Bonnie Doon lost by 93 points (125-32) when they played Milawa at the Milawa Recreation Reserve on 16th August's final game of the home and away season. That meant they finished sixth on the ladder and Milawa took third, booking in an elimination final to be held at North Wangaratta Sports Reserve on Saturday 23 August. It was hard to see past a Milawa win. But Bonnie Doon will feel like they were the better side for spells of Saturday's elimination final and if they had just converted one or two of the nineteen behinds they scored, things could have been different. The Bombers started the game well, taking their opponents by surprise with a six goal first quarter that saw them lead Milawa 25-39 going into the first break. And though Bonnie Doon managed to hold onto a three point lead (49-52) at half time, their kicking in front of goal had become wayward and their missed chances started to pile up. By the end of the third quarter they had amassed 15 behinds and they were no longer in the lead (69-57) and their profligacy in front of goal made it look like they were no danger of staging a comeback. The Bombers held the Demons to a single goal in the fourth and final term, whittling their lead away to a single score and eventually finding the score that saw them hit the lead. But they simply could not hold onto it until the final siren. Typical for Bonnie Doon's 2025, the goal that defeated them came off the back of an injury to a Bomber. Bonnie Doon bow out of the finals, finishing their stop/start season, with their heads held high having overcome a raft of personnel changes and a frankly unimaginable queue for the physio's table. Jayjay Curtin, Patrick Smith, Joel Sanford, Ben Hedin, Flynn Butterworth and player/coach Campbell Smedley were amongst the best on ground while James Law headlined the scoreboard with four goals. Bonnie Doon Football Netball Club President Dave McMahon was pleased to see the team give it a red hot shake. "Milawa knew they were in a tough battle from the first bounce," he said. "We picked our strongest team but, typical of this year, we had to play four players carrying injuries. "Our boys threw everything at them. "Big Jim Law kicked four on one ankle! "After half time we kicked too many behinds and you can't win finals doing that, but we fought back from ten points down in last quarter and hit the front with the red and black army going crazy. "Milawa's big full forward kicked more than 100 this year. "He was well held by the Duke of Earl (Earl Ree-Goodings) the entire game but with less than a minute to play he was on a lead, with Earl just a stem in front of him when Earls hamstring gave way. "The big full forward marked and the resulting goal was the difference but the Doon showed their character and their big hearts." After the season-ending game, Dave McMahon told the Courier that Campbell Smedley, Bonnie Doon's player/coach is stepping down as coach to turn his focus on playing. "We have had great interest in the senior and reserves coaching roles and we are very excited about those prospects. "We need depth in the senior ranks and have been focusing on recruiting. "We will see some players retire after giving so much for the club but that's country footy." The Bonnie Doon Reserves extended their finals campaign by beating Whorouly 65-31 in the elimination final. Luke Berriman, Cody Turner, Charlie Houghton, Andrew Marshall, Trent Smith and Sean Campitelli were best on the ground while Charlie Houghton and Cody Turner kicked a hattrick each to fire the Bombers through. They will now look to avenge the Senior team's defeat when they face Milawa Reserves in the semi final next week.
