THIS weekend would have signaled round two in the Bendigo league and round three in both the Heathcote District and Loddon Valley leagues.

Instead, the 2020 season remains in delay due to the coronavirus crisis.

So instead of looking forward to games on Saturday, instead, we're taking a look back at some of the best encounters the corresponding rounds have provided over the past decade.

2014 - Golden Square 12.9 (81) def South Bendigo 12.8 (80).

Both teams had lost their opening round game as they prepared to face off at Wade Street on a Sunday in round two of the 2014 season.

Five-time defending premier Square trailed the Bloods by 15 points at half-time, but after piling on seven goals to two in the third term the home side had charged ahead by 18 points at the final change.

That set the scene for a thrilling final quarter where the Bloods surged and had chances to win the game late with shots from Jacob Smythe and Justin Bice, but neither registered a goal as the Bulldogs clung on to win by the barest of margins, 12.9 (81) to 12.8 (80).

"A lot of things didn't go to plan today, but the sign of a good side is you've got to be able to deal with what's thrown at you and we did that and got the win," Bulldogs coach Nick Carter said.

BEST - Golden Square: Simon Rosa, Hamish Morcom, Jack Daley. South Bendigo: Ashley Morris, Jacob Smythe, Daniel Frew.

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2012 - Strathfieldsaye 13.15 (93) def Golden Square 8.10 (58).

By no means was this game a thriller - it was a six-goal margin - but it did signal the end of what had been a 30-game winning streak by Golden Square.

Prior to this round two clash at Tannery Lane in 2012, Golden Square hadn't been beaten since a QEO loss to South Bendigo in round 10 of the 2010 season.

At the time the 35-point victory was lauded as the best in the Storm's history given the club was still only 56 games old.

Strathfieldsaye led at every change, with the win spearheaded by an eight-goal performance from star forward Sam Mildren, who hauled in 11 marks, while down the other end Square's Grant Weeks slotted four goals.

The victory elevated Strathfieldsaye to the top of the Bendigo league ladder for the first time in its history.

"We went into the game thinking we were a chance of winning and to the boys' credit they played four good quarters of footy. We wanted to make everything a contest and the players did that," Storm coach Darryl Wilson said.

BEST - Strathfieldsaye: Sam Mildren, Jake Hall, Shannon Geary. Golden Square: Clayton Anderson, Simon Rosa, Brayden Dorrington.

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2011 - Golden Square 14.9 (93) def Sandhurst 14.6 (90).

Golden Square's 2011 undefeated season could have been spoiled in just round two on a Sunday afternoon against arch-rival Sandhurst at Huntly (the QEO was undergoing renovation works).

This was a belter of a match that featured six lead changes in the final quarter.

But it was the Bulldogs who had the lead when it mattered most, grinding out a three-point victory in one of only two games they played that year where an opponent got within five goals.

After ruckman Taylor Strachan put Sandhurst - which had rallied from a 30-point deficit during the third quarter - back in front late, it was the Bulldogs' James Bristow (three goals) who kicked the match-winner.

The siren sounded soon after with the Dragons surging forward.

"We were up against it, but our guys gritted their teeth and got over the line. Sandhurst's a good side; they used the ball really well and their pressure was good," Golden Square coach Nick Carter said.

To give Sandhurst's gallant effort that day to run Golden Square to within three points perspective, the Bulldogs' 2011 average winning margin in their perfect 20-0 season was 89 points.

"We competed well all day, but we just weren't in front when the siren sounded. We're unhappy about losing, but we can be happy with the performance," Sandhurst coach Tony Graham said.

BEST - Golden Square: Aiden Pratt, James Bristow, Simon Rosa. Sandhurst: Lee Coghlan, Jon Coghlan, Taylor Strachan.

2019 - Elmore 10.12 (72) def Leitchville-Gunbower 8.19 (67).

What's the saying... bad kicking is bad football.

That was the case for Leitchville-Gunbower last year when it had five more scoring shots than Elmore, but lost by five points in what was one of those rare games when the reigning premier lost to the wooden-spooner of the previous season.

But what added to the significance of this win for Elmore was not only did the Bloods knock over the defending champions, they did it after facing a 27-point deficit at half-time, while they were still 15 points in arrears at the final change.

However, Elmore's 3.6 to 0.4 in the final term lifted the Bloods over the line, with James Harney slotting what proved to be the match-winner against a side they had their lost their previous six meetings against by margins of 176, 110, 170, 133, 164 and 100 points.

BEST - Elmore: Aaron Cuthbert, Rhys Holmberg, Daniel Green. Leitchville-Gunbower: Brady Hore, Hoby Bussey, Daniel Coates.

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2013 - Huntly 16.8 (104) def LBU 13.15 (93).

It was a win 12 years in the making for Huntly when it defeated reigning premier Lockington-Bamawm United in round three of 2013.

Prior to their 11-point victory, the Hawks had lost 23 in a row against the Cats dating back to 2001.

The Hawks had led by 40 points at three quarter-time, before the Cats made a late charge in the final term, kicking five goals to one to bring the deficit back to 11 points in what was LBU's only loss of the year.

"They are a quality outfit, a proud club and we knew they were going to come at us in the last quarter. But we dug deep and I couldn't be more prouder of the boys," Hawks coach Stacy Fiske said.

The two sides would meet later that year in the grand final when the Cats won comfortably by 58 points.

BEST - Huntly: Ryan Semmel, Braidy Dickens, Ryley Dickens. LBU: Hayden Collins, Marcus Angove, Paul Hudson.

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2012 - LBU 15.17 (107) def North Bendigo 13.14 (92).

The Thursday night ins at North Bendigo for this game read: A. Koutoufides.

The Bulldogs had Carlton great Anthony Koutoufides line up for a one-off appearance against the reigning premier Cats at Atkins Street in what would prove to be a 2012 grand final preview.

The Bulldogs held a 15-point buffer at half-time, but the Cats five goal-to-one third quarter swung the momentum their way on the way to what became a 15-point victory.

Star attraction Koutoufides, 39 at the time, played a mix of midfield and forward for the Bulldogs, who slumped to a 0-3 start.

"It really gave the young blokes, as well as myself, a real thrill to have him out there. He was really encouraging for the guys, so hopefully, they can take a fair bit out of playing alongside a guy like that," North Bendigo coach Damien Lock said.

BEST - LBU: Daniel Lucas, Simon Keleher, Jarrod Bacon. North Bendigo: Josh Gitsham, Rob Morris, Cameron Lomas.

2019 - Maiden Gully YCW 12.9 (81) def Marong 11.14 (80).

It was a Good Friday epic between Maiden Gully YCW and Marong under lights at Marist College last year.

The Eagles faced a 17-point deficit at half-time, but with their backs to the wall dug deep and levelled the scores late, before a behind to coach Wayne Mitrovic in the dying stages gave the home side a win by the barest of margins in what was a crucial result after losing their first two games of the season.

"I was happy with how the team managed with the pressure in the last quarter and was able to make the right decisions when the game was in the balance," Mitrovic said.

Given Marong missed the finals on percentage, this is certainly a result that came back to haunt the Panthers last year.

BEST - Maiden Gully YCW: Dylan Pierce, Sean Moyle, Cohen Kekich. Marong: Justin Hynes, Ben Gregg, Kyle Manley.

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2018 - Inglewood 14.14 (98) def Calivil United 14.9 (93).

This is the most memorable of Inglewood's wins of the past 10 years - the day the Blues ended a 16-year drought against long-time nemesis Calivil United.

The Blues hadn't beaten Calivil United since 2002 and had lost 31 in a row against the Demons prior to their five-point upset over the reigning premier in round three of 2018 in what was a massive turnaround from a 155-point thrashing from Bridgewater the previous week.

"It was a great response from our boys. The way we went out in the first quarter today was exactly the way we wanted to play our footy and I'm really proud of all the boys and their efforts," Inglewood coach Ryan McNish said.

The Blues led at every change, but were headed late by the Demons before Liam Drummond snared the match-winning goal.

BEST - Inglewood: Liam Drummond, Peter McKay, Samuel Barnes. Calivil United: Nathan Ryan, Chris Down, Vinnie Rodi.

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2017 - Bridgewater 11.14 (80) def Mitiamo 11.12 (78).

The 2015 and 2016 grand final rivals produced an Easter Saturday special in round three of 2017 as Bridgewater staved off a gallant second half charge from Mitiamo.

The Mean Machine had led by 32 points at half-time, but the Superoos fought back after the break, only to fall short by two points and endure what was an 18th-straight loss to Bridgewater.

Mitiamo coach Justin Maddern could have booted nine goals, but instead finished with a wayward 1.8.

"It was certainly a game we could have won, but we missed a few chances across the day and a couple of 50m penalties hurt us as well,'' Maddern said.

BEST - Bridgewater: Zeb Broadbent, Liam Jacques, Alex Collins. Mitiamo: Jarryd Wiegard, Terry Reeves, Mitch Sidebottom.

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2013 - Bridgewater 14.14 (98) def Pyramid Hill 14.11 (95).

A late goal to Bridgewater's Jackson Bennett proved the clincher for the Mean Machine against Pyramid Hill in what was an arm-wrestle of a contest where no more than 12 points separated the two sides at any of the changes.

The game featured a seven-goal bag from Bridgewater full-forward Alex Collins, who already had 22 after three rounds on his way to a total of 109, while Adam Parry, who won the first of back-to-back Harding medals in 2013, was also prominent for the Mean Machine.

Best - Bridgewater: Marc Lindsay, Adam Parry, Callum Prest. Pyramid Hill: Gavin James, Brad Fawcett, Alastair Dwyer.

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