There was just one match decided by less than 10 goals in round 17 of Southern Division 1 football with plenty of late-season thrashings.
The closest match was between Springvale Districts and Bentleigh, two sides who are more than likely to face-off again in the first week of finals.
It was the battle of the Demons and Springy proved it was too good, sending a message to Bentleigh and the rest of the competition with a 31-point victory.
Hudson Thomas had plenty of the ball for the winning side, while Matt Wetering (five goals) and Jeremy Dang (three goals) led the way in attack.
Ross Barlas continued his form for Bentleigh, kicking three goals to make it 13 in his past four weeks.
Dingley was the destroyer as it made light work of Cranbourne to boost its percentage and win by 101 points with Scanlan Lynch booted five majors.
Mitch Gent, Tom Morecroft (both three goals) and Jack Ferraro (two goals) were the other multiple goal scorers, while young defender Liam Foggo was the Eagles’ best on a tough day.
After losing five consecutive games, East Brighton snapped its losing streak to defeat Port Melbourne in a big way, to the tune of 70 points.
Despite a terribly inaccurate first half where the Vampires kicked 5.15, they found the middle of the big sticks to run away to a big win as former AFL player Alex Keath kicked four goals, along with Jacob Sandman who also bagged four.
A dominant second half from Cheltenham saw the Rosellas defeat Murrumbeena by 65 points at Jack Barker Oval, as Max and Tom Davis combined for seven goals.
Daniel Vaughan played a brilliant game for the Rosellas, being named best on ground, while Nathan Scollo (three goals) provided a spark for the Lions.
Narre Warren suffered its worst loss of the season; completely outplayed by a formidable St Paul’s McKinnon side, which will be eyeing off premiership success next month.
The margin was just 14 points at half time but blew out to 65 as Brayden O’Toole (four goals) and Matthew O’Brien dominated – Will Howe (four goals) continued what has been a stellar three-week patch, yielding 16 goals for the Magpies.
In Division 2, Mordialloc claimed a huge 126-point win over Endeavour Hills to secure fifth spot on the ladder, edging out Frankston Dolphins, Caulfield Bears and Keysborough who all missed finals by one win.
It was a clinical performance from the Bloods who put the Falcons to the sword after quarter time, with William Avery and Cameron Debruin (four goals each) leading a long list of goalkickers.
Chelsea Heights lost its first game in almost two months with a shock loss against Highett in a three-point thriller.
After trailing 29-51 at three-quarter time with 3.11 on the board, the Bulldogs roared in the fourth as they doubled their score and kicked the final four goals of the match to win – Jacob Apted was named Highett’s best player.
An inaccurate East Malvern cost itself a chance to boost its percentage and finish a couple of spots higher on the ladder after a 32-point win over Doveton.
The Panthers kicked 7.21 which included 0.9 in the second term but three goals from Isaac Morrisby helped them secure the win – Max Sheppard kicked three of the Doves’ four goals.
Hampton Park has claimed the minor premiership after defeating Keysborough by 31 points, despite the margin being as close as 10 early in the final term.
Liam Scott played one of the best games of his season, booting six goals for the Redbacks, while young gun Kyden Vella kicked four for the Burras – who missed out on finals by one win and a considerable percentage.
Despite a brilliant five-goal performance from Frankston Dolphins’ Jordan Waite, it was Caulfield Bears who took the points as they won by 19 points – making it 2-0 against the Dolphins in 2025.
Both teams won eight games this season and fell narrowly short of playing finals in sixth and seventh positions respectively.
Division 2 turns its focus towards finals, while the top division has one more round of the home-and-away season.
