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ONE club is hunting its first premiership since 1989.
The other club is gunning for an extraordinary eighth flag since 2010.
One club had been touted as a likely grand finalist from the outset heading into season 2022.
The other was one of the big unknowns heading into the season.
One club has taken the shortest possible route into into the grand final.
The other has taken the most arduous of routes possible.
So as you can see, Saturday's Loddon Valley Football-Netball League grand final is very much a game of contrasts as Marong and Bridgewater prepare to go toe-to-toe for the premiership at Maiden Gully's Marist College.
For Marong, Saturday presents an opportunity to end what is a premiership drought that extends back to the 1980s.
The Panthers' one and only LVFNL senior premiership was won in 1989 when Marong belted Mitiamo by 80 points, 20.14 (134) to 8.6 (54).
Since then the Panthers have played 562 games and only been able to get to one other grand final when they were beaten by Calivil United by 60 points in the 2004 decider.
Conversely, Bridgewater is no stranger to grand final day given this will be the ninth the Mean Machine has played in since 2010.
The club played in eight-consecutive grand finals from 2010 to 2017, winning flags in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 by a combined 489 points before losing to Calivil United in 2017.
While it will be a familiar sight to see Bridgewater running around on grand final day, it's almost an entirely new team representing the club these days from the dynasty that won a league record seven flags on the trot.
Saturday's grand final team will feature just three players who played in at least one flag during the club's historic seven-peat - captain Andrew Collins (2014, 15, 16), Harry Symons (2014, 16) and Luke Harrison (2013, 14, 15, 16).
Going back to the start of the season the Panthers were a popular premiership prediction given the groundwork they had laid last year under new coach Linton Jacobs winning 10 of 12 games before COVID ruined their shot at trying to capture that elusive premiership.
As for Bridgewater under new coach Rick Ladson, the Mean Machine were much more of an unknown commodity given their player turnover and host of new faces following a 2021 season that, like Marong, had also yielded 10 wins from 12 games.
"Until you start playing it's obviously tough to know where you're at, but what I do know is it's a quality group that is committed," Ladson told the Bendigo Advertiser's pre-season LVFNL preview in March.
As predicted, the Panthers duly asserted their authority over the competition, going through the home and away season 15-1 with 10 wins by more than 100 points to finish on top of the ladder.
For the Mean Machine, it was more of a grind, with Bridgewater having to play catch-up after starting the season 0-2, before spending the bulk of the home and away rounds in fourth position.
You certainly would have got long odds at the Mean Machine being one of the grand final combatants after round five when they had just lost to the side that would later claim the wooden spoon - Calivil United - and were 2-3.
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Can't envisage there being too many instances over the course of LVFNL history where the wooden-spooner has beaten a grand finalist, with that upset loss to the Demons and later a second shock defeat to another non-finalist Newbridge in round 16 ultimately costing Bridgewater the double chance.
By finishing fourth - percentage behind third-placed Mitiamo - it placed the Mean Machine in the challenging position of needing to win three cut-throat finals to get through to Saturday's shot at the premiership.
And like Bart Cummings priming a runner for Melbourne Cup day on the first Tuesday in November, Ladson has his side peaking at the right time of the season with the Mean Machine having accounted for Bears Lagoon-Serpentine in the elimination final (97-42), Mitiamo in the first semi-final (126-77) and Pyramid Hill in last week's preliminary final (72-58) boilover.
While the Mean Machine have had to battle their way through three cut-throat finals on top of a come-from-behind win over Mitamo in round 18, during that same four-week block the Panthers have only had to play one game.
The Panthers had the bye in round 18, followed by the first week of the finals off courtesy of their top-of-the-ladder finish, then kicked away from Pyramid Hill in the last quarter of the second semi-final to win by 58 points before having another week off last weekend.
So how have the Panthers dealt with their lack of match play over the past month?
"We've done a lot of match simulation and gamestyle work over the past month or so mixed in with a bit of conditioning to make sure we keep our fitness levels up," Jacobs said this week.
"I've probably seen over the past couple of finals that injuries are coming into it... you saw Pyramid Hill limp to the line last week, so we see having had some time off as an advantage.
"We've been able to freshen up, we've got all our players fit and, hopefully, come 5pm Saturday it will have been an advantage that we earned the chance over the season to have some rest over the past month.
"We've got a job to do on Saturday and we'll be ready.
"We've got everyone available to choose from across both grades (seniors and reserves), which is really positive from a coaching point of view and for the club, it's fantastic to have full lists available for both sides as well as having our under-18s in also."
The Panthers have a rare opportunity on Saturday to win all three football premierships with their seniors, reserves and under-18s all contesting grand finals.
"I'm super proud of the group to get themselves into this position. They have played great footy not just this year, but last year as well when, unfortunately, we didn't get a crack at finals because of COVID," Jacobs said.
"Since I took over as coach I can't fault their effort and commitment of the group and they have got an opportunity on the weekend to have a crack at the ultimate.
"But having said that, I don't think we will be defined by the result... I think our club over the past couple of years has been on a bigger journey.
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"We are a new Marong and it's about being sustainable into the future and giving ourselves opportunities to continuously get ourselves into this position."
The strength of the Marong side was encapsulated in this week's naming of the LVFNL Team of the Year that featured six Panthers' players - David Johnstone (half-back), Ryley Taylor (half-forward), Brandyn Grenfell (full-forward), Nathan Devanny (rover), Justin Hynes (interchange) and captain Corey Gregg (interchange), while Jacobs was named coach.
While it has been smooth sailing into the grand final for Marong, which has named an unchanged team from the second semi-final, the Mean Machine have had the added complication this week of having midfielder Alex Pollock suspended for two games at the tribunal on Tuesday night after being found guilty of striking Pyramid Hill's Steve Gunther.
The Mean Machine had hoped to appeal the suspension to AFL Victoria, but haven't been able to get the case heard prior to Saturday's grand final and were unsuccessful in having a stay of sanction imposed.
"We are disappointed that AFL Victoria was unable to convene a panel prior to Saturday's game, but we understand this is the world we live in at present and there is an exceptionally high case load this week," Bridgewater's Alex Collins said.
"We are disappointed for Alexander, in particular given his clean record over 16 years of senior football. He's an outstanding contributor to our club on and off the ground.
"It's an enormous price to pay given the relative innocuousness of the incident."
The absence of Pollock leaves the Mean Machine without two of their prime movers, with El-Vee Award winner and LVFNL Team of the Year wingman Callum Prest (knee) injured.
The Mean Machine named an extended squad of 23 on Thursday night, with Jackson Wild and ruckman Sam Dewar the two players who have been included in the squad from last week's winning preliminary final team.
While they will go in as the rank underdogs, the Mean Machine's formline reads eight wins from their past nine games, with their only blemish through that time a three-point loss to arch-rival Newbridge.
"We've just gone about our business without putting a ceiling on anything and got to work on our fundamentals," Bridgewater coach Rick Ladson said.
"Our younger guys in our side have been able to grow with the experience of each game and that's really exciting for the club and probably been the biggest difference in us being able to get to where we are now compared to where we were earlier in the season.
"Those younger guys like Jimmy Naughton, Nick Naughton and Harry McKinley, in particular, have played some good footy and it has been a really good learning year for those guys.
"Darcy Wood is another player who gets an opportunity. He missed out in the first final, went back and got best-on in the thirds and got his opportunity again last week because he went back and did all the right things.
"Those guys are the future of the footy club and to see them develop with the opportunity on Saturday to play in a senior grand final is fantastic for our community."
For the Mean Machine to conjure the upset and win the flag on Saturday it will take a mighty effort given the results of their two home and away meetings against Marong, with the Panthers victorious by comfortable margins of 77 and 81 points.
"To Marong's credit, they have complete buy-in and that flows right through to their reserves as well," said Ladson, who is no stranger to grand final upsets himself having been part of Hawthorn's 2008 AFL underdog flag win against Geelong.
"I know it's a cliche, but in most games of footy it's the midfield where it is won or lost.
"If we can nulify the entries to their forward half and keep Grenfell and (Kain) Robins out of it then it will keep us in the game.
"I think it's going to be a hell of a contest and in a sense, we've got nothing to lose.
"We'll go out there on Saturday, give it everything we've got and see how we go.
"The belief in the group is there. No-one expected us to be there on Saturday, and that's okay, but we're just excited to be involved in it.
"We know who we're up against and it's a big challenge, but through hard work we've earned ourselves an opportunity."
SELECTION:
Been a mighty effort by Bridgewater to emerge from three cut-throat finals to get through to Saturday's grand final, with the Mean Machine clearly playing their best footy when it matters most.
But the Panthers' imposing form over the entire season, coupled with their chance to significantly freshen up over the past month, has them primed to finally hoist the LVFNL's Manly Cup for the first time since 1989.
Marong skipper Corey Gregg for the BOG medal.
FOOTBALL GRAND FINAL SCHEDULE:
Under-18s - Marong v Bridgewater, 10.30am.
Reserves - Marong v Pyramid Hill, 12.30pm.
Seniors - Marong v Bridgewater, 2.30pm.
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