A spectacular final three quarters from Avoca helped propel the Bulldogs to both the minor premiership and an un-defeated home-and-away campaign, as they defeated Navarre by 35 goals at the Navarre Sports Complex.
The result helped the Bulldogs keep Natte Bealiba at bay, and they can now focus on a qualifying final meeting with Carisbrook at Princes Park on Saturday.
While the Bulldogs took the lead into the first quarter thanks to 11 goals to six, it was a matter of taking their opportunities which allowed them to have their five-goal lead at the end of the first change, with Maddy Egan scoring nine goals and Gina Beavis two. At the other end, Mollie Simpson scored five goals and Hayley Reading scored one goal for Navarre, but they also missed 11 opportunities.
It was the second quarter, however, which allowed Avoca to dictate the play as they dominated, scoring 18 goals to seven to increase their lead to 16 goals, leading 29-13 at the main break. Beavis scored 10 goals, while Egan added eight for the Bulldogs, while Simpson did all the scoring for Navarre with seven goals.
Avoca continued to increase their lead in the third term, scoring 14 goals to six to make it a 43-19 game at the final change. Egan scored nine goals and Beavis five for the Bulldogs, while Simpson scored four and Reading two for Navarre.
The Bulldogs released the shackles again in the final term and exploded with 20 more goals to the Hoppers’ nine, showing just how well they finish games across the board.
Egan’s 14 goals allowed her to finish with 40 goals for the afternoon, while Beavis scored six more goals to finish with 23.
For Navarre, who finish with 12 losses from their final 13 games, Simpson added eight goals to finish with 24 goals, while Reading added one.