LVFNL GRAND FINAL MATCH REPORT: Panthers go back-to-back as Dogs' drought lingers

The Panthers have been the raging hot favourites all season for the premiership, but they were certainly made to work hard for the spoils by a gallant Pyramid Hill in Saturday's grand final at Inglewood.

The Bulldogs threw everything they had at Marong in the final quarter, but the Panthers' backline withstood the Pyramid Hill surge to win 8.16 (64) to 6.12 (48).

Marong's victory completes an unbeaten season and after breaking a 33-year premiership drought last year, the Panthers now have two in as many years.

But unlike last year's 94-point demolition of Bridgewater when the Panthers had the grand final already sewn up by half-time, it wasn't until time-on of the final term on Saturday that Marong looked to have the game safely in its keeping.

"It's so much more fulfilling this year," Marong coach Linton Jacobs said.

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"We enjoyed last year and we played really well, but to have to fight it out today in such a tough contest... full credit to Pyramid Hill.

"They have obviously planned to peak at this time of year and they came really hard at us like we knew they would, but we were able to withstand the pressure and absorb it and get the result."

Given the ruthless way in which the Panthers have dominated the competition this year - they at one stage beat every team consecutively by at least 100 points in a stretch that included keeping their biggest threat, Pyramid Hill, goalless in round 13 - LVFNL officials must have been dreading over the course of the season another one-sided blowout on grand final day.

However, it was anything but and there were times during the last quarter when the Bulldogs had all the momentum and were peppering the goals that the giant upset looked a possibility.

In what was a low-scoring contest where goals didn't come easy the Panthers led by 25 points at three quarter-time, 7.14 to 4.7.

However, the Bulldogs were kicking with the aid of the breeze to the Bendigo end in the final quarter.

Needing to impact the scoreboard early to give themselves any chance of overhauling their deficit, the Bulldogs did just that when deep forward Zach Alford outbodied Marong defender Trent Fisher and kicked the opening goal of the final quarter three minutes in to give Pyramid Hill a spark.

That spark was then well and truly ignited six minutes later when Pyramid Hill forward Tom Brennan produced the highlight of the grand final.

After Pyramid Hill's Dylan Morison sent the ball deep inside forward 50 Brennan launched himself in the middle of the pack and hauled down the mark of the day.

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It was a mark reminiscent of Brendon Goddard's soaring grab for St Kilda in the last quarter of the 2010 drawn AFL grand final against Collingwood, and like Goddard, Brennan completed the highlight by slotting the goal.

Brennan's goal brought the Bulldogs to within 14 points and it was game-on as the energy out on the field and around the ground certainly lifted.

The surging Bulldogs continued to attack and had three further chances to eat into the margin, but a pair of shots from Bailey George - who was lively up on a wing in the final quarter - missed and a Gavin James shot from 50m fell short.

Other attacking forays were cut off by the Marong defence as their backmen led superbly by best-on-ground Richard Tibbett battled to keep the Bulldogs at bay against a barrage of pressure they have rarely experienced for the past 18 months.

Entering time-on of the last term the Bulldogs had outscored Marong 2.3 to 0.2 for the quarter and were within 12 points.

What would prove to be the sealer, though, for Marong came at the 21-minute mark off the boot of century goalkicker Brandyn Grenfell.

One of the standouts on the ground, Marong workhorse midfielder Ben Gregg - who must have been just shaded by Tibbett for the best on ground medal as his in-and-under and clearance work was superb all day - was awarded a free kick for a push in the back at a stoppage 60m from goal.

Gregg hit-up Grenfell, who took a contested mark 30m out and went back and slotted the set-shot to put the Panthers up by 18 points and secure the flag for the second year in a row.

Grenfell's sealer was his third goal of the game. The star forward ended the grand final as the only multiple goalkicker.

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The Bulldogs had the last two scoring shots of the game, but Jesse Sheahan kicked a pair of behinds before the siren sounded at the 28-minute mark.

Although, given the lack of volume in the siren there seemed to be several moments before the players had realised the siren had sounded and the game was over.

Needing to make the most of their scoring opportunities in the final term, the Bulldogs instead kicked 2.5 for the quarter as their opportunity to break their premiership drought that stretches back 73 years to 1950 went begging for another season.

Earlier, the Bulldogs would have been content with how the game was positioned at quarter-time given they had denied the Panthers their notoriously first start.

The Panthers - who had an average quarter-time lead this year of 31 points - only led by four points at the first break having kicked with the aid of the breeze.

It was a quarter of missed opportunities for Marong, with the Panthers' first six scoring shots all behinds.

It wasn't until the 25-minute mark of the first quarter when the Panthers kicked their first goal through Grenfell.

Pyramid Hill's Brodie Caroll had earlier booted the opening goal of the game with a set-shot 15 minutes in.

Given the Bulldogs were able to hold the Panthers to just one goal in both the first and last terms, it was the middle two quarters where Marong took control of the contest.

Marong kicked 6.7 to 3.4 across the second and third quarters.

The Panthers were far cleaner with their ball-use across the middle two quarters and controlled territory.

Several times during the third quarter after goals to Lachlan Frankel and Ben Gregg the Panthers threatened to break the game open, but to Pyramid Hill's credit the Bulldogs hung in, with their defence working overtime to keep the underdogs close enough to still be a sniff at the final change.

The Bulldogs at one stage went scoreless from the three-minute mark of the second term to the 12-minute mark of the third quarter during which Marong kicked four goals in a row - a decisive period in a game where just 14 were kicked for the match.

"It was hard work today and a magnificent effort by the boys to be able to go through undefeated for a whole season," Panthers' coach Jacobs said after what was the club's overall 32^nd win in a row.

"The season has had its challenges at times in terms of being able to keep the boys up every week and coming up with different ideas to keep them motivated, but to their credit I can't fault them at all.

"They came back hungry in the pre-season, have worked really hard and well and truly deserve the result today."

As he has been for the past two seasons, best on ground medallist Tibbett was like a wall across half-back for the Panthers, regularly chopping off Pyramid Hill forward thrusts and then starting an attacking chain back down the other end.

"With the way we set up we were able to get Tibby free at times and his intercept marking really set us up from behind the ball," said Jacobs, who now has a 45-3 record in his three years as coach of Marong.

"I thought Matt Willox was huge as well in defence with a lot of intercept marks and we were able to stop a lot of their forward entries throughout the game.

"We were confident our structure would hold up under pressure; it was tested by Pyramid Hill in the second semi a couple of weeks ago and it was pleasing it held up again today."

Not only did the Panthers win the senior premiership for the second year in a row, but Marong also won back-to-back flags in the reserves and under-18s, with all three teams going through 2023 undefeated.

While beaten, it was a mighty effort by the Bulldogs against what would arguably have to be the most dominant team in 120 years of Loddon Valley league history, while they also spent the bulk of the game one rotation down after Brad Driscoll hurt his knee in the opening minutes.

Pyramid Hill stalwart Gavin James was named the Bulldogs' best across half-back, using the ball with his customary polish off his trusty left foot.

Harding Medal winner Dylan Collis would have been the biggest possession-winner on the ground and, while there are no stats to back it up, must have had 40-plus and also kicked a goal early in the second term.

Pyramid Hill defender Tom McGregor had an entertaining battle with Marong forward Kain Robins, with both players featuring in their side's best players.

"Obviously Marong has been touted all year as the clear flag favourite, which they deserved to be based off their performance, but we always believed that we were a lot closer than probably a lot of people expected," Pyramid Hill coach Nathan Fitzpatrick said.

"It's a tough one to swallow today, but full credit to Marong; they played a good brand of footy and executed well."

The Bulldogs did a strong job defensively to hold the Panthers to a score of just 64 - well below their season average of 157 and Marong's lowest total in its past 44 games.

Conversely, Pyramid Hill's score of 48 was well shy of its season average of 110 in a grand final where both sides exerted strong pressure and defences were on top.

"We tried our best to make it a reasonably one-on-one game today all across the ground," Fitzpatrick said.

"Richard Tibbett obviously did a good job for them peeling off in defence and played really well and we probably didn't adapt quick enough to that.

"I thought if we could kick the first goal of the last quarter we'd be a chance and we were able to do that.

"We had our chances in the last quarter that didn't go our way and they took a few really good intercept marks, but I was really proud of the way the boys stuck at it.

"We had the desire there to keep going until the final siren, so I can't fault the effort of the boys."

Marong 1.7 4.9 7.14 8.16 (64)

Pyramid Hill 1.3 2.4 4.7 6.12 (48)

GOALS: Marong: B.Grenfell 3, L.Frankel 1, N.Devanny 1, K.Robins 1, R.Taylor 1, B.Gregg 1. Pyramid Hill: T.Brennan 1, B.Morison 1, S.Gunther 1, B.Carroll 1, Z.Alford 1, D.Collis 1

BEST: Marong: R.Tibbett, B.Gregg, M.Willox, N.Devanny, K.Robins, L.Lee. Pyramid Hill: G.James, T.Mcgregor, D.Collis, B.Morison, Z.Dingwall, B.Carroll.

AFL Victoria Medal - Richard Tibbett (Marong).

Ben Gregg

Brandyn Grenfell

Brodie Hartland

Corey Gregg

David Johnstone

Jack McCaig

Jacob Ede

Jimmy Gadsden

Jonty Davis

Kain Robins

Kyle Manley

Lachlan Frankel

Lachlan Lee

Matthew Riordan

Matthew Willox

Michael Bradbury

Nathan Devanny

Nathan Walsh

Richard Tibbett

Ryley Taylor

Trent Fisher

Will Gadsden

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