Eighth-placed Panmure produced a five-goal third quarter to trail Old Collegians by just eight points at the final change, but couldn’t stem the flow as the Warriors ran out 13.12 (90) to 8.12 (60) winners on Saturday.

Despite the defeat, Bulldogs mentor Joe Kenna said his side had reclaimed some pride after big losses to finals contenders in 2017.

“We’ll only really take positives out of something like that. They’re one of the best teams in the competition and we’ve struggled to be competitive against those sides,” he said.

“We had two heavy losses to Nirranda and Merrivale and they’ve been hard to cop as a team. 

“We were competitive for four quarters against Collegians but just struggled in the last when they moved the ball quickly and directly into their forward line.”

Old Collegians coach Josh Reichman was pleased with the Warriors resilience to run out with a triumph in the final term.

“There were some really pleasing signs in that a few of our kids stood up and did well,” he said.

“Joey Kenna and Tim Lewis were really good and Jacob Brooks was another. 

“There was a bit of youth in there and that was a pleasing aspect of that win.”

Reichman hailed the Warriors ability to grind out the result. “We didn’t have a clear run at it until the last quarter,” he said.