AS THE dark dreary clouds hovered above the Laurie Sullivan Reserve on the shortest day of the year, two of this year's more fancied finals combatants faced off.
The Hepburn camp was joyous, having answered a lot of critics' questions with a scintillating display of football against Buninyong.
Again the back line held firm, only conceding seven goals for the day, and Sam Newton again staked his claim as one of Hepburn's best-ever players.
Newton went head to head with Buninyong star recruit Andrew Tranquilli and totally eclipsed the dangerous forward. Tranquilli was subsequently moved into defence for a brief period to try and release the shackles.
Big Sammy the Brigadier of the defence was well backed up by his soldiers, Leehane, Comelli, Byers and Ware, who didn't put a foot wrong all day.
As is usually the case on the snug Hepburn oval, the side that wins it out of the centre, wins the game.
Salesi Uhi turned in a dominant display of ruckwork, his tap work was a feature, and around the ground he continually brought his team mates into the game.
The role Uhi is playing is different to what he had been playing at Ballan and may have taken him a while to get used to, but now Hepburn is reaping the benefits.
Jarrod James was one who benefitted, continually the receiver of Uhi's ruckwork. The youngest of the James clan was back to his best with some ferocious tackling and finished the match with two clever goals.
His fellow on-ballers Peake, Purtell, and Daniel James were not far behind him and gave the forwards plenty of opportunities to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Up forward, although kicking four goals, Lee Cox was well held in the conditions. But, as a good side should do, it doesn't rely on just one person week in week out.
For the second week in a row Brendan Shepherd came to the fore booting three goals. Not only is he hard to match up in the air, his bulky frame has a turn of speed once the ball hits the deck and the powerful man is hard to
stop when he is focussed on winning those contests.
Ross Mann again was unbeatable, this time playing on a wing. On the other wing, youngster Toby Hughes kicked two goals and had an enthralling battle with the more experienced Hiscock.
Honours were about even, both playing good games for their respective sides, but Toby would have walked away from the game confident that he can match it with the best.
The one downer for the day was Matt Dillon. Dillon was accidentally kicked in the face while putting on an inspirational smother during the third quarter. Although the game was stopped for a few minutes, Dillon didn't take
any further part in the game. He has pulled up with no complications and will be right for next week.
Finally the club would like to congratulate Andy McKay on playing 50 senior games. We look forward to watching the next 50.
Surely they couldn't be as good as the first 50 could they? If so we are in for a treat.
Score: Hepburn 15.16.106 def Buninyong 7.11.53
Goals: L Cox 4, B Shepherd 3, J James 2, T Hughes 2, A McKay 1, N Purtell 1 D James 1, S Uhi 1
Best: J James, S Newton, R Mann, C Leehane, S Uhi, T Hughes, N Purtell
Under-18
IN A tight tough physical game Hepburn scraped home against a powerful Buninyong combination.
This was always going to be a hard game with Bunninyong sitting third on the ladder and having a size and height advantage all over the ground.
The game opened at a furious pace with Buninyong taking an early lead, which they were able to hold all day, with their constant pressure forcing many errors and turnovers.
Heavy rain fell for the first half, a slippery ball making it hard for Hepburn to get its trademark running game going, so it had to rely on physical force around the packs to move the ball forward.
Winnard and Hughes were powerful in defence and, when moved to full forward, Winnard took some strong marks and kicked a great goal.
Hallaran Frost and Knight threw themselves in, winning the hard ball and each scoring handy goals.
Every player was under huge pressure and Johns and Kinnear made desperate saves in defence to keep them in the game.
The intensity increased in the last quarter as the lead was gained and lost.
All day, captain Cimera led from the front, crashing packs, throwing himself in, then using his speed to break away. He saved his best until last and, with the big crowd roaring, he rose from the mud to take a shot on goal with only a minute left on the clock.
With everyone holding their breath he limped back to his mark then calmly put it through from 40 metres out. The noise was amazing as the team gained the lead, the siren sounded and they were home by three points.
An excellent win against quality opposition with only Bungaree ahead of them on the ladder.
Score: Hepburn 8.4.52 def buninyong 7.7.49
Best: A Cimera, B Hughes M Johns, S Conroy, L O'Hallaran, B Knight
Goals: A Cimera 2, B Knight, S Conroy, T Robertson, K Frost, S Winnard, L O'Hallaran 1, Hallaran 1.
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