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SUNDAY
Gordon snatched a come-from-behind win against reigning premiers Beaufort in Sunday's semi-final at Buninyong.
After leading for three quarters, the Crows capitulated in the final term to give the Eagles a nine-point victory.
Following a tight arm-wrestle it was a surprise to see Gordon players off the leash, especially big man Brendan Sutcliffe.
Sutcliffe lifted the Eagles' spirits with a gutsy goal from a rolling pack. He followed with a goal from a set shot.
This final term was all Gordon's way with little resistance from Beaufort which could only manage a behind for the quarter.
It wasn't easy going for Gordon which had injury woes by half time. Adam Toohey, Ben Quinlan and James Murphy were all sidelined.
Match winners were Sutcliffe with three majors and Jaymes Gorman with two. Ruck Zac May, Jordan Clampit, Taylem Wason and Jack Toohey kicked singles.
Toohey, May and Wason bobbed up everywhere but the standouts for the Eagles were Ethan Crackel, Gerard Cliford and Tye Murphy.
Multiple goals for the Crows came from Nick Sullivan and Lachie Murray with two each. Big efforts came from Brendan Howard, Dan Morris, Mick Foster and Josh McDermott.
Gordon coach Ron Watt praised his players for their efforts.
"Hats off to all the players. They played their hearts out when we had three players down at half time," he said.
A long injury list makes next weekend's preliminary final lineup difficult to predict, but Watt was upbeat about a win being "50-50".
Beaufort coach Rohan Brown was taken by surprise by the momentum swing to Gordon.
"The last quarter was a complete momentum swing and they took advantage of that. That was about as brave a performance you'll see from an opposition hit by injuries," he said.
"We tried to take advantage of that but to their credit they got the game back on their terms."
Gordon 9.14 (68) d Beaufort 8.11 (59)
GORDON
Goal Kickers: B. Sutcliffe 3, J. Gorman 2, Z. May, J. Clampit, T. Wason, J. Toohey
Best Players: E. Crackel, G. Clifford, J. Toohey, Z. May, T. Murphy, T. Wason
BEAUFORT
Goal Kickers: N. Sullivan 2, L. Murray 2, L. Pfeifer, L. Cox, J. Trigg, M. Jenkins
Best Players: B. Howard, D. Morris, N. Sullivan, L. Murray, M. Foster, J. McDermott
SATURDAY
Minor premiers Buninyong was sensationally knocked out of the premiership race at the hands of Hepburn on Saturday.
The Bombers were belted by Waubra in last weekend's qualifying final and then failed to match the in-form Burras in the semi at Wallace, going down by 34 points.
Considered underdogs, the Burras caught the Bombers napping and Hepburn skipper Dan O'Halloran kicked the opening goal of the day.
O'Halloran was slippery and slick, weaving his magic everywhere and had no challengers for best on ground.
By half time Hepburn had a 31-point lead and looked to go even higher, but Buninyong dug deep and held its own to keep the margin to 35 points in the third term.
A turning point in Saturday's match was when Nick Shell left the field in the third quarter after a high knock to the head.
In the final term, the Bombers rattled on six goals to three to reduce the margin to 16 points at the 20-minute mark, but couldn't do enough as the Burras steered home the last three of the afternoon.
Hepburn goal-scoring wizard Sam Dunstan booted four majors and was joined by Andy McKay with three, while Ken Cummings and Brad McKay contributed two each.
The third McKay brother Mitch joined the party with a single along with Daniel Klimeck, Jackson Hogan, Nathan Dunstan and the courageous Tom Horne.
Scott Wood and Joseph Clarke toiled tirelessly down back for Hepburn.
Buninyong's multiple goal-scorers were Caius Barrenger and Derick Micallef with three each and Jarrod Morgan with two.
The Bomber who saw the most action was Jack Robertson and he was backed up by Sam Russell, Jarrod Rodgers and Isaac Baker.
Hepburn coach Clive Raak relished the win, but forecast difficult decisions at the selection table this week for the preliminary final showdown with Newlyn.
"We've got personnel that have missed. They will be available and will make selection a little bit harder," Raak said.
Buninyong coach Shaun O'Loughlin was proud of the way his players lifted under adversity in the third term.
"Most clubs may have thrown it in at half time but our boys certainly didn't. They came back for more to try and win the game," O'Loughlin said.
On Sunday at Buninyong, Gordon will take on Beaufort for the right to meet Waubra in the other Central Highlands Football League preliminary final.
Hepburn 17.8 (110) d Buninyong 11.10 (76)
at Wallace
HEPBURN
Goal Kickers: S. Dunstan 4, A. McKay 3, K. Cummings 2, B. McKay 2, D. Klimeck, M. McKay, D. O''Halloran, J. Hogan, T. Horne, N. Dunstan
Best Players: D. O''Halloran, B. McKay, N. Dunstan, S. Wood, A. McKay, J. Clarke
BUNINYONG
Goal Kickers: C. Barrenger 3, D. Micallef 3, J. Morgan 2, N. Gilbert, J. Romeril, S. Russell
Best Players: J. Robertson, S. Russell, J. Rodgers, N. Gilbert, C. Barrenger, I. Baker