AS FINALS begin across country football's many competitions, there are plenty of teams in positions to break long-standing premiership droughts. Among them is Wedderburn, which has finished on top of the North Central league ladder but has not won a flag since 1970.

In the Mornington Peninsula Nepean league, Seaford has dominated the home-and-away season as it tries to win its first premiership since 1985.

And just across the bay is another club, also without a flag for 22 years, which desperately wants some silverware.

Located just down the Bellarine Peninsula from Geelong, the Drysdale Hawks carry almost as much baggage from previous failures as the success-starved Cats.

Since they last went all the way, the Hawks have lost four grand finals. Their most recent failure, in 2002, still sends shivers down the spines of their most loyal supporters.

On that day, Drysdale went into the Bellarine league grand final against Ocean Grove undefeated. But in a massive upset, on a wet and windy day at Torquay, the Hawks were thumped by 52 points. Making matters worse, Drysdale had also lost the previous year's grand final to the Grubbers.

"I was so disappointed that day," said life member Kevin Davis. "I was in tears and others were as well. I hate going back to Torquay because it makes me think of 2002."

The Hawks' heartache didn't end there. In 2003 and 2004 they finished second on the ladder yet failed to even make the grand final, while in 2005 they also finished in the top five but again crashed out.

This year, Drysdale, under the coaching of former Sydney player Wade Chapman, has another chance to make amends. Thanks to a gutsy win over Modewarre last Saturday, the Hawks finished the home-and-away season on top of the ladder and secured a valuable week's rest.

Having a ruptured Achilles tendon a month ago, Chapman will not take part in the finals campaign. But he has instilled such a level of toughness and professionalism in his team, people such as Davis are confident Drysdale can finally smash its hoodoo.

With club records showing it was founded in 1880, Drysdale is one of the oldest football clubs in Australia. It was playing organised matches before Richmond (1885) and Collingwood (1892).

Despite its lack of recent premierships, it has established itself as one of the Bellarine league's benchmarks.

"When I took over in 1999, we had four junior teams under our banner," said Drysdale president Allan Bliss. "We've expanded to now having 13 teams and nearly 200 Auskickers. If we can help our young people in the town through football, netball and cricket, we'll have a better town to live in."

A premiership next month would cap off all the hard work.

Last Saturday's win over Modewarre was an important stepping stone. With no chance of making the finals, the Warriors threw everything at their highly rated opponents and led deep into the third quarter.

A strong breeze made the contest a scrappy affair, while the state of the Drysdale Recreation Reserve didn't help either. The oval's usually pristine surface was ruined by the summer water restrictions, which meant the Hawks had to play their first five matches away.

For the game against Modewarre, at least half the ground was just bare dirt, while the rest had only lumpy tufts of grass. But no one seemed to be complaining.

"The first half of this year was horrendous with the drought," Bliss said. "That put an enormous amount of pressure on the club to meet its financial commitments. We didn't get any gate takings or food and drink sales and our sponsors were getting no exposure. Now we have played eight home games, our financial position has brightened up considerably."

Often the Drysdale oval, which boats an electronic scoreboard and a countdown clock, hosts the Bellarine league grand final. This year that won't be happening. Ominously, for Davis at least, the big game will take place at Torquay.

In the end, Drysdale found a way to beat Modewarre and sealed top spot on the ladder. Veteran midfielder and assistant coach Frank Fopiani lit up the final quarter with two great goals and some exuberant celebrations.

Late in the last term, a Warriors' goal narrowed the gap to eight points. At any other country footy venue, that would have made the players and supporters nervous. But with the scoreboard clearly showing only 54 seconds remained in the match, the Hawks had no trouble icing the clock.

After belting out "We're a happy team at Drysdale", the players returned to the field and warmed down for more than 20 minutes. The extra attention to detail has been introduced by Chapman and Fopiani, who have signed two-year contracts.

"We started pre-season in October and we always start training on time at six o'clock," Chapman said. "Recovery and looking after yourself after a game definitely make a difference."

With Chapman unable to play in the finals, Fopiani will be the Hawks' on-field leader. A highly decorated player, he won five best-and-fairest awards with Geelong league club North Shore. Fopiani's history of success means he's not the slightest bit intimidated by the challenge that lies ahead for Drysdale.

"I've played plenty of finals before and I know they don't come easy and we've got a long way to go," Fopiani said. "We've got to keep working hard on the track and the results will take care of themselves."

Article first appeared: The Age, August 19, 2007