Five successive defeats between rounds four and eight brought everyone back to earth, but four of those were against teams that would feature prominently during the home-and-away season.
In round nine the Kangaroos, on the back of seven goals from Cupido, scored a one-point win against Nagambie. Ryan Butler kicked three goals (finishing with 31 for the season), while two of the most consistent players for the season — Corey Wanganeen and Rex Taylor — featured among the best.
Successive round 10 and round 11 defeats to Dookie United — one of the team’s biggest rivals to reach the finals — and Violet Town left the Kangaroos with a three to eight win/loss record.
A four-point win against Undera in round 12 saw the team move key defender Jordan Clarke into attack with immediate results. He kicked five goals, backing up Cupido (another eight, he would kick 101 for the season) as they accounted for all but two major scores.
Eleven goals to Cupido in round 13, and a 209-point win, was the percentage booster the team needed against Rushworth. Ruckman Byron Dryden kicked three, while Clarke and Butler bagged six goals each.
An up and down season continued in round 14 as Lancaster was a 102-point winner.
Needing to win the final two home-and-away rounds of the season, by big enough margins to tip out Merrigum — which also finished with seven wins for the year — the Kangaroos did just that.
A 132-point win against Tallygaroopna and 98-point win in the wet against Longwood made finals a reality. Cupido kicked 14 goals in the final game, of the team’s 17-goal total, to finish with triple figures — the first Girgarre player to achieve the feat.
