HepburnBy Jason Olver
SCRAMBLE: Bulldogs' Jack Savige and the Burra's S Newton scramble for the ball.
PACKED: Hepburn's D Abbott takes the scrunch but nothing could stop the Burras from powering home.
AFTER not tasting victory against Daylesford since the 2006 preliminary final, Hepburn was able to defeat Daylesford by 34 points in the last game of the home-and-away season, sending it into next week's elimination final.
Most football pundits are of the opinion that if you stop Lee Cox and Andy McKay then ultimately you will defeat Hepburn.
Cox was again rested and McKay was crunched in the first seconds of the game, and except for the first five minutes, he took no further part in the match.
With two of the league's most damaging forwards missing, and with the daunting task of trying to defeat Daylesford at Victoria Park, things looked grim.
Daylesford was able to score the first goal and it seemed like deja vu, as the Burras squandered as many scoring opportunities as they did earlier in the season.
It has been many a year since Hepburn has gone into half-time without a goal _ having kicked nine straight behinds.
Luckily for Hepburn the backline was well on top having only conceded one goal for the first two quarters.
With a game that was hard in the clinches and no quarter given, Shane Robertson found inspiration in the form of 16-year-old Sam Conroy.
Conroy was introduced into the fray and pitted against Daylesford's dynamic ruckman Scott Winduss.
It was an absorbing battle against the seasoned star and the young up and comer nullified Winduss's dominance around the ground as well as being creative.
Matthew Peake took a clever contested mark in the goal square to kick Hepburn's first goal. The Burra running brigade of Mann, Dillon and the James brothers were dominant and then in the next five minutes piled on another two goals through Mick Stanley and Kane Robertson.
In a low-scoring affair this five-minute passage of play was the difference.
When Dan O'Halloran outsmarted his opponent and kicked the fourth goal for the term, Hepburn went into time 26 points up.
As Hepburn supporters started to rejoice Stanley kicked another and Salesi Uhi brought the crowd to its feet with a set shot 50 metres out deep in the forward pocket.
It wasn't until the final minutes that Daylesford was able to kick its second goal for the afternoon.
Now with a vital week's rest, the boys will be looking forward to watching their opponents next Saturday, before gearing up for another finals series.
Final score: Hepburn 6-16-52 _ Daylesford 2-6-18
Goals: M Stanley 2, M Peake 1, K Robertson 1, D O'Halloran 1, S Uhi 1.
Best: B Shepherd, S Newton, R Mann, M Dillon, J Comelli, M Peake
DAYLESFORD
By Stuart Wilson
THE Daylesford Bulldogs went down in disappointing fashion at the hands of Hepburn at the weekend.
Daylesford never really looked a chance, as Hepburn's poor kicking at goal was the only thing that kept Daylesford in the game for the first half.
Daylesford kicked the first major of the game through Xavier Keighran, who was one of the few Bulldogs that could hold their head high against the Burras.
Daylesford led by one point at the first change, when Hepburn managed six behinds.
The second term was one best forgotten for most footy followers, with neither team able to put a goal on the board.
Ruckman Scott Winduss continued to work extremely hard in conditions not suited to the big man, but the heavy conditions underfoot made it difficult to hit targets for both sides.
Daylesford still maintained a one-point lead at the main break.
Hepburn came out all guns blazing in the third stanza and left Daylesford in its wake.
Rob Rodgers was doing his best to stem the flow by setting up play from half-back, but Hepburn continued to pressure the Daylesford backline and ended up kicking four goals for the quarter, opening up a commanding 26-point lead at three-quarter time.
Daylesford was unable to get back into the match in the final term, despite the efforts of Cade O'Brien and Joel Adams, who worked incredibly hard in the clinches.
A late goal to Michael Davis would be some consolation for the Bulldogs, but Hepburn ended up winning the match by 34 points.
Daylesford will take on Buninyong next week in an elimination final this Sunday to try and keep its back-to-back premiership dream alive.
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