1996
With the seniors in the meantime struggling to hold their place in third division, it was time for the committee to relent and become possibly the last club to start paying their players for their efforts. Combined with a step up in recruiting, which saw an injection of experience and professionalism from a group of players from the then first division club Boronia, the team made their first finals series in third division, and whilst being totally outgunned in the Preliminary Final by Doncaster, it was a tantalising taste of what might come.