The young, slick Bulldogs outfit stuck with the Eagles for the first half on Saturday, but will rue a 30-minute period after the long break in which their rivals broke clear to set up the 21-point triumph.

Gordon made good use of a stiff breeze at Learmonth to open up a 37-point lead at the final change, and from there, the result was never in doubt.

Steve Nicholson kicked five goals to be clearly one of the most influential players on the ground, while the likes of Ben Peters, Chris McGuigan and Josh Lee were good around the ball for the winners.

On a whole, Gordon looked more threatening when on the attack, with the Bulldogs lacking a real focal point up forward.

For the vanquished, the young brigade of Jordan Alexander, Max Risstrom and Joel Cowan were lively, with Patrick Rowe named best by the club.

“We certainly played some good footy, (but) we probably turned the ball over a bit much,” Gordon coach Gary Learmonth said.

Daylesford coach Marcus Goonan said his team was a bit “haphazard” going forward and wondered whether or not there were some nerves from his side on a big stage.

“We just had a little bit of a lapse there for a period of time and they got on top… all credit to them for taking advantage when they needed to,” Goonan said.

Goonan also took a moment after the game to reflect on a season – his first in charge – that has seen the senior side rise from 14^th on the ladder to a place in the second week of finals.

“I couldn’t be more proud of that bunch of guys because we’ve had our ups and downs this year.

“Stuff has gone wrong and we’ve just been able to regroup and keep going,” Goonan said of the Daylesford team.