Two-time reigning premiers Sale City where bundled out of flag contention at the final hurdle following the sides 35 point defeat at the hands of HEYFIELD.
Aiming to advance to their third straight Grand Final the Dogs went into the contest bolstered by the return of premiership players Jake Schuback and Jake Milham, who added fire power to a forward structure which coach Nick Hider had described as "not balanced or clinical" following the sides semi final victory.

Yet to drop the points on the three previous occasions the sides have met, Heyfield would have been wary of the addition of Schuback and Milham to the Dogs line-up but didn't look phased early in the contest. Flexing their muscle two weeks prior in the sides qualifying final clash, the Kangaroos were again slow to burst out of the blocks with City drilling forward from the opening bounce.

Following on from a standout individual performance last Sunday, City's Joel Brayshaw opened the scoring in the first two minutes after fleet footed Rowan Bell drilled the ball into Brayshaw in the pocket. Adam Walker looked to register City's second minutes later but his shot sprayed the front of goal. Schuback opened his account with a goal from the edge of the centre square as the reigning premiers looked up and about.
City came again before the Kangaroos' defence slowly moved the ball forward, Dowse combining with coach Adrian Cox in the goal square. The coach slotted through Heyfield's first major eight minutes into the contest, before a strong juggling mark in front of goal saw Mitch Dowse boot his first of three for the day to reel the margin back to two points.
The scoring dried up in the windy conditions, the ball moving back and forward between the two half backlines as neither side was able to break through the oppositions defence as errors riddled passages of play in a scrappy 10 minutes of play.
Schuback broke the tussle adding his second and final goal for the day in the dying stages of the first term to hand the Dogs a nine point break at the first siren.

Long and direct was the order from Cox to his chargers at his quarter time addressing and the side did exactly that. Neille's shot at goal held up in the wind to travel out of bounds, with Cox missing another before Dowse put the Kangaroos in front with Szabo extending the lead further.

City's defenders struggled to move the ball forward, opting to keep the ball in the dead pocket as the Kangaroos' forwards forced the turnovers and looked to extend the margin further.

Cox made it two in the row as he built on a handy buffer ahead of half time with the Kangaroos' kicking into the wind. City's Tom Wilson broke Heyfield's dominance, a 50 metre penalty sending the ball forward into the Dogs forward line to goal.

Two quick goals after the main change extended Heyfield's half time lead. Cox might have been ineligible to win the Sel Burley medal at Wednesdays leagues vote count but he put in one almighty performance on the preliminary final stage to single handily set his side up for a grand final berth.

A free to Jesse Jackway following an indiscretion by City defender Michael Walsh set the ball up in the air for the leading pack, with Dowse throwing the ball on the boot to snap at goal from 10 metres out.

Rowan Bell worked hard with Hider to lift the Dogs, but they could do little to eat away at the margin as the Kangaroos' kept coming at them. A late goal to Chris Fleming in the third term brought the margin back to 20 points.

The final term was a formality, Heyfield holding strong in the final 25 minutes to book their first grand final appearance since their premiership in 2009.
The Dogs had a number of opportunities to build on the lead in the second term, but it was the Kangaroos key play makers which stepped up on the big stage. Coach Cox making his presence felt early in the contest, his general role in the midfield while pushing forward he found plenty of the ball in front of goal. Josh Neille and Dowse created play on the ball while the sides backline led by assistant coach Jesse Leeds withstood the Dogs forward pressure to ensure that the Kangaroos booked a berth in the season's penultimate contest.
Smarting after dropping their semi final clash last Saturday the Kangaroos marked their intentions in the second term to establish a handy three goal buffer at the main change, one they extended out to 20 points at the final change of ends with the sides with late goals to Cox and Dowse extending the final margin, 14.15 (99) to 10.4 (64).
Cox kicked a game high seven majors with Dowse finishing the match with three. The Kangaroos backline were rock solid and restricted City's forward playmakers to get a hold of the ball. Heyfield's Matt Goodwin wore Schuback like a glove, Brenton Dinsdale was a standout as was Daniel Brown who out muscled the Dogs potent forward line holding them at bay.
Creating run from half back the Kangaroos' back six were sublime in setting up play down field with Brenton Dinsdales calculated running from half back an added bonus for setting up the Kangaroos forward line.
Hider had a big game on the back of a stellar two months, Mitch Bennett was damaging running through the middle of the ground off half back, Marty McDonough was a lone ranger in defence with Tim McMillan a standout in the ruck contest.
In the RESERVES minor premiers Heyfield recorded a 16 point victory to advance to the Grand Final to meet second place and their Semi Final opponents Sale City.
Sale City THRIDS joined the clubs Reserve side in the Grand Final following victory over reigning premier Churchill, winning 9.17 (71) to 7.9 (51). The Dogs will meet TTU who in the Semi Finals handed the Dogs their first defeat of the season.

SENIORS GRAND FINAL:
Rosedale V Heyfield, Saturday 15th September,

By Lauren Carey