An astonishing 100m penalty as the final siren sounded handed Violet Town a famous come-from-behind victory over Avenel at the weekend.
With Avenel dominating the first three quarters, onlookers at Avenel Recreation Reserve would have thought their Swans were well and truly home at the final change, leading by 28 points.
But the Towners roared to life in the final term, running all over the top of the home side to kick eight of the last 11 goals and secure a 17.5 (107) to 15.16 (106) triumph.
Avenel coach Kasey Duncan said it was disappointing to fade away in the final minutes.
“We won every quarter up until the last and there was some scoreboard dramas and some of the guys thought we were further ahead than we were and took the pedal off,” Duncan said.
“We dropped our pressure and the big forwards up there in (Jack) Exell and Josh (Mellington) took control of the game of the bit.
“It was pretty disappointing, especially with the 100m penalty after the siren, and a few guys may have been looking towards the finals in those last five minutes and that might have been the difference.”
The highlight of the day would come from Violet Town spearhead Jack Exell, who booted his 100th goal of the season.
But around the ball it was the Swans that dominated, creating an array of opportunities for their forwards.
Finishing with 16 behinds, Duncan said an inability to finish around the sticks cost his team.
“To have nine or 10 more scoring shots and still lose, it shows that we definitely had our chances to ice the game,” he said.
“So to end up with 15.16 to their 17.5 it was disappointing and was the difference in the game.
“But it’s not all on the forwards, in the last quarter our mids did drop away and let them get first hands on the ball, which led to them having such a dominant last quarter.”
While it was a disappointing end to the day for Avenel, a number of players still put together standout performances.
Tom Tobin led the way with a dominant performance, while skipper Kyle Maynard was at his best, booting three majors.
A loss that will without doubt sting the proud Swans playing group, Duncan said he hoped it fuelled the fire ahead of the finals series.
“There is a lot of fire in us and we will without doubt be raring to go come that first final,” he said.
“There is no such thing as a bad loss because you always learn from it and that’s what we’ll do, instead of dropping our heads we’ll think about how we can fix it.
“Our brand is built for finals, so we are champing at the bit to get into it.”
The loss didn’t affect Avenel’s position on the ladder, with the Swans claiming the minor premiership and as a result facing Stanhope in the first round of the finals.
Around the grounds, Nagambie was unable to quell a dominant Shepparton East, losing 25.16 (166) to 4.8 (32) at Central Park Recreation Reserve.
A dour day for the Lakers all round, Tom Madden and Daniel Haysom were gallant in defeat as they now prepare for an elimination final against Violet Town this weekend.
Stanhope pinched fourth from the Eagles thanks to its 219-point drubbing of Tallygaroopna.
Midfield star Ryan Semmel chalked up 10 goals in another best-on performance.
Forward Tom Rennie enjoyed a strong day with eight majors.
Meanwhile, Murchison-Toolamba was a class above Merrigum.
The Grasshoppers pulled away to win 18.17 (125) to 4.4 (28).
Aidan Lloyd and Michael Coad each booted five majors for the victors.
Lancaster slammed the door shut on Dookie United's chances of playing finals with a sublime 78-point win.
A powerful 10-goal to three effort in the first half helped Lancaster set up the victory.
Lastly, Undera recorded its third consecutive win to end its season on a high.
The Lions cruised past Rushworth to record a 26.14 (170) to (4.10) win.
Undera’s Keelan Mitchell feasted with seven majors, while teammate Dylan Moncur booted five.