Gun Bell Park defender Steve Bensted says mid-season wins over Leopold and Newtown & Chilwell were the turning point for the club to believe it could match it with the GFNL’s upper echelon.
The Dragons returned to the finals last year, exiting at the elimination final stage against eventual runner-up South Barwon in a tight contest by four points.
However, Bell Park’s record against the remainder of the top five of 2024 during the home-and-away season was 1-5 (the one win was against premier Leopold), which included three 15-goal hidings from St.
Against this year’s other finalists, it’s 3-4, but the three wins have come in the second half of the season, including against Sunday’s semi-final opponent, St Mary’s.
“We got a couple of surprising wins that not many people would have thought we would have gotten; I think that’s where our confidence really sparked,” Bensted told K rock Football’s Beyond the Boundary.
“Then we went into the bye, and then a couple of weeks after that we played St Mary’s, and we were able to take another big scalp.
“I think the confidence has just been building from those couple of games.”
Bell Park’s second-most experienced player after fellow Drysdale product Lachie Patten, Bensted, who has 154 games to his name, is yet to play in a winning final since arriving at Hamlyn Park ahead of the 2016 season.
It’s something he’s keen to rectify, and is confident the Dragons have a line-up to replicate runs to the grand final made by the Swans (2024), Leopold (2022) and St Mary’s (2019) in recent years from the elimination final.
“The way that we’re playing right now is some very attractive footy,” he said.
“We’ve got 22 blokes that have come into the team, and everyone’s contributing.
“I think that’s what’s really going towards all that.”
Bell Park handed St Mary’s its most significant loss since 2012 when the two teams met in Round 14.
However, the Saints were without Paddy Dowling, Michael Rudd, Chris Jansen, Matt Copley and Fletcher Hughes, who will all play Sunday.
Ryan Pendlebury was also sidelined through suspension.
After missing last week’s win over St Mary’s due to injury, the former VFL star’s been included on an extended bench along with Sam Christensen and Nick Dowling.
Both the Saints and Dragons, who will also face off in the reserve grade elimination final, will finalise their teams after training tomorrow.
At this stage, Bell Park has lodged an unchanged team to the one that took care of Leopold last week.
AT SELECTION – FINALS WEEK ONE
September action starts tomorrow at West Oval with the qualifying final against two clubs returning to finals after missing the cut in 2024.
In Steve Johnson’s first season in charge, only a loss to St Mary’s last week cost Newtown & Chilwell its first minor premiership in 40 years.
Opponent Colac snatched the double chance thanks to surpassing the Saints’ percentage with a 66-point win over Grovedale to end the home-and-away season.
The Towners welcome back Geelong VFL-listed Felix Katsaros and Jedd Coburn after missing the loss to St Mary’s.
The Tigers, who haven’t won a final since 2019, lost midfielder Ben McCarthy to suspension but have been boosted by the inclusion of star ruck Zach Zdybel.
Newtown & Chilwell won the lone meeting between the two clubs during the home-and-away season, returning from Central Reserve in Round 11 with an 11-point victory.
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