MITIAMO will head into the Loddon Valley league finals with an unblemished record after overcoming a sluggish start against Bridgewater on Saturday.

In a clash of 1^st vs 2^nd to close out the home and away season, the Superoos trailed by 31 points at the first break, but booted 16 goals to four after quarter-time to win by 41 points at home.

The Superoos' 16.10 (106) to 9.11 (65) victory was the icing on the cake for an undefeated home and away season in which they finished 12-0 with a percentage of 292.6 and are now potentially just two wins away from winning back-to-back premierships for the first time in their history.

"It has obviously been a stop-start year and probably more so for us... we seem to have copped byes when the competition has started back up, so to get through to this stage undefeated has been a good effort by the boys," Mitiamo co-coach Andy Grant said.

The Superoos were put under pressure early by Bridgewater, which burst out of the blocks to slam on 5.3 to 0.2 in the opening term and put Mitiamo in the rare position this year of having to play catch-up footy.

"All credit to Bridgewater; they came out with some purpose and were good early," Grant said.

"We were a bit scratchy early in the game, couldn't get our hands of the footy and they were really good in the contest.

"We were certainly on the back foot early, but once we started to get our hands on the ball on the inside we came back pretty well."

The Superoos responded in commanding style to the early challenge laid down by Bridgewater with a barnstorming second term in which they booted 9.3 to 1.3 to turn the 31-point deficit at quarter-time into a 17-point advantage at half-time.

"Lucas Matthews and Ross Turner got us going in the midfield and Dougie Thomas' second quarter was brilliant," Grant said.

"The boys played some good footy after quarter-time, but we're certainly not getting ahead of ourselves; we know we've still got a bit of work to do... we don't want to start our next game like we did today."

Midfielder Turner, co-coach Tyrone Downie (four goals) and Matt Grant were the best three for the Superoos, who have next week off before confronting either Marong or Bridgewater in the second semi-final.

The Mean Machine's loss was only their second of the season, with both having come against Mitiamo as they slipped from third to second on the ladder.

"We played some good footy in the first quarter, but unfortunately lost our way in the second," Bridgewater co-coach Jayden Donaldson said.

"Mitiamo is a very well-drilled quality unit and you need to put together four good quarters to beat them, not just one or two.

"Bo Alexander was fantastic for us in the midfield again today and Jake Rusbridge was solid in defence all day."

In his return from injury Andrew Collins was the Mean Machine's leading goalkicker with three.

Pyramid Hill returned to the winner's list and will head into its elimination final against Bears Lagoon-Serpentine next Sunday fresh off a hard-fought win over the Bears.

In what was a dead rubber given the two sides were already locked into an elimination final showdown with each other eight days later, the Bulldogs had the better of the last quarter to win by 14 points at Serpentine.

Scores had been level 66-all at three quarter-time before the Bulldogs prevailed 12.10 (82) to 10.8 (68) to put an end to their two-game losing streak.

"It has been a while since we won a game (42 days due to abandonments), so it was good to get some confidence back today," Pyramid Hill co-coach Nathan Fitzpatrick said.

"We've probably been a bit flat having only played a couple of games over the past five weeks and lost both of them, so it's good to be able to take some momentum into the finals."

A concern for the Bulldogs heading into the finals is full-forward Braidy Dickens, who has 50 goals for the year, being forced from the field in the dying minutes with a hamstring niggle.

Forward Jake Heavyside (three goals) and key defender Dylan Morison were the best for the Bulldogs, who had faced an 18-point deficit at quarter-time.

Rhys Smith kicked four of the 10 goals for the Bears, whose standout players included Josh Walsh in defence, makeshift ruckman James Rippingale (two goals) and Darcy Poulter.

"It was a fairly tight game all day. I thought our boys competed well with their contested footy, but they were just a little too good for us in the last quarter," Bears coach Greg Gadsden said.

"It was a tough situation knowing we'll be playing them again next week because you want to be able to take something out of the game and play well, but at the same time you're hoping you don't get any injuries."

The Bears didn't get through the game unscathed, with Justin Laird hurting an ankle.

Marong will ride a seven-game winning streak into the finals and in doing so grabbed second position from Bridgewater after beating Newbridge by 95 points.

Normally finishing second or third is of no consequence under the top-five format, but given the uncertainty of this year and potential threat of further weekends lost in the finals due to snap lockdowns, finishing second this season carries extra weight if - like the home and away season - the finals series becomes compromised.

The Panthers prevailed 14.18 (102) to 1.1 (7) at Newbridge as they held an opponent to a single-figure score for the third time this season.

"We came with the right attitude and focused on today rather than what's ahead next week," Marong coach Linton Jacobs said.

Pleasing for the Panthers was forward Simon Weekley returning from a lengthy hamstring injury lay-off and kicking two goals, while Adrian Pappin booted four and Kain Robins slotted three.

Midfielders Ben Gregg and Nathan Devanny were the Panthers' two best, while defender Harry Graham's strong form continued.

By finishing second the Panthers have their first double chance in a finals series since 2004.

"It's really exciting for the club. We haven't been in this position for a long time, but feel we've well and truly earned it," Jacobs said.

"At the start of the year we didn't shy away from what we want to achieve... we're not just here to make up the numbers, we're here to compete and, hopefully, have some success at the end of the year."

Newbridge ends the season in seventh position with a 2-9 record.

"It has been a really tough season with the way the year has played out with the interruptions, but I'm really proud of the way the boys have stuck together," said Newbridge coach Luke Freeman, who has been reappointed for next season.

"We knew it was going to be a tough year, but we've shown improvement throughout and we'll look forward to next year.

"Full credit to Marong today. They are a quality outfit that is playing a good brand of structured footy that is going to take some beating."

Jack Clark kicked Newbridge's only goal in the third quarter.

Maiden Gully YCW closed out its season with a 166-point thrashing of Inglewood in a win that featured six debutantes, as well as a 10-goal haul from coach Wayne Mitrovic.

The Eagles kicked their highest score since 2003 in their 33.13 (211) to 7.3 (45) demolition of the Blues with a side that had Jayden Magnusson, Josh Covington (two goals), Mitch Daly, Matt Cusack, Joel Burns and Jason Morgan all make their senior debuts.

The Eagles, who ended the season sixth, burst out of the blocks, kicking 11 goals against the wind in the first term to quickly assert their authority.

"It was good for the boys to finish with a good win and enjoy their last day of footy for the season," Mitrovic said.

"We didn't have too much structure about the way we went about it. We just wanted to take the game on and play with a bit of dare."

The Eagles had 14 players boot goals, including Mitrovic (10), Josh Worsley (five), Matt Gray (five) and Sam Barnes (four), who combined for 24.

For the Blues - who had Traiton Kendal kick four of their seven goals - they end another grueling year winless and with a fourth-consecutive wooden spoon.

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