Bungaree will now progress into the third week of the Central Highlands Football League finals series, facing off against Springbank for a place in the grand final.

It was a late goal from veteran Chris O’Keefe that sealed the triumph and was the defining moment in an exciting match that saw the lead traded multiple times.

Late in the first term, Demons coach Heath Pyke was reported for making head high contact and shown a yellow card for his actions, reducing the team to 17 players on the field.

The Burras capitalised on the situation and cruised into quarter time with a four-point lead.

Pyke returned to the ground at the mid-point of the second quarter and so did the desire of Bungaree to compete strongly, with an emphasis on getting back into scoring range.

Ash McDonald contributed well, kicking two goals to take his team into the long break with a narrow one-point lead.

After half time, Hepburn were resilient and focused on restoring the scoreboard pressure on its opponents.

Spearhead Lee Cox was sensation as he booted the final three majors of the term - closing in on a personal tally of six for the day - to move into three quarter time with a vital four-point buffer.

The Demons raced into the last quarter, kicking the opening two goals to instil hope among the playing group. It didn’t take long for the Burras to hit back, though, with Steven Carman scoring to hold a momentary lead.

Rampant hard tackling and congested turnovers from both teams continued for the following 10 minutes before O’Keefe kicked a goal from deep in the forward pocket to clinch the 12.10 (82) to 11.12 (78) second semi final triumph at Learmonth.

Pyke said that winning such a close match was “massively important”.

“Heading into the finals, you never want to be on the losing side of a straight sets exit,” Pyke said.

“Realistically, from where we started this year, we really set ourselves up for this time of year.

“Credit to the lads as they fought back after last weekend’s loss, and it would have been quite easy to pack things up and think it was too hard.”

Hepburn coach Clive Raak said the feeling of disappointment was evident in the Hepburn change rooms after the game.

“In games like this, if you don’t take your chances then it comes back and gets you,” Raak said.

“We had around eight shots on goal in the last quarter and ended up kicking a lot of points.

“I believe the club has a good future ahead of us and hopefully with all the good juniors coming up they can all stick together.”