Port Fairy's footballers are usually free to do as they please when the finals roll around. But things are very different this year.
With three games remaining in the Hampden footy league's home and away season, the Seagulls' senior side are on track to finish in the top five for the first time since 2006.
Their reserves team are also set to break a long finals drought.
For a club that won their last senior premiership in 1958, these are heady days.
"There's a real good buzz around the club," said Port Fairy's third-year president, Mick Wolfe. "But there's also a good buzz around the town.
"You go down the street on a Monday morning and every second conversation you have is about the footy." Port Fairy's most recent tilt at a senior flag came in 2005, when former North Melbourne and Geelong defender Brad Sholl led the Seagulls all the way to the grand final.
After losing the big game to Terang-Mortlake by 21 points, Sholl's team rebounded to make the finals again the following season.
But times have been tough for Port Fairy in recent years.
In 2012, the Seagulls' senior side finished on the bottom of the ladder without a win to their name and a percentage of just 25.
The team finished second-last in 2013, then won four games last season but also took home yet another wooden spoon.
Off the field, however, the foundations were being laid for a revival. "We knew we were on the right track," Wolfe said. "We've really looked after our juniors over the last few years as a long-term investment.
"We've given them training bags and singlets and things like that, and we've had a number of people, including Cameron Ling, talk to them about loyalty and sticking by the club." A couple of key developments over summer helped accelerate Port Fairy's improvement.
The first was the decision to appoint former South Warrnambool rover Brett Evans, who was a non-playing assistant coach in 2014, as senior coach.
"He's a very intelligent bloke, and he's probably a bit more strategic that some of the coaches we've had in the past," Wolfe said.
"But it's not only what Brett has done for the players when it comes to the on-field stuff. He's also been big on making sure they get involved in the social side of the club.
"We are getting a lot of compliments about the culture and the feeling around the club.
"The one-percenters on the field all add up, but the one-percenters off the field are just as important." The second key development was the arrival of some new talent. The star recruit was former Melbourne midfielder Daniel Nicholson, a country boy who grew up in the little Western District farming town of Derrinallum.
Nicholson, who now lives in Warrnambool but has started a building apprenticeship with a Port Fairy-based construction company, has made a huge impression.
"He's a ripper player," Wolfe said. "But, at the same time, the work he does around the club is amazing.
"He'll play on the Saturday, then he turns up and does the running for the juniors on the Sunday as part of his rehab.
"The kids really look up to him. They can't believe they have an ex-AFL player, who's probably still good enough to play in the AFL, running water and delivering messages to them." Port Fairy's senior side started their 2015 campaign with a win over Portland but proceeded to lose their next three games.
Since then, the Seagulls have performed well most weeks.
Among their most impressive results have been a 21-point victory over fellow finals contender Terang-Mortlake in round nine and a 44-point win over third- placed North Warrnambool in round 11.
They also played well against second-placed Koroit two weeks ago but fell 10 points short.
Last weekend, Port Fairy shored up their position in the top five by defeating sixth-placed Camperdown by 41 points.
And the Seagulls were aiming to all but sew up a spot in the finals when they hosted a battling South Warrnambool side on Saturday afternoon.
"Even though our results have been a bit up and down, there's been a great buzz right the way through," Wolfe said. "People feel like it's a great club to be at.
"It's a happier place than it's been in the past. Our crowds are up, our sponsors are right on board, and the results are there on the scoreboard." Barring a late-season collapse, Port Fairy's long finals drought will come to an end on the first weekend of September.
The many footy fans in the picturesque seaside town can hardly wait.
"No doubt the shops and residences will have plenty of purple and yellow streamers out the front," Wolfe said. "It's really exciting."
PORT FAIRY FNC
The Seagulls have lost five senior grand finals since winning their last flag in 1958.
Port Fairy's exports to the VFL/AFL include Noel Mugavin, who played 41 games for Fitzroy and two for Richmond between 1978 and 1982
By Adam McNicol