It was especially impressive considering the calibre of players that left in-between 2019 and the beginning of the 2021 season.

Michelle Kerrin, Emma Farrant, Laura Tonkin, Alicia Verhey and Jedda Heard all departed the Lakies, all five members of the 2019 preliminary final squad.

They are big holes to fill but were filled, on the surface, easily by coach Jordan O'Keefe, his side finishing with an 8-2 record, strong percentage of 200.65 and another top four finish.

"In the end I suppose it probably wasn't until late July where we really found a combination that would work and really hit our straps," O'Keefe told The Courier.

"Looking back on each game we were still yet to have one single game where everyone listed in that A Grade side actually played, it was really challenging in that respect.

"The way everyone was able to step up and adjust and play their roles each game it really showed probably more so the connections in the group that grew and flourished over the course of the season."

It was smooth sailing for Learmonth up until round 11 when it fell to rivals Springbank 34 - 43.

In the six games prior, the Lakies were dominant, winning by an average margin of 41 goals and scoring 67.12 goals per game.

They did only face one eventual finalist in that run, however, the second-half of the season was more of a test for Learmonth.

Newlyn, Dunnstown and Hepburn followed the Springbank loss and this stretch was the most impressive of the season for Learmonth.

It scored 82 goals to smash Newlyn by 59 goals, defeated eventual finalist Dunnstown by 21 goals and gave Hepburn its biggest fright of the season.

The Lakies kept the Burra to their lowest score for the year (49) and scored the most goals against them for the season (41).

It was this game that gave Learmonth a jolt of confidence going into a finals series, but COVID-19 put a stop to that.

"I think probably the way we finished when we lost to Hepburn ... you do take a lot away from that loss and everything we took away was actually really positive because we ran that game out with three B Grade players on the court," O'Keefe said.

"We had probably in the few weeks leading up to them worked a little bit harder in re-inventing how we were going to play and it became very opponent specific.

"It was really going to be a certain type of game that we had to play against Hepburn, probably then going to be a little bit different when we would play Buninyong if that had eventuated.

"We still felt really positive about heading into finals because I thought we had really identified who was going to be playing, come to terms with running through with the straight seven players and everyone was actually really excited to play Buninyong."

With O'Keefe returning for the 2022 season, expect Learmonth to remain in the top four and once again, challenge for a premiership.

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