There was a point where it all threatened to go off the rails for Sebastopol.
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The Burra were stunned on home soil, conceding a 7.1 (43) to 0.2 (2) opening quarter against Ballarat in round 10.
Nearly 10 top-level players were in the injury ward; many were ruled out for the year.
Influential captain Tony Lockyer only managed seven games, many of them incapacitated, before he opted to have surgery to re-attach his pectoral muscle to the bone.
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Michael Powell, the club's leading goalkicker in 2019, could only do one game better, plagued by hamstring complaints.
VFL-experienced Luke Kiel was only fit for eight games. His former North Ballarat Roosters teammate James Keeble was only right for six matches, as was ruck James Richards.
The depleted Burra managed to claw itself back that day against Ballarat, but the way they missed the chance to win was more debilitating than their first-quarter horrors.
Sebastopol kicked 1.8 to close the game and lose by three goals.
Under-manned, out-played, and down on luck. The Burra were out of finals contention.
The season didn't start in such dejected circumstances. In fact, quite the opposite.
The opening round brought a grand final re-match.
At half-time, Sebastopol found itself five goals behind East Point on enemy territory and was guilty of handing the game to its opponents.
By three-quarter time, the Burra were seven points up. Come full-time, they'd corrected history.
The joy of a gallant win was carried into the bye before football showed it's fickle nature.
Round three brought a one-point loss to Melton, while the following weekend saw the Burra fall by 32 points against
Four rounds down, and Sebastopol was in the red, but the hardest run of fixtures were over.
A 72-point win against Lake Wendouree put the Burra back on track, before a 44-point triumph against Darley added fuel to the fire.
What followed was a uniquely 2021 problem.
The season's first COVID break drained all momentum, and Sebastopol returned from three weeks off with a nine-point loss to Sunbury.
It wasn't exactly the way the Burra hoped to mark their first home game in 665 days.
A win against Redan the following week would see Sebastopol into the top four. But, time would prove it to be a brief glimmer in a dark month.
Round nine saw a six-point loss to Bacchus Marsh. The Burra slipped to fifth.
That round 10 showing against Ballarat is best not-remembered. Sebastopol found itself seventh, four points off a finals place, as the season entered its second COVID-forced break.
The Burra had one of the competition's worst records between the season's two lockdowns, winning only one of their four games.
Only Darley (0-4), Melton South (1-4), and Lake Wendouree (1-4) struggled as much between the lockdowns.
No one knew round 11 would be the season's final day. Had the Burra known, it's unlikely they would have put on the performance they did against Melton South.
Sebastopol had accepted its task - it needed to win to keep its chances of finals alive. However, a 14.14 (98) to 1.3 (9) first half exceeded all expectations.
There were nervous moments in the game's latter stages, but an 111-point win propelled the Burra from seventh to fourth.
The season's third COVID interruption secured Sebastopol a finals berth before later ending its premiership dreams.
Whether the Burra could have made back-to-back grand final appearances will never be known.
Yet, taking a step back, season 2021 was one of success for the proud club.
The Burra powered through injuries, a tough fixture, only playing three home games all year, and COVID uncertainties to qualify for finals for just the second time in 21 years.
Coach Michael Searl has committed to another season at the helm, and with injuries likely to play a kinder hand there's no reason why can't the club go one better than just making finals.
RECORD
4th, 5 wins, 5 losses, 20pts, 127.61 per cent
Rd 1: beat East Point, 13.14 (92) to 11.8 (74)
Rd 2: BYE
Rd 3: def by Melton, 12.5 (77) to 11.12 (78)
Rd 4: def by North Ballarat, 7.12 (54) to 12.14 (86)
Rd 5: beat Lake Wendouree, 16.10 (106) to 4.10 (34)
Rd 6: beat Darley, 20.8 (128) to 13.6 (84)
Rd 7: def by Sunbury, 7.15 (57) to 9.12 (66)
Rd 8: beat Redan, 10.14 (74) to 8.17 (65)
Rd 9: def by Bacchus Marsh, 7.7 (49) to 8.7 (55)
Rd 10: def by Ballarat, 9.13 (67) to 13.7 (85)
Rd 11: beat Melton South, 24.21 (165) to 8.6 (54)