Bungaree 16.18 (114)
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Springbank 7.14 (56)
BUNGAREE has climbed back to the top of the Central Highlands Football League.
The Demons won their first senior premiership since 1991 with a 58-point thumping of Springbank in Saturday's grand final at Eureka Stadium.
For coach Greg Middleton, the flag is his first at any level and completes a five-year journey with the club, which he joined in 2010.
Middleton now hands over the reins to assistant Heath Pyke, who inherits a side on top of its game.
"A reserves and senior premiership is probably a pretty good way to finish up I think," Middleton said.
"What we have got here is going to be sustainable, definitely."
It was the Bungaree forwards which separated the two teams, with the mercurial Luke Mirtschin (five goals) and speedy Mitch Bruns (four goals) starring in attack, alongside Shaun Finlayson (one goal). Bruns was the surprise inclusion of the day, overcoming a serious hamstring tear from just two weeks ago to win his place back in the side.
Ruckman David Benson won the best on ground medal for his display around the ground, but young Nicholas Weightman could have easily taken home the honour after a dazzling display off half-back and through the middle. Weightman, who returned to the team after missing the preliminary final on North Ballarat Rebels duties, was electric and set up a number of Demon attacks forward.
Tom Wilson provided a target at centre half forward, clunking a number of strong marks, while skipper Joel Mahar provided some spark in the engine room to be amongst his team's best, along with Jackson Murphy.
"I think our forward line had them cooked in every position," Middleton said.
"The plan worked really well today and the boys really bought into it as they have the last month.
"We were really disappointed with that first final against Waubra and I knew that we were well below par. I really gave them a rev-up after that game, and from then on they've just been resilient and fantastic."
The day started on a bad note for Springbank when Geoff Taylor Medal winner Luke Fisher sustained an early hamstring injury and was sidelined for the second half, before goal-kicker Tom Eltringham hurt an ankle in the third term.
Standouts were few and far between in yellow and black, but defender Justin Simpson did a good job, star forward Paul McMahon took a stack of grabs, but most of his influence was up the ground and not around goal, while Bill Driscoll found plenty of it but didn't prove overly damaging with his disposal.
Like Middleton, Springbank coach Sam Giblett now bows out of the role, but not with the ultimate reward he has craved in his past three years at the helm.
"(Bungaree) had 22 that just seized that moment," Giblett said after the match.
"We had blokes that I think the occasion overwhelmed them from the outset. We drifted from the instruction that has got us to this point.
"They tried their guts out - I'll give them that - but it was just disappointing. The ways we know we can win footy, they just didn't execute that today... our positioning, accountability and everything that has got us to this point in the last three or four weeks.
"To go away from that and deviate from that is a bit disappointing, but it's up to those guys now how they want to take this club going forward."