It was back in 2013 when the Dragons entered the Gridiron Victoria league, and during that time not once had they defeated the Geelong Buccaneers.
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That seven-year drought came to an end on Saturday afternoon when the Dragons triumphed in a 19-point elimination final victory over the Buccaneers, final scores 25-6.
It is also five years since the team has progressed this far in finals.
"There's a great vibe among the team. We've worked hard for so long and no we're finally seeing it pay off," Dragons coach Matt Plathe said.
"We now know it's not just the lower teams we can beat, we can hold our own against some of the top teams."
Regardless of the win, it didn't come without a challenge from the Buccaneers.
"It was a hard game, they are always a very physical team and play all the way to the whistle," Plathe said.
"But we were prepared and we knew what we were up against.
"From the outset we held them out with a strong defensive presence which prevented them from scoring until late in the fourth quarter.
"Our offence kept scoring and our defence kept holding them back."
One of the team's most influential players during the game was Branden Walker, a St Louis native.
"He is our running back and was a standout player on offense," Plathe said.
"He calved up their defence, in addition to our strong offensive line and our defence who all played their roles well."
The team members have their heads held high after consecutive victories and booking a spot in the semi-finals.
"We're feeling pretty hot at the moment ahead of our match next week against the Croydon Rangers," Plathe said.
The Dragons defeated the Rangers by two points in the second game of the season, 26-24.
Now, 11 games later the Dragons will look for a repeat of the same result.
"Our plan will be to do a mental walk-through so everyone knows their role, in addition to a lot of physical stuff to keep the team fit and running," Plathe said.
'We will do a scout so we know what we're up against and how we can beat them."
The Western Crusaders and the Warriors also won on the weekend and have advanced directly to preliminary finals on November 30.
Semi-final fixture
- Croydon Rangers v Bendigo Dragons: 2pm November 23 at Croydon
- Melbourne University Royals v South Eastern Predators: 10.30am November 23 at Croydon
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