Football in the Wimmera is experiencing a changing of the guard, with two of the region's most successful clubs set to miss finals together for the first time in more than half a century.
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Horsham and Kalkee's challenging 2019 seasons have placed them in unfamiliar territory, with the two powerhouse senior football sides missing out on the Wimmera and Horsham District league finals respectively.
It is the first time Horsham have missed finals since 2001, while Kalkee miss for just the second time in 13 seasons.
Both sides having a down year in the same season also breaks a 54 year streak - not since 1965 have both teams missed the finals.
More often than not, at least one side has also featured prominently deep into the finals.
The two clubs have won 41 premierships between them across that 54 year period, with Horsham featuring in 31 grand finals and Kalkee making the big dance on 21 occasions.
Wimmera football historian Greg Schultz said the two clubs had long been the benchmark for other sides.
"Kalkee and Horsham have always been looked upon with envy from other clubs," Schultz said.
"1965 is a little bit surprising, but they've both been very successful, well-run clubs for a long time."
Schultz said injuries had greatly effected both side's senior football campaigns in 2019.
Horsham were missing goalkicking machine Josh Mibus, Jordyn Burke, Rhona Conboy and Sid Hernon for large portions of the season, while Kalkee star and former coach Hamish Exell hasn't played since round 13.
"Some of the injuries and absences both have had, you can't account for that," Schultz said.
"Even though you've got the best trainers, conditioning, facilities, it can't help with the broken bones and just, sometimes, bad luck.
"They've both had a good run in the past, but they've had a massive amount of injuries this year."
Schultz said he did not expect the two sides missing out to become a common occurrence.
"The wheels go around," Schultz said. "I think they could both easily regroup for next season."
Kalkee president Heath Martin said while their senior football side had had a down year, there were plenty of other positives to be taken from the season.
"It's always disappointing to not have your senior football side make it, but we're only talking about one side," Mr Martin said.
"It depends how you measure success - we've got 10 out of 11 sides in finals, so we're going pretty well.
"Success to me is not just about making finals, it's about the amount of people we're getting out on the grounds, the crowd we have at the games and the juniors coming through the ranks."
Horsham are in the same boat. Every other Demons' side, from under-14s football through to A Grade netball, have made finals.
Mr Martin said the sustained, long-term success both clubs had achieved could be attributed to having great club people.
"We've always been able to attract good local players, but beyond that it's good club people as well," Mr Martin said.
"It's nearly more important to have a good base of volunteers than to have a good bunch of players on the park."
Mr Martin said while senior football success wasn't everything, they were determined to bounce back next season.
"Of course, we aim to play finals every year," he said. "We'll try our hardest to be back next year."
Former AFL Victoria representative Geoff Burdett said both sides falling out of finals, a season after they both played in a grand final, was totally unexpected.
"It's incredible really. They've both been super strong for a lot of years. For Horsham and Kalkee to miss out on finals, it's unreal," Burdett said.
"But really, it's incredible that they've both been up for so long as well."
Burdett, who coached the Southern Mallee Giants to the premiership in 2016, said Horsham's off-year made for an interesting finals series in the Wimmera Football League.
"I think it's a hell of a boost for other teams to be honest," Burdett said.
"I think people might have been a bit sick of Horsham winning every year, so hopefully more people can come along and support different clubs because they're all a chance.
"Any side from the top five are capable of winning it, which is very exciting."
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