Golden Square moved one step closer to a grand final berth when it outclassed South Bendigo in Sunday's BFNL first semi-final at the QEO.
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The final margin was 39 points, but it felt more like 10 goals as the wayward Dogs won 10.22 (82) to 6.7 (43) - their third comfortable victory over South this season - to set up a preliminary final bout with Gisborne next Saturday.
The tone was set inside the first 10 minutes as the Bulldogs controlled the game and the Bloods constantly kicked sideways in failed attempts to crack the Square zone.
Even at that early stage it had smacking written all over it, but the Dogs didn't put South away on the scoreboard.
From 17 inside 50s to seven in the first quarter, the Dogs only led 1.6 (12) to 0.2 (2).
The first 20 minutes of the second quarter was a rinse and repeat of the first term.
South struggled to get the ball inside 50 and turned it over and Square missed opportunities.
Somehow the Bloods were still within 14 points after Blake Poyser intercepted a Square defensive kick and calmly slotted a goal from deep in the pocket.
At some stage the damn wall had to break and it came in a six-minute burst to end the first half.
Hamish Morcom, who was superb for the Dogs for the second week running, Liam Jacques and Liam Duguid, via a 55m bomb, all kicked goals to extend the lead to 28 points at the main change.
27 points was as close as the Bloods would get in the second-half.
A wasteful, and at times selfish, Square kicked 4.12 in the second half to South's 4.1.
Morcom aside, Square's best was skipper Jack Geary, who racked up possessions at will, while Duguid kept South's leading goalkicker Brock Harvey goalless.
Joel Brett was the only multiple goalkicker for Square with three and he's now within four goals of his century
On a tough day to be a South Bendigo forward, Kaiden Antonowicz kicked four of the Bloods' six goals.
Cooper Leon and Isaiah Miller tried hard against the odds for a South Bendigo side that could be proud of its 2022 season.
- READ MORE: Strathfieldsaye storms into BFNL grand final
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