THE contrast told the tale of two seasons. In the final round of 2008, the Dolphins thrashed a Geelong team featuring 17 AFL-listed players to propel them into what would be a memorable finals campaign. In this season's finale, they were thrashed by the Carlton-aligned Northern Bullants to the tune of 84 points, confining the Dolphins to a 3-15 record, easily their worst in the new VFL competition, which began in 2000.
As always, the likes of Tory Dickson, Justin Berry, Marcus Marigliani, Neil Winterton, Byron Barry and Trent Shinners battled valiantly, but for some reason the team has not been able to produce anything resembling the football they were renowned for under former AFL player Brett Lovett.
In front of a healthy crowd on Kids Day Out, the Bullants kicked with a six-goal wind in the first quarter, and led 5.7 to 1.0 at the break.
They showed their class into the wind in the second term, outscoring the Dolphins by 15 points, and then dominated the second half eight goals to two to secure the 14-goal margin.
While the season is over for the senior team, the reserves face North Ballarat in the elimination final next Saturday in Ballarat, where a win will propel them into the preliminary final.
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