""They had five or six regular AFL players, and given that we didn’t have a lot of experienced AFL guys, we just had a regular VFL team, it was a terrific outcome leading into the season proper,"" Bendigo Bombers general manager Paul Barnard said.
In a close contest that saw the Bombers trailing for the majority of the afternoon, they came from behind to beat the reigning premiers 15.10 (100) to 15.8 (98).
""Retrospectively, it was a pretty good come from behind win."" Barnard said.
Stand out players for the game included Alvey, Watson, Lovett, Rosa, Robins and Thomas
""And given that Ted Richards only played three quarters, he was quite solid in defence and really gave us a helping hand down back."" Barnard said.
The only disappointment from the match was the report of Sam Hunt for striking, he will know his fate later this evening.
""The mood around the club now is quite positive, obviously beating the reigning premiers leading into the first week of the season, it puts us in a positive frame."" Barnard said.
It was also an encouraging weekend for the newly formed Bendigo Bombers reserves side who defeated the Sandringham reserves by 26 points.
""We would be looking for a greater performance this week against Coburg, as a team they are pretty strong.
""We think we have greater depth than last year, so should any of the AFL boys go down with injury, we think one or two of them could step up."" Barnard said.
The Bendigo Bombers season campaign opens on Saturday night at 7pm against Coburg at the QEO.
