BENDIGO ADDY'S DECADE IN REVIEW SERIES:
HDFNL - ELMORE
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HDFNL - COLBINABBIN
LVFNL - PYRAMID HILL
LVFNL - NEWBRIDGE
LVFNL - MITIAMO
LVFNL - MARONG
LVFNL - MAIDEN GULLY YCW
LVFNL - INGLEWOOD
LVFNL - CALIVIL UNITED
LVFNL - BRIDGEWATER
LVFNL - BEARS LAGOON-SERPENTINE
NCFL - ALL EIGHT CLUBS
WHEN looking back on the 2010s in the Heathcote District league it's easy to be drawn immediately to the success of North Bendigo, Leitchville-Gunbower and LBU.
After all, those three clubs combined to win nine of the decade's 10 premierships.
But there was also a fourth club that won a flag in the 2010s - Heathcote.
Having won the 2009 premiership, the Saints took their game to another level in 2010, going through the year undefeated under first-year coach Brent Chapman.
According to league ladder records that are available back to 1975, the Saints of 2010 are the only Heathcote District team of the past 45 seasons to have completed an undefeated year.
The Saints capped their season of dominance in 2010 in a grand final against LBU best remembered for the atrocious conditions it was played in.
Such were the horrendous weather conditions across the region, this was the same weekend the BFNL abandoned its semi-finals.
Colbinabbin's M.J. Morgan was a muddy mess as the Saints overcame a 28-point deficit during the second quarter to win 8.8 (56) to 5.9 (39) and complete their season of perfection, with Tom Tobin earning the VCFL Medal for best-on-ground.
"We did the hard work all year, stuck to our guns today and we got there," Chapman said.
The premiership was captained by 21-year-old Joel Condon, who was among the team's best that day, while the club also completed a double by winning the reserves flag.
The Saints also played off in the grand final against LBU in 2011, but the Cats got their revenge, winning by six points after Heathcote charged home in the last term, but fell short.
The Saints also featured in the 2012 and 2013 finals series, but then came the slide.
Having won 54 of their 75 games between 2010 and 2013, from 2014 to 2019 the Saints slipped to just 12 wins from 96 games.
Midfielder Jake Condon ranked No.1 for most best player votes (six for being named best, five for second best and so on) for the Saints with 277 for the decade.
Daniel Carroll (249), Marc Millard (215) and Darcy McLean (214) also racked up more than 200 votes.
The lively Brent Jacques topped the Saints' goalkicking for the decade.
Jacques slotted 130 goals across the 2010 (32), 2011 (65) and 2012 (33) seasons, while the only other Saint with more than 100 goals was veteran forward Anthony Mellington (121).
YEAR-BY-YEAR:
2010
Finished - 1st (18-0)
defeated LBU in grand final
Most best player votes:
Daniel Carroll - 40
Leading goalkicker:
Brent Chapman - 38
............................................
2011
Finished - 2nd (14-5-1)
lost grand final to LBU
Most best player votes:
Lech Featherstone - 56
Leading goalkicker:
Brent Jacques - 65
............................................
2012
Finished - 3rd (12-7)
lost preliminary final to North Bendigo
Most best player votes:
Joel Condon - 55
Leading goalkicker:
Anthony Mellington - 73
............................................
2013
Finished - 4th (10-8)
lost first semi-final to North Bendigo
Most best player votes:
Blake Coyle - 50
Leading goalkicker:
Josh Illiarietti - 30
............................................
2014
Finished - 8th (1-14-1)
Most best player votes:
Daniel Russell - 49
Leading goalkicker:
Brad Morgan - 14
............................................
2015
Finished - 9th (2-14)
Most best player votes:
Daniel Carroll - 48
Leading goalkicker:
Marc Millard - 20
............................................
2016
Finished - 8th (1-15)
Most best player votes:
Jake Condon - 57
Leading goalkicker:
Rikki Stephens - 59
............................................
2017
Finished - 7th (4-12)
Most best player votes:
Dylan McCutcheon - 38
Leading goalkicker:
Jordan Cavallaro - 17
............................................
2018
Finished - 8th (3-13)
Most best player votes:
Darcy McLean - 47
Leading goalkicker:
Louis Piccolo - 16
............................................
2019
Finished - 8th (1-15)
Most best player votes:
Codie Price - 59
Leading goalkicker:
Jack Brooks - 18
BEST PLAYER VOTES:
1 - Jake Condon
Votes: 277
Times in best: 65
Top 3: 47 No.1: 17
............................................
2 - Daniel Carroll
Votes: 249
Times in best: 61
Top 3: 37 No.1: 19
............................................
3 - Marc Millard
Votes: 215
Times in best: 56
Top 3: 31 No.1: 11
............................................
4 - Darcy McLean
Votes: 214
Times in best: 54
Top 3: 36 No.1: 11
............................................
5 - Daniel Russell
Votes: 146
Times in best: 37
Top 3: 25 No.1: 6
............................................
6 - Jack Paisley
Votes: 132
Times in best: 44
Top 3: 17 No.1: 1
............................................
7 - Joel Condon
Votes: 116
Times in best: 31
Top 3: 17 No.1: 8
............................................
8 - Anthony Mellington
Votes: 106
Times in best: 25
Top 3: 19 No.1: 7
............................................
9 - Tom Pain
Votes: 91
Times in best: 29
Top 3: 9 No.1: 4
............................................
10 - Lech Featherstone
Votes: 84
Times in best: 19
Top 3: 13 No.1: 6
TOP 10 GOALKICKERS:
1 - Brent Jacques
Goals: 130
High: 11 Games: 45
5+: 7 10+: 1
............................................
2 - Anthony Mellington
Goals: 121
High: 11 Games: 34
5+: 10 10+: 1
............................................
3 - Brent Chapman
Goals: 95
High: 7 Games: 40
5+: 3 10+: 0
............................................
4 - Marc Millard
Goals: 92
High: 4 Games: 54
5+: 0 10+: 0
............................................
5 - Jake Condon
Goals: 91
High: 4 Games: 56
5+: 0 10+: 0
............................................
6 - Reece Carmichael
Goals: 84
High: 6 Games: 42
5+: 2 10+: 0
............................................
7 - Brad Morgan
Goals: 83
High: 4 Games: 52
5+: 0 10+: 0
............................................
8 - Simon Thorsen
Goals: 77
High: 7 Games: 27
5+: 5 10+: 0
............................................
9 - Rikki Stephens
Goals: 59
High: 7 Games: 16
5+: 5 10+: 0
............................................
10 - Lech Featherstone
Goals: 53
High: 8 Games: 25
5+: 2 10+: 0
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
v Colbinabbin
Record - 8-13
............................................
v Elmore
Record - 11-11-1
............................................
v Huntly
Record - 5-15
............................................
v Leitchville-Gunbower
Record - 7-14
............................................
v LBU
Record - 8-15
............................................
v Mount Pleasant
Record - 11-8-1
............................................
v North Bendigo
Record - 7-15
............................................
v White Hills
Record - 9-12
DECADE RECORD:
Played - 171
Won - 66
Lost - 103
Drawn - 2
Winning % - 38.6%
Average for/agst - 76/106
Seasons in finals - 4
Finals record - 6-5
Premierships - 1
RESERVES:
Total wins - 66
Seasons in finals - 4
Premierships - 1
UNDER-17S:
Total wins - 70
Seasons in finals - 5
Premierships - 0
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