Hawks endure hiding to end season
Some of the Drouin players may have had a sense of déjà vu when they came into the quarter time huddle against Leongatha.
The last time they faced the Parrots, the first term had been a complete and total domination from the ladder leaders, who went into the first change of ends 53 points up.
On this occasion, the first quarter was a show from Leongatha, who once again flexed their muscles to put the Hawks to the sword early and enter quarter time...53 points up.
And just like the last time the Parrots didn't take the foot off the pedal, eventually consigning the Hawks to a 3.6 (24) to 24.16 (160) defeat. The result was a mild improvement on that previous encounter, where Drouin failed to kick a goal, but in truth the degree of the Parrots' dominance was of little importance, particularly as both games blew out to such significant margins.
With Leongatha long ago guaranteed of a top-of-the-table finish and a week off at the beginning of finals, one would have forgiven them for taking their foot off the pedal through the last weeks of the season. But such is the professionalism and ruthlessness of the Parrots, fans knew there was little to no chance of that. They instead made it 26 straight wins as a club, and completed the perfect home-and-away season, finishing with not a single defeat or draw to their name.
Tom Marriott showed exactly why he's a star of the competition, putting in a virtuoso-level performance through the midfield, while the Parrots' leading goalkicker Aaron Hillberg added another five goals to his season tally.
Hillberg finished the home-and-away season as the fifth highest goal scorer in the league, which may surprise some fans given the dominance of his team, but the danger of the Parrots often lies in the spread of their contributions. They are not a team that relies on individual brilliance, instead playing as a well-drilled unit, as evidenced by the fact that 11 different players all managed a major against the Hawks.
Drouin, just as last time, had some solid individual performances that were unable to make up for the team being well out of their depth. Defender Jordan Kingi put in a strong intercept game in his final match as coach, as did Ryan Taylor. They had plenty of opportunity to, given how often the ball was flying into their half of the ground.
Kye Quick and Jarrod Marshall did their best to be productive at the other end of the ground, with the latter booting two of his side's three goals.
But against the sheer force of the Parrots, playing on their intimidating home deck, their showings will likely be only appreciated internally and by the Drouin fans brave enough to make the trip.
Having now finished the season in style, Leongatha now have much bigger fish to fry as they look to capture yet another trophy for their already overflowing cabinet. Though they've maintained perfection thus far, many of their senior players will firmly remember the 2016 season where they similarly entered finals totally undefeated, only to lose twice in the post-season and see the ultimate prize slip to their bitter rival in Maffra.
The Parrots will be the clear favourites this finals series, make no mistake. But with that title comes the fact that each and every other side remaining will be out to take them down. They clearly have the biggest claim on the title, but with that comes the biggest target on their back.
Drouin, meanwhile, will now turn their attention to the off-season as they continue their rebuild.
A sizeable loss certainly wasn't the way the club would have wanted to finish the year, as despite some poor showings in some games their youth has shown plenty of positive signs and developments throughout the season.
It's the dawn of a new era for the Hawks, as incoming coach Brent Clinnick will no doubt be keen to make his mark on the direction of the team felt while he tries to build them towards success.
It will take some doing, and there'll still be pain along the way, but Drouin will be hopeful that all that pain will be worth it.
Left: Lachlan Wilson flies against his Bairnsdale opponent as he tries to mark.