Round 18

Kangaroo Flat 21.15 (141) d Castlemaine 10.12 (72)

The Roos finished the season with a strong 69-point win over Castlemaine, but it wasn’t enough to put them in the BFNL finals.

The Roos finished 4.23 per cent behind fifth-placed Kyneton. It was the second time in three years the Roos have missed the finals by percentage.

Key forwards Trent McInnes and Cam Rinaldi kicked 11 goals between them for the Roos. McInnes was named best alongside Hunter Lloyd and Lance Oswald.

It was the final game in charge for both coaches – Jason Stevens (Kangaroo Flat) and Shane Robertson (Castlemaine).

Sandhurst 17.14 (116) d Kyneton 12.11 (83)

Sandhurst has earned its first minor premiership since 2001 after defeating a gallant Kyneton at the QEO.

The Dragons trailed by 11 points at the last change before storming home with the breeze to kick seven goals to none in the final term.

The Dragons will have next weekend off before playing in the second semi-final.

The 33-point defeat should be enough for Kyneton to hold off Kangaroo Flat for fifth spot.

Golden Square 9.14 (68) d Eaglehawk 9.13 (67)

The Bulldogs pinched victory from Eaglehawk in the dying seconds.

The Hawks led by two goals late in the quarter before Square kicked two goals to tie the scores.

Che Walls kicked a behind with about one minute to play to give the Dogs victory.

Square big man Dylan Johnstone kicked four goals to win the Ron Best Medal. Eaglehawk’s Matt Gretgrix only kicked one goal.

Square will play Strathfieldsaye in Saturday night’s qualifying final, while Eaglehawk will most likely play Kyneton in Sunday’s elimination final.

South Bendigo 19.23 (137) d Maryborough 9.6 (60)

The Bloods finished the season on a high with a big win over Maryborough.

The Bloods only led by four goals at the main break, but they added 11 goals to four in the second half.

Strathfieldsaye 20.13 (133) d Gisborne 6.9 (45)

The Storm warmed up for the finals with one of its better offensive performances of the season.

The reigning premier kicked 20 goals from 33 scoring shots. It was just the second time in their past 13 games that they’ve kicked 20 goals in a match.

The Storm’s good for sets up a mouth-watering qualifying final against Golden Square.

Gisborne’s young squad had a crack all year, but their lack of big bodies made it tough for them to be competitive over four quarters.

HDFNL

Preliminary final

North Bendigo 17.10 (112) d Huntly 12.12 (84)

The Bulldogs will play Leitchville-Gunbower in the grand final for the second-straight season after ending Huntly’s premiership hopes.

North set up its win with a dominant eight-goal to three second quarter.

In the A-grade netball, Colbinabbin will also chase back-to-back premierships after defeating North Bendigo 43-32 in the preliminary final.

LVFNL

Second semi-final

Bridgewater 15.18 (108) d Mitiamo 7.7 (49)

The Mean Machine continued their dominance of the LVFNL with a 59-point hammering of Mitiamo in the second semi-final at Calivil.

After a tight first half, the Mean Machine went up a gear in the second half and the Superoos were left wanting.

Bridgewater added 9.12 to 3.3 after the main break. Alex Collins was the main man inside forward 50 for Bridgewater, kicking six goals.

Mitiamo coach Justin Maddern was held to two goals and now has 99 goals for the season.

Bridgewater advances to the grand final, while the Superoos play the winner of Sunday’s first semi-final in next Saturday’s preliminary final.