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.

“We knew that they wouldn’t give up and they’d keep coming – they’re a young, exciting side, so we knew that we’d have to play the game out.

“We thought if we continued to attack the ball, get ourselves in front, we’d have enough opportunities to win the game.”

Learmonth believed his side took its chances in the third quarter when it had the wind at its back.

“The first quarter, I think we kicked 4.5 and we just didn’t take our chances and in the third quarter we kicked those goals,” he 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.

“I thought they kicked goals when they needed to and we probably missed them – that’s probably the difference at the end of the day.”

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,” he told The Courier.

“As probably opposed to most other sides inside that (top) eight, we’re not paying big money, we’re not on the points (cap) and we’ve done it with probably a really core group of 25 guys. We lacked a bit of depth, so that’s something we’ve got to look at.”

While Daylesford’s year is now over, Gordon gets prepared for a preliminary final clash – and 2015 grand final rematch – with rivals Springbank next weekend.