Gisborne warmed up for the BFNL finals series with a hard-fought 17-point win over fellow finalist Golden Square.
Despite the late omissions of star duo Pat McKenna (ankle) and Matt Goodyear (leg), Gisborne held off Golden Square 10.19 (79) to 8.14 (62).
"It was a windy day which impacted skills and shots on goals were missing,'' Gisborne coach Clinton Young said.
"I'm happy with the way the boys were able to grind out a good win.
"Considering the situation of the game (the result wasn't going to change the ladder), I thought it was quite a physical game and quite competitive.
"We didn't convert our chances...so there's some things for us to work on, but the main this is we got through unscathed and we walk away knowing we've played some good footy in the lead up to the finals."
Midfield duo Brad Bernacki and Ethan Minns did plenty of damage for Gisborne, while defender Tim Walsh produced another solid performance.
Young, McKenna and Goodyear all should return for next Saturday night's qualifying final clash with Eaglehawk.
Golden Square, which enters the finals with just one win from its past four matches, should regain Adam Baird for the elimination final clash with Sandhurst.
Golden Square's best against Gisborne were Jon Coe, skipper Jack Geary and Drew Barrett.
South Bendigo star Kaiden Antonowicz kicked 13 goals to lead the Bloods to a commanding 30.17 (197) to 7.7 (49) win over bottom side Castlemaine.
Antonowicz and Brock Harvey (seven goals) had a day out in front of the big sticks.
Castlemaine's horror season concluded with co-coach Derrick Filo coming out of retirement to fill a spot in the senior side.
The BFNL great is his early 50's, but still managed to kick two goals.
Sandhurst rounded out its home and away campaign with 17.18 (120) to 11.11 (77) away win over Kyneton.
Lachy Ross, Nick Stagg and Joel Wharton kicked 10 goals between them in an impressive team performance.
Kyneton coach Luke Beattie bid farewell to the Tigers after eight years in charge.
Rhys Magin and Josh Govan were best for Kyneton.
Lachlan Sharp kicked 12 goals in Strathfieldsaye's resounding 33.24 (222) to 3.7 (25) win over Maryborough.
Sharp's haul gave his 129 goals for the season.
Bryce Curnow kicked six goals for the Storm, while Jake Moorhead and Kal Geary dominated.
It was not the scoreline outgoing Maryborough coach Ben Lavars wanted or deserved.
He leaves the Magpies after leading the club to sixth place - the Pies' best result in eight years.
In the final game of the round, Eaglehawk kicked a cricket score against Kangaroo Flat.
Schedule for week one of finals:
Saturday, qualifying final
6pm - Eaglehawk v Gisborne
Sunday, elimination final
2.20pm - Golden Square v Sandhurst
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