Weekly Times | THERE’S only been one finals match in country Victoria football, but already the warning is clear — wipe the slate clean because everything beforehand counts for zip.
Swifts Creek has stunned the Omeo and District league by bundling Bruthen out of the competition in the first semi-final.
The Bulldogs had beaten Swifts Creek three times this year by an average of 145 points, and were six wins and more than 100 per cent ahead of the Demons on the ladder after the home-and-away season.
Bruthen won by 192 points on July 18, but fast-forward two weeks and it was Swifts Creek which advanced to the preliminary final after a two-goal win on Saturday.
“Bruthen are more of a run-and-carry team, and the rain slowed them down, which helped us,” Swifts Creek coach Grant Dyer said. “I still don’t really know what happened.
“It was becoming a pretty long year. We were starting to get injuries and run down because we were getting beaten pretty badly for a while there. But they just kept turning up every week and having a crack.”
Swifts Creek midfielder Jordy Cameron kicked five goals, and it was so cold on Saturday that defender Tom King had to be treated by ambulance staff and did not complete the game.
Swifts Creek will play the loser of Saturday’s second semi-final between Buchan and Lindenow South in the preliminary final.
Lindenow South’s Noel Jansz won the league best-and-fairest by a vote from Bruthen’s Ben Murphy.
