Anthea McCleary’s side began its finals campaign with a dominant 74-32 victory over White Hills, but was denied entry to the big dance at the first opportunity by Colbinabbin.
It entered the preliminary encounter against an Elmore outfit that had come on leaps and bounds throughout the second half of the season.
The Bloods finished the regular season with an 8-8 record after starting out 2-7, before winning their first two finals against North Bendigo and White Hills, respectively.
Elmore impressed its more favoured opponent at Strauch Reserve, despite failing to win any of the four periods.
“The scoreline in the end did look convincing, but it was certainly a really tough battle,” Mount Pleasant coach McCleary said.
“Elmore's improved dramatically across the course of the season and they certainly took it up to us for a good three quarters.
“We were able to break away a little bit into the last, but it was certainly a really tough battle and nice to get the win, but we certainly were made to work for it.”
The two sides began the encounter at Huntly deadlocked at the first interval, having netted 11 goals each in the opening period.
The Mounts would break away in the second, winning the quarter 16-8 to hold a solid 27-19 advantage at half-time.
Despite taking a hit, Elmore did its best to remain in the contest during the third period.
Adam Boldiston’s side was only outscored 14-12 over the 15 minutes to stay within 10 goals entering the fourth.
But Pleasant would replicate its second-quarter dominance to close out the game.
Last year’s runner-up produced a 20-8 final period to run out as a 61-39 winner, finishing strongly after a slow start.
“I thought Elmore defended really well yesterday; they're a very good defensive team,” McCleary said.
“We probably didn't make the most of our opportunities with the ball and that's certainly something that we need to look at going into the grand final.”
Pleasant now heads into a decider against Colbinabbin, the same match-up from last season.
The grand final will take place at Strauch Reserve on Saturday, September 5, from 2.30pm.
Meanwhile, Elmore’s resurgence throughout the second half of 2026 came to a close.
Despite falling a game short of playing off for the premiership, the Bloods ended up surpassing their 2025 performance, when they were knocked out at the elimination final stage.
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