Rupertswood co-coach Brad Fox has pointed to a three-game losing run mid-season as the turning point which has catapulted the club into the Strathmore Community Bank Division Two grand final.
The Sharks will face Westmeadows in Saturday's decider at Highgate Recreation Reserve and enter the clash in red-hot form, having won seven of their past eight games.
They conquered minor premier Glenroy by 41 points in last weekend's preliminary final to punch their ticket to the season finale.
Eyeing a finals appearance in the third tier after being relegated from Division One last year, Rupertswood knocked off the Roys in Round 8 to establish themselves as a contender.
But losses to Coburg Districts (four points), Westmeadows (three points) and Keilor Park (65 points) between Rounds 10 and 12 left the Sharks with a hurdle to overcome to take down the competition's leading sides.
"You hope for it (a grand final berth) but, no, making finals was the first ambition," Fox said of the club's expectations for 2025.
"We felt as the season was developing that we were going to be pretty competitive and I think the Round 8 victory against Glenroy, which was their first loss for the season, gave us renewed or tighter focus that the grand final is a realistic achievement.
"But we then had a bit of a flat spot where we lost three games in a row - one by four points, one by three points on the siren, and a drubbing by Keilor Park at Keilor Park.
"That gave us probably a really good turning point to just refocus on what we're here for and what are the standards that we're going to adhere to. The boys did a standards session, where they set six standards they wanted to embrace.
"Since then we've come out with a number of tremendous wins. We stumbled against Hadfield at Hadfield (in Round 17). We had a fair injury list that particular day and we didn't play well, but other than that the last seven or eight weeks, I honestly couldn't have wished for much better from them."
Fox is in his second season at the helm and has prioritised youth after Rupertswood lost a long list of key players after their 2023 preliminary final appearance under former coach Arron Bray in Division One.
The Sharks were one of two teams relegated after a four-win campaign last season.
"When I got to the club, we just had 17 senior players depart from a team that played in a preliminary final," Fox said.
"I knew we had talent in the younger group because I'd coached a lot of them in their juniors, but we needed to develop our middle group as well - guys who perhaps hadn't been considered as being senior footballers under the previous regime. A lot of them were just dying for an opportunity.
"Some of the personal improvements from guys who have been consistent senior players this year is a real credit to them. They saw there were spots available and they just worked and worked and worked to get better at their craft, to get fitter, to get stronger, to get faster, and to improve their skills. A player like Aaron Grubb is an example of that."
Star forward Fraser Phelan-Smith has lit up the finals series with back-to-back best-afield performances.
He booted six goals against Coburg Districts in the elimination final and backed that up with a four-goal haul against the Roys.
Fox said the versatile young gun, who has 51 goals to his name from 19 games this season, had also filled roles in the ruck and midfield.
"Fraser's always been very talented. He's athletically gifted as well," Fox said.
"I think we've collectively learnt how to play best around Fraser. A lot of people don't realise how young he is. He's 21. As a 21-year-old, he's still learning his craft. He's still learning to use the tools that he's got at his disposal now that he's got a man's body and a really strong athletic profile.
"We've always seen rewards from it, but he's really maximised those rewards in the last two weeks."
Fox also heaped praise on co-coach Clayton Bonello, who has contributed 44 goals, full-back Aaron West, and Ned Crotty, who has impressed since returning in the elimination final from a broken finger.
"Unsung heroes" Tom Markey and Matthew Brown have also been important.
"I think we had realistic expectations. You never know what your opposition is going to be like. You've got to control what you can, which is how much development can we get into our young list in the course of 12 months," Fox said.
"The boys have been super committed. They're a pretty young group, but they do their recovery well, their preparation well, and they socialise well as well.
"All of that is part of the connection that it takes to want to do better and be part of a group that achieves something. Collectively, they've been led well by our leadership group and they've knitted together really tightly to want success, shared success."
Little has separated Rupertswood and Westmeadows in 2025, with the Tigers prevailing by 21 points in Round 4 and by three points in a memorable Round 11 clash, with Ryan Stingel nailing the match-winning goal as the siren sounded.
"We had a winning position that day and we just let it go. We've learnt from that and done quite a bit of scenario play since then to be better in that particular situation," Fox said.
"It's two teams with an exciting brand of football, some really gifted footballers on both sides.
"It will be literally who turns up closest to their best on the day."
