BEARS Lagoon Serpentine tuned up for the finals with a romp over bottom side Calivil, winning by 139 points, with Josh Mellington kicking 13 goals.
The Bears jumped the Demons in the first quarter and by half-time led by 10 goals.
They kept Calivil goalless in the second half, adding another 12 of their own to seal the confidence-boosting win.
However, it has come at a huge cost with last season’s Harding Medal winner Justin Laird reported and sent off after an incident with Demon Jayden Manderson.
On a perfect day for football, Serp was impeccably accurate in shooting for goal until the last quarter, which yielded 3.6 after the Bears were 21.6 at three-quarter time.
Calivil was clearly outgunned but for a period in the second quarter gained control in midfield and looked threatening.
Defender Tyler Miles continued his good form for the Bears to be one of his side’s best.
Mellington’s baker’s dozen made him best afield, while ruckman Nathan Twigg again dominated the hit outs and kicked two goals when resting forward.
Calivil’s two goal scorers, Henry McCarthy and Anthony Dennis were among the Demons’ best with co-captains Jack Maher and Sam Green.
Maher and Manderson shared the unenviable task of trying to quell the damaging Mellington, whose strength in the contest and strong marking were on display.
Calivil ended the season with just one draw to its name – way back in April in round one – in an injury-riddled year.
Coach Sam Maher has been reappointed for 2026 in a sign of confidence is his leadership.
MARONG left nothing to chance in securing top spot and a week off with a 140-point demolition of Newbridge.
The Maroons failed to score after half-time on its home ground, which will host this season’s Loddon Valley grand final. Marong, searching for a fourth premiership in a row, was led by ruckman Michael Bradbury, who shifted forward after the main break and kicked eight goals.
Newbridge was competitive in the first quarter and trailed by only 10 points.
The Panthers kicked seven goals to two in the second term and then another 15 after half-time as the Maroons packed up early for the end of the season.
Co-coach Kain Robins kicked three for the winners and now has 44 for the season.
Teammate Ryley Taylor booted one to move to 42 goals.
Newbridge full-forward Billy Schlling ended a fine first season with three goals, finishing in the top 10 goalkickers for the year with 41, a tremendous effort in a team that won only three games.
REMARKABLY, Pyramid Hill’s 93-point win over Maiden Gully was the closest margin of the round.
High-leaping ruckman Kaim Daniels was named as the Bulldogs’ best player.
They were also well served by Bailey George, Harrison Goodes and Archie Hildebrandt.
Key forward Ben Bisset booted six, taking his tally for the season to 70, behind only Lachlan Sharp and Josh Mellington.
At half-time, the Eagles were well in the match, trailing by 30 points, but Pyramid hit the accelerator in the second half with 9.13 to 0.4.
Only inaccuracy cost the Bulldogs an even bigger win.
Tyler James, probably Maiden Gully’s best player this season, kicked five of his team’s seven goals, while Anthony Robins, Daniel Russell and Stacy Fiske were also prominent.
The Eagles ended their season with five wins and a draw to finish sixth in a significant improvement on last year.
Pyramid Hill now looks to the qualifying final against in-form Bridgewater at Marist College on Saturday.