North Ballarat Rebels 14.7 (91)
Oakleigh Chargers 8.9 (57)

North Ballarat goals: H. McCluggage 2, J. Brown 2, J. Hopper 2, J. Symons, D. Rioli, T. Taurau, J. Korewha, D. Tucker, J. Cowan, M. Johnston, C. Wellings.
Oakleigh goals: P. Kerr 3, H. Thompson 2, S. Michael, B. Crocker, M. Giles.
North Ballarat best: L. Meek, D. Tucker, J. Hopper, T. Templeton, M. Johnston, J. Symons
Oakleigh best: J. Roughsedge, L. Sullivan, H. Hooper, S. Michael, K. Answerth, B. Crocker

North Ballarat Rebels secured top spot on the TAC Cup ladder ahead of finals, after fighting off a gallant Oakleigh Chargers. The Rebels led by seven points at quarter time and five points by half time. The Chargers narrowed the deficit to three points by the final break, before a six goals to one final term saw the Rebels run away with the contest. Darcy Tucker was strong in the victory, with 35 disposals, six marks, six tackles and a goal. Michael Johnston and Tom Templeton were also impressive, while for the Chargers, Kade Answerth continued to show strong leadership. The Rebels had 11 individual goal scorers, which will be important come finals.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:

5 – Darcy Tucker (North Ballarat Rebels)
4 – Michael Johnston (North Ballarat Rebels)
3 – Kade Answerth (Oakleigh Chargers)
2 – Tom Templeton (North Ballarat Rebels)
1 – Harvey Hooper (Oakleigh Chargers)

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Eastern Ranges 9.8 (62)
Sandringham Dragons 10.7 (67)

Eastern goals: J. Parsons 2, A. Cerra 2, R. Clarke, B. Hardwick, A. Cotte, J. Hannon, J. Gilbert.
Sandringham goals: T. Taranto 4, J. Matera 2, G. Borthwick, A. Tashevski-Beckwith, C. Rich, J. Briggs.
Eastern best: B. Mitchener, B. Batty, J. Hannon, R. Harvey, A. Cerra, J. Parsons
Sandringham best: T. Wilkinson, A. McGrath, J. Matera, O. Florent, G. Borthwick, T. Taranto

Sandringham Dragons ended the season on a high with a five-point upset victory over the Eastern Ranges, resulting in the Ranges missing out on the double change. The Dragons started strongly, leading by five points at quarter time, but failed to score in the second term as the Ranges booted 2.4 to lead by 11 points at the main break. Sandringham flipped the scoreboard again in the third quarter, kicking four goals to two to retake the lead by three points at the last break. Despite many expecting Eastern to run out stronger, it was the Dragons that capitalised, winning by less than a goal to deny Eastern of a top four spot. Gus Northwick and Andrew Tashevski-Beckwith were instrumental for the Dragons, while Timothy Taranto booted four goals. Bryce Batty was once again solid across the ground, while James Parsons continued to show glimpses of his talent, booting two goals.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:

5 – Gus Borthwick (Sandringham Dragons)
4 – Bryce Batty (Eastern Ranges)
3 – Timothy Taranto (Sandringham Dragons)
2 – Andrew Tashevski-Beckwith (Sandringham Dragons)
1 – James Parsons (Eastern Ranges)

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Northern Knights 12.7 (79)
Gippsland Power 11.12 (78)

Northern Knights goals: J. Gresham 3, K. Malone 3, B. Fiorini 2, D. Macpherson, S. Peet, C. Roberts, B. Long
Gippsland goals: B. McKay 4, T. Papley 3, H. McKay 2, T. Hobbs, J. Dunkley
Northern Knights best: C. Roberts, T. Leonardis, B. Fiorini, D. Macpherson, J. Gresham, K. Malone
Gippsland best: K. Renooy, C. Buykx-Smith, B. McKay, T. Beck, B. Dessent, W. Leslie

It was the Knights last game of the year as they went out onto Ikon Park to face the Gippsland Power. The game was contested in horrible conditions as the heavens opened up at the start of the first quarter and didn’t ease up until midway through the third. These conditions suited the Power whose ball use in these tough conditions helped open up a nice lead for most of the game. However as the rain stopped so did the Gippsland pressure and lead by captain Jade Gresham’s three goals, the Knights were able to start kick into the lead to eventually find themselves in the lead with only minutes to play. Gippsland had three set shots in the final minutes that they could not convert which would have given them the lead, including one after the siren which missed everything gifting the Knights their fourth and last win of the season. Gippsland’s standout was Ben McKay who booted four goals.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:

5 – Jade Gresham (Northern Knights)
4 – Ben McKay (Gippsland Power)
3 – Brayden Fiorini (Northern Knights)
2 – Darcy MacPherson (Northern Knights)
1 – L. Murphy (Northern Knights)

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Bendigo Pioneers 4.9 (33)
Murray Bushrangers 15.19 (109)

Bendigo goals: T. Campbell, R. Free, J. Fox, T. Cole.
Murray goals: C. Oliver 6, L. McKeown 2, M. Canfield 2, Z. Sproule 2, J. Minogue 2, D. McDonald.
Bendigo best: B. Edwards, M. Hore, I. Miller, C. Jones, K. Mutch, T. Cole
Murray best: D. Mennen, L. Pinnuck, C. Oliver, D. McDonald, N. Coughlan, M. Waite

Unlike many of the other bottom four sides winning, Bendigo was unable to get near Murray, going down by 76 points in the final round of the season. The Pioneers trailed by four points at the first break and only 15 by half-time, but it was one-sided after the main break. Once the teams ran out for the second half, Murray turned on the after burners, kicking six goals to zero in the third quarter and four goals to one in the final term. Clayton Oliver caused a lot of pain for the Bendigo defenders, booting six goals, while Nicholas Coughlan did his draft hopes no damage with an impressive performance. For the Pioneers, Marty Hore and Kobe Mutch were impressive.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:

5 – Clayton Oliver (Murray Bushrangers)
4 – Nicholas Coughlan (Murray Bushrangers)
3 – Dylan McDonald (Murray Bushrangers)
2 – Max Canfield (Murray Bushrangers)
1 – Marty Hore (Bendigo Pioneers)

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Calder Cannons 6.17 (53)
Western Jets 9.8 (62)

Calder goals: K. Brown 2, H. Kerbatieh, N. O”Kearney, T. Burnside, C. Moore.
Western goals: B. Monk 2, C. Rayner 2, J. Harrison 2, O. Junker 2, M. Knezevic.
Calder best: H. Kerbatieh, B. Allan, T. Wallis, J. McDonald, B. Laguda, C. Moore
Western best: C. Rayner, M. Norton, B. Romensky, D. Foley, B. Monk, M. Knezevic

Western Jets have not have the greatest of seasons in 2015, but finished their season with an upset win over the Calder Cannons. It was the Jets’ second win of the season and more importantly came after trailing by five points at half-time. A four goals to one third term set up a 17-point lead at the final change and an inaccurate Calder side saw them hold on, with the Jets kicking 2.0 to the Cannons 2.8, to win by nine points. Brayden Monk, Mitch Norton and Jackson Volpato were among the best to cap off solid seasons, while for the Cannons, Bruno Laguda and Tom Wallis were named in the best.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:

5 – Brayden Monk (Western Jets)
4 – Mitch Norton (Western Jets)
3 – Bruno Laguda (Calder Cannons)
2 – Tom Wallis (Calder Cannons)
1 – Jackson Volpato (Western Jets)

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Geelong Falcons 10.9 (69)
Dandenong Stingrays 3.15 (33)

Geelong goals: C. Curnow 3, H. Kol 2, J. Bennett 2, H. Kershaw, B. Blair, J. Henry.
Dandenong goals: J. Freeman, D. Capiron, S. Gladman.
Geelong best: H. Kol, D. Parish, W. Sexton, R. Mathieson, J. Bennett, J. Sheahan
Dandenong best: J. Weitering, T. Glen, K. Collins, S. Pickess, Z. Rouse, L. McKay

Geelong Falcons secured the all-important double chance with a 36-point victory over Dandenong Stingrays at Simonds Stadium. Needing to win to snatch fourth spot off the Eastern Ranges, the Falcons looked strong early to lead by five points at quarter time.While the scores reflected a reasonably close match for most of the game, Dandenong rarely looked in it, with constant misses that saw them finish on 3.15. The middle two quarters were particularly bad, with the Stingrays booting 1.9, of which the only goal was a late one to Shannon Gladden. In the same period, Geelong booted 5.5 to lead by 25 points at the final change. While Dandenong looked like gaining momentum early in the final term, bad kicking again led to behinds, kicking 1.3 for the quarter, while Geelong booted 3.2 to run away six-goal winners. Harrison Kol was sensational in attack with 23 disposals, 11 marks and two goals, while Darcy Parish impressed despite being heavily aggravated by opposition players. William Sexton played on of his best games off half back, while Alex Witherden was also impressive. For the Stingrays, Jacob Weitering was strong in defence.

BFGN Rising Stars Medal:

5 – Harrison Kol (Geelong Falcons)
4 – Darcy Parish (Geelong Falcons)
3 – William Sexton (Geelong Falcons)
2 – Alex Witherden (Geelong Falcons)
1 – Jacob Weitering (Dandenong Stingrays)