Premiership favourites going into the last two final series, the Lions were bundled out in straight sets.

This year the Doves went into the finals as premiership favourites but were soundly beaten by the Lions in the semi-final, and cup favouritism swung back to the Lions.

Faced with a worthy and talented opponent, Pakenham proved it had the ability and mental toughness to win its first CCFL premiership.

Financially strong, and their future virtually guaranteed for generations because of the large numbers of young families living in the area, the Lions will be powerhouses of the competition for at least the next three or four years.

They'll have the talent to win that number of premierships on the trot. So much for the Paky wobbles.

Doveton had a fantastic season and, in my opinion, was the best side throughout the year.

The Doves had some interesting obstacles to overcome towards the end of the season and this may have affected the way they performed during the finals.

The big improvers were Cranbourne and Berwick. Cranbourne's youth policy is finally starting to pay off and the Eagles will be dominant next season.

Under the astute coaching of Doug Koop and with an exciting group of young players, the Eagles are definitely grand final prospects next year.

While Berwick would have been happy with its home-and-away season, the Blues would be bitterly disappointed they were bundled out of the finals in the early stages.

With the careful development of young players and another big pre-season, they are more than capable of going further next year.

Keysborough would have to be the disappointment of the season. After playing off in the last year's grand final, the Kookaburras finished 10th, two points ahead of wooden spooner Devon Meadows.

Plenty of excuses such as injuries and the draw can be made, but in the end, the buck stops with the coach and players.

As the Burras coach - make that former coach - I'm the first one to put my hand up and accept responsibility.

With the quality of players and recruits we had, there's no doubt we should have performed far better.

There are some great players and leaders at Keysborough, but there are also some who let the side down.

They are undisciplined, selfish and not prepared to do the work that is required to be successful. Until the club can address those problems and make the tough decisions, it may be a while before the Kookaburras are competitive again.