feathers in the cap for what was another outstanding 2014 in the AFL by Selwood.
For the second year in a row the Geelong star was named All-Australian captain, won his third Carji Greeves Medal as Cats’ best and fairest and named the AFLPA most courageous player for the fourth time.
His superb season ensured there was plenty of interest in Bendigo on Brownlow Medal night when Selwood went into the count as favourite.
But he was unable to emulate the feat of Greg Williams as a Bendigo Brownlow Medallist and had to settle for equal fourth with 21 votes – five behind surprise winner Matt Priddis from West Coast.
18. Gold near miss v Blues – about as flat as I’ve been after a game of footy on that Sunday afternoon back in June at the QEO when the Bendigo Gold was cruelly denied its first win against the Northern Blues.
Desperately trying to cling to a one-point lead in the dying seconds, the Gold were left shattered after a scrambled kick in the Blues’ forward line found Nick Holman, who marked and with three seconds left on the clock goaled from 20m to give Northern a 14.11 (95) to 14.6 (90) victory.
The scenes at the final siren said it all as dejected Gold players, who week after week had been pummelled, slumped to the ground in disbelief.
More heartbreak was to come two games later when the Gold again had the lead late in the final quarter against the Casey Scorpions, only to lose by two points.
Apart from those two agonising defeats, the Gold lost their other 16 games by an average of 78 points and ended their two stand-alone seasons winless.
17. Collins brothers obliterate Emus – the 2014 Emu Valley Cricket Association grand final will be remembered as the “Collins Show”.
Brothers Alex and Andrew Collins shared in a partnership for the ages when they put on 293 for the second wicket for United against Emu Creek, taking the score from 1-22 to 315.
Andrew smacked 158 and Alex belted 141 as the Tigers blasted a mammoth 371.
Just for good measure, Alex claimed a tidy 6-54 with the ball the following day.
16. Dogs’ dynasty ends – they say all good things must come to an end, and that was the case this year for Golden Square’s reign of BFL dominance
With five flags in a row, the Bulldogs would have equalled Sandhurst’s BFL record of six-consecutive premierships had they added another this year.
But the dream of six in a row ended in a first semi-final thriller when Golden Square surrendered a 16-point lead during the final term to be beaten by four points by Gisborne in what was another memorable encounter between the BFL’s two great modern-day rivals.
The following week Gisborne was involved in another thriller, but was on the wrong end of the result, losing the preliminary final to Sandhurst by five points in a game where it was over-run in the last minute.
15. Redbacks survive in extra-time - the crowd at the NCFL grand final got more than their money’s worth when Wedderburn and Charlton faced off for the second year in a row.
The Redbacks – chasing their fourth flag in a row – had gone into the grand final $1.10 favourites, but for the second time in three years, prevailed by the barest of margins.
Scores had been level at 80 apiece at the final siren, and after both sides scored two behinds during extra-time, it was Wedderburn’s Andrew Chalkley who kicked the match-winning point from 40m with 52 seconds on the clock from a deliberate out of bounds free-kick.
In prevailing 11.17 (83) to 12.10 (82), the Redbacks became the first NCFL club to win four flags in a row, with those four premierships by a combined 23 points. Has there been a more fortunate country footy dynasty?
14. Amateur almost a Master – he ended up finishing tied for 11th, but there were times throughout the final round of the Australian Masters where amateur Lucas Herbert looked like he could be returning to Bendigo with a new fashion accessory – the famed gold jacket
After firing a course record seven-under 65 in the third round at Metropolitan that thrust him into the spotlight, Herbert started the final round of the Masters two shots off the lead.
The Masters dream was well and truly alive, and twice during the final round the 18-year-old was joint equal-leader as one of the great Bendigo sporting stories was unfolding.
But there was no fairytale finish as Herbert lost his momentum with bogeys on the 9th, 10th and 12th holes, eventually finishing the tournament four shots behind winner Nick Cullen.
13. Too good for Gippsland… again – there was déjà vu for Bendigo when it beat Gippsland by 34 points in their inter-league game in May.
It was the third time in five years Bendigo defeated Gippsland at the QEO.
Under the guidance of new coach Rick Ladson, there were 15 first-time BFL players in the team that won an entertaining clash 19.14 (128) to 13.16 (94).
Among the BFL debutants were two with 432 games of AFL experience between them – Stephen Milne and Corey Jones.
And both were instrumental in the win, with the pair combining for 13 goals - the same amount as what Gippsland kicked.
BOG Milne bagged nine and Jones snagged four.
The game was a fantastic spectacle that encompassed all that’s great about representative football.
Now, bring on Ballarat.
12. Pinniger’s ton of class – what a way for Matt Pinniger to bow out of the BDCA than with a brilliant grand final century in Bendigo United’s belting of Golden Square in March.
The star left-hander had to contend with a broken toe as he crunched 115 in the Redbacks’ imposing 6-283 at the QEO
Pinniger faced 225 balls and smacked 15 boundaries.
While Pinniger set it up with the bat, wily off-spinner Nick Crawford finished it off with the ball the following day with another vintage grand final performance, claiming 5-28 off 10.1 overs as Square, which had finished 17 points clear on top of the ladder, was routed for just 119.
11. Cats stun Bulldogs – early in the third quarter of the HDFL grand final it looked like the 37-year premiership drought for North Bendigo was destined to come to an end at last.
The Bulldogs, who had lost just once leading into the grand final, led Lockington-Bamawm United by 26 points six minutes into the third term at Huntly and could seemingly do no wrong.
To that stage the Bulldogs had kicked nine goals to five and with what you would have thought to have been the fresher legs, plus the Cats going into the game with injury concerns, looked set to race away to the flag.
But inspired by co-captain Matt Bongiovanni, the Cats’ renowned fighting spirit rose to the fore as the HDFL powerhouse kicked eight of the last 10 goals to win 13.9 (87) to 11.10 (76) – their fourth flag in a row.
That win by the Cats highlighted the importance of big-game experience.
10. Square drought breaks – 51 years without the ultimate success finally came to an end for Golden Square in March when it won the Bendigo Bowls Division pennant flag.
The five-shot grand final win over Eaglehawk capped a remarkable late-season charge from Golden Square, which had sat sixth going into the last round of the home and away season and at that stage, finals were a long-shot at best.
But Square squeezed its way into the top four, defied its underdog status to win two cut-throat finals and then defeated the Hawks 94-89 to claim their first division one flag since 1963.
Any flag is to be treasured, but when you’ve waited more than half-a-century for one, it’s all the more sweeter.
9. BFL Bulldog becomes a Giant – young Gisborne forward Pat McKenna spent the winter running around the ovals of the Bendigo Football League.
Next year McKenna could be booting goals in the stadiums of the AFL after he was drafted out of the BFL by the GWS Giants.
McKenna – who a month earlier captained the Australian under-19 cricket team in Sri Lanka - was one of the bolters of the AFL National Draft when the Giants took him in the second round at pick No.23.
After kicking 16 goals in round one for Gisborne’s under-18s, the classy McKenna spent the rest of the season in the seniors for the Bulldogs, booting 45 goals, including a haul of nine against Kangaroo Flat in the final round.
McKenna’s drafting out of the BFL shows that even though you may not be in the spotlight of the TAC Cup or state-league footy, you just never know who may be keeping a close eye on you..
Western Bulldogs’ forward Jack Redpath will attest to that. He was drafted from Kyneton on his 21st birthday three years ago.
8. Martin’s record Michelsen – Sandhurst ruckman Tim Martin achieved what had never been done before – poll 34 votes to win the BFL’s Michelsen Medal.
Having won the Michelsen last year, Martin went back-to-back in emphatic style as it quickly became apparent early in the count that he had the medal sewn up again.
Martin’s 34 votes surpassed Golden Square ruckman Tony Southcombe’s previous record of 33 votes in 1972.
The 25-year-old, who accepted the medal on crutches after dislocating his ankle in the preliminary final the night before, polled nine best on grounds among his 34 votes as he finished 13 clear of the former AFL pair Stephen Milne and Corey Jones on 21 each.
7. A well-oiled Machine – after four LVFL flags in a row you’d think Bridgewater would start to show some signs of tapering off.
But not this year as the Mean Machine under new coach Andrew Collins took their game to yet another supreme level in 2014 with one of the most dominant seasons in LVFL history.
The Mean Machine breezed through the year undefeated, winning their 18 games by an average of 85 points.
YCW when beaten by 24 points the day the Eagles had Alan Didak in their line-up was the only team to get within five goals of the Mean Machine, while only twice did Bridgewater fail to kick a score above 100.
For the second year in a row Bridgewater took on Bears Lagoon-Serpentine in the grand final.
But unlike last year’s enthralling encounter for the flag, this year’s rematch was - as most expected - one-sided as the Mean Machine bolted to a 96-point victory, winning 22.15 (147) to 7.9 (51).
Next stop is an attempt at equalling Calivil United’s record of six LVFL flags on the trot. You’d be brave to back against them.
6. Golden Glasgow Games - Bendigo cyclist Glenn O’Shea and netballer Caitlin Thwaites returned from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with gold medals proudly around their neck.
Triple Bendigo Advertiser Sports Star of the year O’Shea was a part of the Australian Cyclones’ team pursuit squad – coached by Bendigo’s Tim Decker - that defeated England for the gold in a Games record time of 3.54.851.
Later in the Games, Thwaites was a member of the Australian Diamonds that defeated New Zealand 58-40 for the netball gold.
5. Storm sizzles – in the space of six seasons Strathfieldsaye has climbed the ranks from Bendigo Football League new-comer to premiers.
Having lost last year’s grand final, the Storm were the popular pre-season tip to go one better after adding to their already impressive list with the former St Kilda duo of Stephen Milne and Steven Baker.
The Storm duly lived up to all the pre-season hype with a stellar season in which they won 19 of their 20 games, culminating in a 55-point grand final win over Sandhurst.
Ten of the Storm’s 19 wins were by at least 10 goals, with their only blemish a 79-point Easter Saturday loss to the Dragons
Strathfieldsaye’s 20.18 (138) to 12.11 (83) grand final win came in just the Storm’s 114th game – not bad going for a club built from scratch competing in a major league.
4. Downie’s golden day – 12 months ago there would have been those who scoffed at Tyrone Downie’s decision to have another crack at VFL with the Bendigo Gold.
Aged 25 and having endured more than his share of injuries playing with Kangaroo Flat in the BFL, Downie put his reputation on the line by signing with the Gold.
The rest is history as one of Bendigo footy’s great stories unfolded in November when forward Downie was selected by the Gold Coast Suns at the AFL rookie draft.
With the Gold having folded, Downie had planned to play with Richmond’s VFL team in 2015.
Instead, the former City of Greater Bendigo member of the parks department has an opportunity to be on the end of lace-out passes from new team-mate Gary Ablett.
3. Dempster in the race of his life – the Tour de France is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and this year it had the added local interest of Bendigo’s Zak Dempster competing.
Dempster rode for the NetApp-Endura team and in doing so, became the first Bendigo cyclist to contest the gruelling 3664km three-week event.
Dempster finished 151st in the general classification, five hours behind winner Vincenzo Nibali.
Not forgetting his grassroots, a couple of months after riding down the Champs-Elyees in the greatest race of the them all, Dempster was back at the Tom Flood Sports Centre racing in the more low-key Bendigo Cycling Club’s Thursday night program.
2. End of an era – 17 seasons and 321 games of involvement in the VFL came to an end for Bendigo on Friday, August 22.
Years of walking a financial tightrope finally took its toll on Bendigo’s VFL club when it was announced on June 25 the Bendigo Gold would fold at the end of the season.
The decision was made with eight games left in the season as the Gold embarked on a two-month farewell tour that culminated with an emotional final game against Collingwood on a Friday night at the QEO.
The Gold dared to dream of a fairytale finish, and it looked a possibility when Bendigo led by nine points during the third term.
But the Magpies lifted and kicked away to a 20.11 (131) to 13.7 (85) win, although, the Gold never threw the towel in, kicking three of the last four goals of the match.
Fittingly, captain Steven Stroobants kicked the final goal for Bendigo as the curtain came down on a VFL era that began in 1998 and featured the Bendigo Diggers, Bombers and Gold.
Shame it’s gone.
1. Back-to-back Spirit – same No.1 as last year as the Bendigo Spirit (pictured) made it consecutive WNBL championships.
And just like last year, they did it against Townsville in front of a massive home crowd of more than 2500 at the Bendigo Stadium back in March.
In a high-scoring grand final, the Spirit won 94-83 after breaking away in the final term, with Bendigo’s Kelsey Griffin putting on a masterclass, finishing with 28 points and 15 rebounds en-route to the MVP.
With two titles in a row and being well-placed again this season, the opportunity is now there for the Spirit to become the first team side the Adelaide Lightning (1994-96) to win a hat-trick of WNBL championships.
Doing Bendigo proud on the national stage.