The Dogs legendary centre half-back, who has played 270 matches, will run out for his final match on Saturday against Panmure.

Duncan said plenty of hard work went into that premiership.

"To finally get there and to get it with same bunch of blokes I started my career with, it was satisfying and a relief," he said.

"It was great for the supporters and everyone's families."

Duncan, who is retiring due to family and work commitments, said it was time "move on and let the next generation come through".

It was a long journey to the Dogs' 27-year drought-breaking triumph.

Dennington lost to Kolora-Noorat by eight points in the 2010 grand final and Panmure had its measure over the next four years.

The Dogs lost to Bulldogs by two points in the 2012 preliminary final, got beaten by them in the 2013 decider and went down to them in the 2014 preliminary final.

But they had their day in 2015 and Duncan played on Merrivale's Joe Woonton, his most-respected opponent.

"He was definitely the hardest battle," he said.

"I never looked forward to playing on him."

Duncan is one of a few players left from that famous premiership team with Luke Pearson, Tom Fitzgerald and Geoff Keane among the others remaining.

Former coach Darcy Lewis and coach Mick Phillips said Duncan had been renowned for his fitness.

But Duncan said the whole team was working hard to get better when it was chasing that elusive premiership.

"The biggest thing about Dennington and what makes it a special club, is that you just want to be better," he said.

The 38-year-old said the Dogs had dealt with disappointment and wanted to bounce back.

"Having those big games that we lost just made us tougher," he said.

Duncan, who works at Port Fairy's Sun Pharma and was a builder for 20 years, said "loyal mate" Darcy Lewis was one of his great mentors.

"The biggest thing with 'Darc' was that we used to push each other a bit," he said.

He said they were both competitive and pushed each other to be their best.

Duncan, who featured in the WDFNL team of the year numerous times, played interleague on four occasions.

The five-time Dennington best and fairest winner said he was a grateful for a career that included almost a decade of finals.

But above all, he is grateful to his partner and kids, his club and the supporters who turn out rain, hail or shine.

He said so much work had gone on behind the scenes since he had arrived at the Kennel.

Duncan, a dedicated clubman, has coached the Dogs' under 17s team and helped run Auskick at the Dennington Recreation Reserve for four years.

He hopes his side can get back to some "old-fashioned tough and fair" Denningtion football and have a win against Panmure.

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