The Saints, who took out the reserves wooden spoon last year, are sitting fifth, one win and nearly 10 percentage points clear of sixth-placed Terang Mortlake heading into the final round of the home-and-away season.

“We’ve been a little bit depleted with the seniors having a few out,” McElgunn said.

“They’ve had a few of our players then go up, and the seniors returning are strengthening us; it’s putting us in a better position at the right end of the season.”

The 29-year-old played his 200th reserves game for the club last week, sneaking forward for a goal as the Saints sewed up their spot in the top five with a win over Terang Mortlake.

“We’ve just scraped into fifth, but hopefully we can upset a few teams along the way,” McElgunn said.

Overcoming the odds in final is something McElgunn and the Saints have done before.

In 2010, Koroit finished third, ahead of fourth-placed Port Fairy on percentage alone.

But the Saints accounted for South Warrnambool in the qualifying final, toppled minor premier Cobden in the second semi-final and again proved too strong for the Roosters in the grand final.

“That was definitely a bit of a highlight,” McElgunn said.

“We got into finals lower down … and we just chipped away and chipped away and got through and got on the Reid for the big game, and we were lucky enough to win it.”

McElgunn, who has played all his football at Koroit since his junior days and played his first top-age season in 2006 and has been a fixture in defence, said he has “always played for fun”.

“I’ve played over 11 seasons and I’ve played with hundreds of different guys, but they all share the same qualityies: they’re all great people and good fun to play alongside.”

Koroit senior footy coach Chris McLaren lauded McElgunn’s contribution to the club over his 200 games.

“He’s a heart-and-soul type of player,” McLaren said.

“It’s a great reward for him. It’s well deserved success.”