By Nicholas Duck
A dead rubber of a round still gave way to a couple of cracking games as the home and away season came to an end on Saturday.
Here's what you might have missed this week.
Wonthaggi vs Traralgon
Statement made.
Traralgon has fired a warning shot to the rest of the competition that they are not to be taken lightly this finals series after a sterling comeback win over Wonthaggi.
The Maroons trailed by 23 points at three quarter time and as much as 41 before finally finding their rhythm, booting eight straight to take the unlikeliest of leads on a horrific Wonthaggi Recreation Reserve surface.
Wonthaggi were able to break the run with a flying goal right on the siren – one which seemed to confuse Power forward Cooper McInnes into thinking they'd won as he raised his arms in triumph - but it was all for naught, Traralgon narrowly prevailing 9.9 (63) to 8.3 (61).
Maroons vice-captain Liam Willaton was inspirational, kicking three goals and earning best on ground honours for his side.
The Maroons have struggled to knock off top five teams all season but have now claimed scalps against Warragul and Wonthaggi as confidence builds.
As far as fifth-placed teams go, they're as dangerous as anyone.
Apart from Willaton it was Joel Scholtes, Luis D'Angelo, Mitchell Mustoe, Frazar Brouns and Cooper Anderson all shining when required to help lift them to victory.
The Power must now refocus after two straight losses as they prepare to play Leongatha this Saturday.
Kyle Reid, Aiden Lindsay, Brodie Mabilia, Jai Williams, Shannon Bray and Joshua Bates were their better performers.
Bairnsdale vs Maffra
Bairnsdale and Maffra played out a free flowing fun game of footy to close out their respective seasons, with the Redlegs claiming the spoils in an absolute shootout on their home deck.
The Redlegs looked down and out at half time, trailing by 29 points, only to pile on seven majors to one in the third term and come roaring back into the contest.
Eerily enough, they did the exact same thing when these two teams met in round nine.
As George Lucas once (in)famously said in the behind the scenes of The Phantom Menace - "it's like poetry, it rhymes."
This time the result went the other way, however, Bairnsdale learning from their past mistakes and ending the year on a high note 15.18 (108) to 15.11 (101).
It was familiar names getting the job done inside 50 – up one end it was Redleg danger man Brayden McCarrey (five goals) and up the other it was Eagles veteran John Butcher (four).
Cooper Vickery was named Bairnsdale's best alongside McCarrey, Tyran Rees, Randall Stewart, Jonah Walker and Reece Carstairs, while Maffra's included Alex Carr, Butcher, Zachary O'Keefe, Thomas Phillips, Max Stobie and Thomas Scott.
If anything the result proves what we already knew about these two – their best is wonderful, and their worst is woeful.
The Eagles will head into the off season with more to like despite the loss, having taken several key scalps this year – including top team Moe.
Their young brigade has plenty to like and will be a real danger in years to come.
Bairnsdale have a few more holes to fill, including their senior coaching position, but won one more game this season (albeit in a year compromised by Sale's non-competitiveness) and showed flashes of brilliance.
Moe vs Sale
In just about the most predictable result this season Moe romped to victory against Sale as they now prepare for a fully-fledged premiership tilt.
This game was nothing more than a box to tick for the Lions, who were far too good 27.23 (185) to 2.4 (16).
Of most interest was Lions forward Riley D'Arcy and whether he could kick a bag big enough to take home the league leading goalkicker award.
In most weeks his 15-goal tally would have done it – if not for Jenson Garnham putting on 13 against Drouin to deny him by just two.
Outside of that the flag favourites did as they pleased, consigning Sale to a winless record in a season where the word 'challenging' would be extremely charitable.
Moe's best (outside of the obvious) were Nathan Scagliarini, Max Woodall, Nick Prowse, Myles Poholke and Harry Pepper.
Kaden Mcculloch, Thomas Glenn, Dean Feltis, Mitchell Thacker, Cooper Rand and Finn Wilson never stopped trying for Sale.
Drouin vs Leongatha
A 13-goal mega haul from Leongatha's Jenson Garnham brought Drouin's season to an unceremonious end on Saturday after they were belted by 82 points.
Garnham was in rare air past half time, destroying every defender Drouin sent his way to secure the league goalkicking award and consign the Hawks to a 10.13 (73) to 24.11 (155) defeat.
As it turned out he needed the big bag too – Lions forward Riley D'Arcy ended his day against Sale on 15 majors, falling just two short of the title.
From a Drouin perspective the Hawks showed solid fight across quarters two and four but were well destroyed in the other two terms, their backline struggling to contain the Parrots' potent power inside 50.
The Hawks were at least able to show off their ability to kick a score on their home deck – 10 goals against Leongatha is nothing to sneeze at and is a far cry from when they were held goalless against them a few years ago.
When you give up 24 going the other way though, including 13 to one player, you won't be winning many.
The Hawks' midfield trio of Brodie Atkins, Lane Ward and Seb Amoroso did everything they could at the coal face, battling bravely against the Parrots' vaunted engine room even as the scoreboard went against them.
Young Darcy Britt had his moments, as did more experienced pair Sam Pratt and Campbell Bedford.
While Garnham of course earned best on honours for the Parrots, backman Tim Sauvarin played a major role in quelling the Hawks' forays forward in an excellent performance.
Nick Argento was as smooth as ever while Luke Bowman and Fraser Phillips weren't afraid to get their hands dirty at the contest.
Crafty forward Zavier Lamers (three goals) ended up being Leongatha's second highest goalscorer.
Leongatha were off to the races early in the day, booting the first four goals of the match.
Thinks began when Justin Pellicano clunked one and from there it was like shelling peas. Fraser Phillips put up an early highlight, nailing a difficult shot running towards the boundary hard in the pocket.
Garnham also got his mammoth day underway, double grabbing a mark and kicking truly.
Lane Ward broke the run when he took advantage of a free kick and slotted his shot, only for the Parrots to cancel it out immediately when they charged out of the middle and Nick Argento got on the end of one.
The teams traded blows in a free flowing and entertaining second term, Drouin kicking five and Leongatha six.
Hawks forward Noah Lafrantz managed one of the goals of the season, bouncing it through from the boundary line to a genuine beauty.
The Parrots enjoyed their own highlight when debutant Frazer Livingstone perfectly checksided a set shot, sending his teammates into raptures as they congratulated him. While they didn't eat into the margin the Hawks could hold their heads high for the effort – until the third term rolled around.
The famed premiership quarter saw the Parrots put on their premiership prowess, slamming through seven unanswered majors as Garnham really got rolling, kicking most of them himself.
While Drouin again fought back in the last the sting had well and truly gone out of the game, the only mystery left being how many Garnham would get and whether it would be enough to see him win the league goalkicking.
The answers turned out to be 1) a lot, and 2) yes.
While a disappointing end to the year, there's been a lot of improvement from Drouin in the second half of the season.
The Hawks have gone from one win last year to four this season (albeit two of them being against Sale) and have plenty of young talent to build on come 2027.
With Kingi set to return as coach, time will tell if he can continue the climb with his young charges.
Morwell vs Warragul
They say bad kicking is bad football. If that's the case, Warragul were guilty of some very bad football on Saturday.
The Gulls are set to enter an elimination final this weekend on very shaky ground following a nine-point loss to Morwell in breezy conditions - their fourth defeat in a row.
Playing away from home and without their best player in Tom Hobbs (illness) and their first-choice ruck Sam Whibley (hamstring awareness), Warragul could only muster a measly eight points across the entire first half as they laid waste to every opportunity they created.
Their opening quarter was particularly poor, returning six behinds when they had the wind at their backs.
The Tigers, meanwhile, capitalised on their opportunities, booting 5.3 to half time to build a 25-point lead at the main break.
Try as they might the attempted comeback from Warragul fell short, the final score 5.9 (39) to 7.6 (48).
Some games, like this one, can be summed up simply – one team took their chances and the other didn't.
It's a far cry from their earlier meeting this season where the Gulls made short work of their opponents in an 83-point pounding.
There's an argument to be made that the Gulls had nothing to play for and could take it easy, having been all but locked into a fourth-place finish.
As it stands though they have a hell of a lot of work to do if they want to go any further than this weekend's elimination final.
That being said, the Gulls fans would be feeling well and truly hard done by on the umpiring side of things - the folks in green were hot on the whistle, paying 76 frees across the day and up until the last quarter didn't have a lot of love for the visitors.
Rhys Galvin's return was a bright spot for the Gulls, the Coburg Lion forming a wall down back at various stages to be named Warragul's best.
Midfielder Riley Senini also enjoyed an industrious return to the team while young trio Sam Grummisch, Liam Serong and Caleb McIntosh all had their moments.
Defender Patrick Mulqueen again provided a steady hand after returning to senior action for the first time last week.
Morwell coach Aidan Quigley stood up magnificently for the Tigers down back, often playing as the spare man to deny Warragul time and time again.
Without Tyler Hillier it was up to the likes of Cohen Campbell and Hugh Dunbar (three goals) to keep Morwell moving through the middle and they did so to great effect.
Big man Isaac Abas relished the chance to take on Gulls veteran Matt Gray in the ruck instead of Whibley and was a real presence aerially as Blake Couling and Goy Jiath were both strong.
Beginning the game with the wind at their backs the Gulls enjoyed a metric tonne of territory, pounding the ball inside 50 again and again.
Despite that the breeze proved too turbulent, leading them to a multitude of misses.
Even players like Jed Lamb, usually a reliable shot, couldn't hit the target before Morwell capitalised, Goy Jiath receiving a 50-metre penalty and making it count.
An injury to Burkeley Macfarlane looked set to make things harder for Morwell as they fought against the tide.
Come the second term the roles reversed, the Tigers locking it in their forward half and apparently going the same way in failing to capitalise.
That was until Dunbar stood up, first slotting one from the paint of 50 and then doubling up via a high free.
Blake Couling made it three in a row as Dunbar struck again, pushing the Tigers ahead at half time and leaving the Gulls goalless.
Needing a circuit breaker to try and get his side going, Warragul coach Gary Ayres swung backman Sean Masterson up forward.
Warragul finally broke through when Abas spilled a mark, allowing Heath Jinks to snap one at close range.
Tom Stern rose to clunk one and get them closer to Ayres' delight, only for him to be frustrated after a ruck free went Maclan McInnes' way mere centimetres out from the Morwell goal.
The Gulls kept coming early in the fourth, consecutive majors to Liam Serong and Caleb McIntosh keeping things close.
Tiger small Isaac Caroleo crumbed one to perfection, restoring some breathing space, and though Nathan Whitten booted the goal of the day from the pocket to give the Gulls hope, their late attempts to complete the comeback were all in vain, Warragul now left with plenty to ponder ahead of their elimination final.
"They unfortunately outplayed us really and we didn't do a lot in the way we moved the ball out of our defence and the way we connected up forward," Ayres said post-game.
"I think our defensive work was okay but we couldn't get anything going in our forward half."
Having spent most of the year entrenched in the top three the Gulls lost their last four games. The way things are going it's hard to envision them snapping that streak when they meet Traralgon on Sunday.
"It's the tale of the tape, our efficiency and our skill application hasn't been to standard.
"Clearly you'd like to be better. Clearly we're in a position where we can control our destiny. Clearly whatever's happened in the past has come and gone and we can't change that, I said to the boys we have to focus on controlling the controllables."
Whibley and Hobbs are expected to return while Isaac Wallace (hamstring) is touch and go.
