And then there were four.
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Golden Square strengthened its hopes of claiming the Bendigo Advertiser Cup, while Eaglehawk kept its season alive in an eventful opening weekend of the BFNL finals series.
Golden Square's performance was the most telling of the weekend.
It was redemption of sorts for the Bulldogs, who lost the corresponding final to the Storm 12 months earlier having gone into the match as warm favourites.
In the lead-up to Saturday's match, Golden Square coach Christian Carter said his team was more mature and better prepared.
He was proved correct. The Dogs had contributors across the board and some of their younger players rose to the challenge of finals footy.
None were more impactful than midfielder Jack Hickman, while Tom Strauch and Ricky Monti also had a big impact on the game.
The victory put the Bulldogs within one win of their first grand final berth since 2016 and one step closer to their first flag since 2013.
On Saturday they tackle minor premier Sandhurst in the second semi-final, with the winner to advance directly to the grand final.
Strathfieldsaye's premiership campaign is far from in tatters, but the Storm have plenty of work to do. History is against the Storm winning the club's fifth premiership.
You have to go back to Kangaroo Flat in 1996 to find the last team that won the flag after losing the qualifying final. Only two teams since the Roos in 1996 - South Bendigo in 2010 and Sandhurst in 2015 - have bounced back from a qualifying final loss and qualified for the grand final.
For the first time this season the Storm had arguably their best 22 players available, playing like a team that hadn't played together all year. Their connectivity from defence to attack in the first half was sloppy, some of which due to Golden Square' elite pressure.
The pleasing sign for the Storm was they did look better as the game went on.
What could have been an eight-goal-plus defeat turned into a more respectable 26-point loss.
They now have no margin for error and they'll confront a confident Eaglehawk in Sunday's first semi-final.
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