THE 2017 finals series has broken new ground for the Bendigo Football-Netball League under the top-five format.
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BFNL fans have been treated to a roller-coaster opening two weeks of finals, where the four senior matches have been decided by a combined 21 points.
There has been less than a kick in three of the finals, with the biggest margin being the nine points Strathfieldsaye defeated Golden Square by in the qualifying final.
With the other three results margins of five, four and three points, it’s the first time in the history of the BFNL top-five finals format introduced in 1983 that there have been four games decided by single-figures.
While all four games have gone down to the wire, they have all followed the script of the ladder in terms of the higher-ranked team winning, which bodes well for Strathfieldsaye in this Saturday’s preliminary final against Golden Square, yet the two week one games bucked the previous home and away results.
Strathfieldsaye lost both games against qualifying final opponent Golden Square in the home and away season, while Sandhurst hadn’t beaten elimination final combatant Kyneton – albeit the Dragons had drawn with the Tigers in round four.
However, both the Storm and Dragons prevailed on what was a gripping first weekend of finals that was backed up again the following week.
Across the four finals played so far, the biggest margin of any of the quarter breaks has been the 11 points Kyneton led Sandhurst by at quarter-time in the elimination final, and Golden Square led the Dragons by at half-time in the first semi-final.
Strathfieldsaye led Eaglehawk by 30 points during the second term of last Saturday’s second semi-final, but by half-time the Hawks were back within five points.
Averaged out over the four games, there has been just 5.6 points separating teams when the siren has sounded to signal the end of a quarter.
All that is missing so far has been a final sent into extra-time – the last of which was the 2004 second semi-final when Sandhurst eventually outlasted Gisborne by four points en route to the premiership.
Since the first year of the BFNL top five in 1983 when eventual premier Sandhurst, Golden Square, Northern United, South Bendigo and North Bendigo made the finals, 1994 had been the only September to feature more than two finals matches decided by single figures.
There were three in 1994 – Maryborough beating Sandhurst by three points in the elimination; Golden Square pipping Kyneton by one in the qualifying; and Kyneton beating Maryborough by eight in the first semi.
But that has now been trumped in what’s proving to be a BFNL September to remember that has the two biggest games still to come.
• 2017 finals series senior results:
Margins at each break – 7, 10, 6, 9
Margins at each break – 11, 3, 4, 5
Margins at each break – 0, 5, 4, 3
Margins at each break – 9, 11, 0, 4
………………………………….
• Bendigo league top-five finals series year-by-year:
1983
Margins – 125 (elimination), 61 (qualifying), 54 (1st semi), 41 (2nd semi), 57 (preliminary), 7 (grand final).
Average – 57.5 points
Premier – Sandhurst
………………………………….
1984
56, 29, 68, 44, 10, 42
Average – 41.5
Premier – Northern
United
………………………………….
1985
86, 9, 49, 17, 62, 30
Average – 42.2
Premier – Northern
United
………………………………….
1986
19, 24, 25, 10, 19, 89
Average – 31.0
Premier – Northern
United
………………………………….
1987
15, 20, 2, 66, 11, 62
Average – 29.3
Premier – Northern
United
………………………………….
1988
50, 36, 79, 2, 16, 14
Average – 32.8
Premier – Golden Square
………………………………….
1989
59, 9, 31, 5, 40, 18
Average – 27.0
Premier – Golden Square
………………………………….
1990
55, 31, 22, 84, 36, 22
Average – 41.7
Premier – South Bendigo
………………………………….
1991
2, 12, 118, 43, 6, 22
Average – 33.8
Premier – South Bendigo
………………………………….
1992
16, 26, 46, 100, 46, 5
Average – 39.8
Premier – Castlemaine
………………………………….
1993
15, 42, 25, 36, 18, 65
Average – 33.5
Premier – South Bendigo
………………………………….
1994
3, 1, 8, 70, 35, 48
Average – 27.5
Premier – South Bendigo
………………………………….
1995
26, 26, 28, 49, 37, 45
Average – 35.2
Premier – Kyneton
………………………………….
1996
27, 18, 70, 31, 109, 6
Average – 43.5
Premier – Kangaroo Flat
………………………………….
1997
18, 13, 60, 3, 1, 67
Average – 27.0
Premier – Kyneton
………………………………….
1998
23, 39, 40, 47, 68, 47
Average – 44.0
Premier – Maryborough
………………………………….
1999
7, 44, 39, 14, 6, 31
Average – 23.5
Premier – Maryborough
………………………………….
2000
64, 23, 56, 10, 48, 12
Average – 35.5
Premier – Castlemaine
………………………………….
2001
49, 28, 23, 58, 13, 14
Average – 30.8
Premier – Golden Square
………………………………….
2002
45, 97, 7, 79, 4, 27
Average – 43.2
Premier – Gisborne
………………………………….
2003
29, 21, 12, 22, 63, 47
Average – 32.3
Premier – Gisborne
………………………………….
2004
18, 15, 46, 4, 65, 29
Average – 29.5
Premier – Sandhurst
………………………………….
2005
45, 17, 27, 128, 26, 31
Average – 45.7
Premier – Gisborne
………………………………….
2006
18, 26, 52, 14, 120, 25
Average – 42.5
Premier – Gisborne
………………………………….
2007
18, 114, 50, 7, 59, 2
Average – 41.7
Premier – Eaglehawk
………………………………….
2008
68, 28, 29, 24, 25, 6
Average – 30.0
Premier – Eaglehawk
………………………………….
2009
65, 108, 57, 41, 32, 37
Average – 56.7
Premier – Golden Square
………………………………….
2010
15, 38, 71, 44, 56, 29
Average – 42.2
Premier – Golden Square
………………………………….
2011
50, 24, 55, 43, 6, 135
Average – 52.2
Premier – Golden Square
………………………………….
2012
43, 13, 39, 36, 19, 3
Average – 25.5
Premier – Golden Square
………………………………….
2013
41, 4, 64, 8, 19, 21
Average – 26.2
Premier – Golden Square
………………………………….
2014
25, 42, 4, 42, 5, 55
Average – 28.8
Premier – Strathfieldsaye
………………………………….
2015
26, 18, 47, 41, 77, 7
Average – 36.0
Premier – Strathfieldsaye
………………………………….
2016
55, 54, 6, 53, 19, 32
Average – 36.5
Premier – Sandhurst
………………………………….
2017 so far
9, 5, 3, 4
Average – 5.2
