by Nicholas Duck
It's all been leading to this.
Grand final week is finally upon us in the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition and there are some truly tantalising match-ups on offer at Koo wee rup Recreation Reserve tomorrow.
The senior grand final promises to be a must watch, given the teams involved have been separated by a total of one point across their past two meetings.
Locals, meanwhile, will have plenty to cheer for when Warragul Industrials take to the field as the underdogs in their under 16s decider.
Here's what you can expect from those two games.
Phillip Island fourths vs Warragul Industrials fourths, 8:30am.
A monumental task sits in front of the Warragul Industrials in their big game.
To take home the cup, the Dusties must beat Phillip Island - a team who haven't tasted defeat all season.
Yep, through 15 games this year the Bulldogs were not brought undone even once.
It makes for an intimidating prospect.
One thing the Dusties have on their side though is the knowledge that they have the firepower they need.
Their percentage actually ended up being almost 100 per cent better than Phillip Island's despite two losses during their campaign, such was their ability to annihilate opposition sides.
Something that will also hold them in good stead is the fact that they have multiple players who not only played at senior level, but contributed heavily.
Young guns like Cody Templeton and Thomas Cornwall are just some of the examples the Dusties have of how bright their future looks. Templeton especially earned a spot in the seniors' finals campaign, even featuring among the best during their thrilling elimination final win over Tooradin-Dalmore.
It's a ringing endorsement of the way the club has rebuilt their junior program. They now possess a full contingent of under 16s and 18s players, with both teams making finals.
The Dusties met the Bulldogs three times over the course of the year - twice in the home and away season and once in finals just two weeks ago. Those games resulted in Phillip Island wins by 10, 14 and 23 points respectively.
Warragul Industrials have been able to challenge the ladder leaders more than any other team, but they need to find a way to penetrate the red, white and blue defence if they are to win this one.
It's going to be a tough ask, but grand finals can lead to incredible stories.
No matter what happens, there's plenty to like about what's brewing over at Western Park.
Inverloch-Kongwak vs Phillip Island, 2:30pm.
After 18 rounds and three weeks of finals, 12 has become two as Inverloch-Kongwak and Phillip Island face off for premiership glory in the seniors.
For one side, this would be the capstone to what has been a near-perfect year.
For the other, it's a chance to reclaim dominance over the competition.
Inverloch-Kongwak have been the team to beat for most of the year, having lost just one game.
They've been thereabouts every year since their 2017 flag in the competition's inaugural year, but this is the first season since then that they've been the standout team.
Their mix of youth and experience has them primed as does their ludicrous defensive capabilities - through the home and away season the Sea Eagles conceded over 200 points fewer than the next best defensive side.
Phillip Island, meanwhile, have fought tooth and nail to get to this point.
They very nearly ended the year out of the top two which could have spelled disaster, before going down to the Sea Eagles by just one point in a heartbreaking second semi final loss.
Incredibly, they reversed that margin just one week later, sending Nar Nar Goon packing with a thrilling one-point win.
The Bulldogs have been one of the competition's most feared teams since its inception, having won two premierships and looking likely to have won another in 2021's shortened year.
A win here and their already impressive legacy becomes that much larger.
Given this will be the third time these two have played in the span of a month, the previous two games resulting in a draw and a one-point win to Inverloch-Kongwak, expectations are high that we could be in for another thriller.
Either way, history is at stake.