Cooper Leon's six-week absence with a broken finger might have been the making of South Bendigo.
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It's ridiculous to suggest the Bloods were better off without their star midfielder, but what his injury did do was force other players to step up and fill the void.
The Bloods have a better spread of contributors and, as a result, should play finals for the first time in a decade.
After six games on the sidelines, Leon returned against Kyneton on Saturday.
He played across half-back and had a team-high 30 possessions as 12 marks. He's a class act.
"We eased Cooper back in because we wanted to see how his finger went,'' South Bendigo coach Nathan Horbury said.
"We wanted to protect him a bit and get a run under his belt.
"When we first got him he was highly-touted as an intercept marker across half-back, so we knew he could play there.
"He'll go back into the midfield as early as next week. He's too good to be coming off half-back and he gives us so much in the middle of the ground."
With Leon back on deck, all of a sudden the Bloods have a midfield unit that has the depth and class to go with the top three teams.
A big part of that is Kaiden Antonowicz.
Best known as an outstanding medium-sized forward, Antonowicz relished the opportunity to play in the midfield during Leon's absence.
Saturday's win over Kyneton was a prime example of Antonowicz's value to the team.
On a day when the kicking efficiency from both teams was as reliable as Australia's top-order on a spinning deck in the subcontinent, Antonowicz's field kicking was elite.
"Kaiden's field kicking and decision making is really good and the defensive side of his game has come on a lot more than I thought it would.
"That move has given Brock (Harvey) more space in the forward line and I think he's been unbelievable for us. He's playing good footy and it's worked for us.
"With Cooper (Leon) back, Liam Byrne in the middle as well, I might get squeezed out and start forward.
"Michael Herlihy has been phenomenal for us in the middle and then we have Joel Swatton to come back into the mix as well.
"It's great that we now have so much depth through the midfield."
South's defensive stocks will be bolstered in the coming weeks as well, while playmaker Isaiah Miller (broken hand) will return just before the finals.
"We should get Brayden Torpey and Cam Taggert back pretty soon and Joel Swatton is not far away.
"We're starting to get players back at the right time and, hopefully, they get a good block of footy in before finals.
"Isaiah Miller will probably get back for the last two home and away games.
"We won't take any risks with him. He'll definitely play our last game against Kangaroo Flat, but we'd like to have him for the Maryborough game as well."
The fourth-placed Bloods travel to Camp Reserve this Saturday to face ninth-placed Castlemaine.
INDIVIDUAL STATS LEADERS - ROUND 13
RANKING POINTS
Braidon Blake (Gis) 190
Pat McKenna (Gis) 172
Daniel Clohesy (SS) 166
Riley Wilson (SS) 163
Jack Geary (GS) 159
Joseph Mayes (SS) 154
Jake Moorhead (SS) 147
Bo Alexander (SS) 147
Liam Spear (Gis) 145
Kya Lanfranchi (Mb) 144
DISPOSALS
Jake Moorhead (SS) 45
Daniel Clohesy (SS) 43
Bo Alexander (SS) 41
Jack Geary (GS) 39
Coby Perry (Mb) 38
Ethan Minns (Gis) 38
Liam Latch (Mb) 37
Flynn Lakey (Gis) 36
Riley Wilson (SS) 34
Liam Spear (Gis) 33
CONTESTED DISPOSALS
Jake Moorhead (SS) 20
Coby Perry (Mb) 18
Dillon Williams (Eh) 16
Liam Latch (Mb) 14
Flynn Lakey (Gis) 14
Ethan Minns (Gis) 12
Braidon Blake (Gis) 12
Noah Wheeler (Eh) 12
Tommy Horne (Cm) 12
Billy Evans (Eh) 11
MARKS
Liam Spear (Gis) 15
Kya Lanfranchi (Mb) 13
Pat McKenna (Gis) 13
Steven Georgiou (Kyn) 13
Bo Alexander (SS) 13
Ethan Minns (Gis) 12
Cooper Leon (SB) 12
Daniel Clohesy (SS) 12
Jack Geary (GS) 11
Riley Wilson (SS) 11
CLEARANCES
Braidon Blake (Gis) 12
Coby Perry (Mb) 10
Billy Evans (Eh) 10
Ricky Monti (GS) 8
Flynn Lakey (Gis) 7
Dillon Williams (Eh) 7
Liam Collins (KF) 7
Riley Wilson (SS) 7
Joseph Mayes (Gis) 7
Liam Latch (Mb) 6
LOOSE BALL GETS
Jake Moorhead (SS) 12
Thomas Gardam (Mb) 10
Liam Latch (Mb) 10
Ethan Minns (Gis) 10
Flynn Lakey (Gis) 10
Dillon Williams (Eh) 10
Liam Collins (KF) 10
Braidon Blake (Gis) 9
Michael Herlihey (SB) 9
Samuel Maher (SB) 9
HARD BALL GETS
Billy Evans (Eh) 8
Noah Wheeler (Eh) 8
Dillon Williams (Eh) 8
Jon Coe (GS) 6
Daniel Clohesy (SS) 6
Tom Fraser (Gis) 5
Zane Carter (Eh) 5
Jake Moorhead (SS) 5
Riley Wilson (SS) 5
Bo Alexander (SS) 5
TACKLES
Aidan Hare (Mb) 15
Jack Hickman (GS) 11
Steven Georgiou (Kyn) 11
Declan Slingo (Cm) 10
Jarrod Fitzpatrick (GS) 9
Nick Doolan (Gis) 8
Ricky Monti (GS) 8
Terry Reeves (GS) 8
Hamish Yunghanns (Kyn) 8
Bailey McGee (Kyn) 8
SCORE INVOLVEMENTS
Ethan Minns (Gis) 14
Braidon Blake (Gis) 12
Caleb Sheahan (Gis) 12
Riley Wilson (SS) 12
Lachlan Sharp (SS) 10
Jake Moorhead (SS) 10
Bo Alexander (SS) 10
Scott Walsh (Gis) 9
Flynn Lakey (Gis) 9
James Schischka (SS) 8
SPOILS
Daniel Johnstone (SB) 11
Kya Lanfranchi (Mb) 8
Liam Rodgers (Gis) 5
James Coghlan (Sh) 5
Harrison Free (Sh) 5
Andrew Vanheumen (SB) 5
Brady Neill (Mb) 4
Jack Reaper (Gis) 4
Zack Shelton (GS) 4
Shaun Knott (Eh) 4
HIT OUTS
Matt Compston (GS) 48
James Orr (Kyn) 38
Braidon Blake (Gis) 36
Sam Nettleton (Cm) 30
Joseph Mayes (SS) 29
Brady Neill (Mb) 24
Jack Lawton (Eh) 18
Riley Walsh (SB) 14
Guy Dickson (Kyn) 12
Jake Hall (SS) 12
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