The Bendigo Bombers ended the shocking legacy of the former Bendigo Diggers yesterday, coming out triumphant in a three point victory over the Sandringham Zebras.
The Bombers proved to be too strong in the first round match, conquering the Zebras at their home ground. A crowd of 1000+ Sandringham fans left dejected at the thought of a loss to the former cellar dwellers of the VFL.
The Zebras started off strongly, jumping out to a small lead thanks to the deft precision of Ezra Poyas. Poyas booted three goals in an opening term frenzy, before being relatively shut down by Bendigo’s Andrew Welsh after being moved onto Poyas in the 15th minute. The Zebras then succumbed to Bendigo’s midfield machine, with Bendigo making a late surge thanks to the class and poise of Darren Walsh and Shane Harvey. Communication and numbers at the fall of the ball helped Bendigo finish the term with 4.0.24, but still with a deficit of some three goals to regain.
At the quarter time address, Bombers coach Peter Banfield urged the young Bombers team to make better decisions with the ball, particularly when going forward. Banfield also addressed the need for the disappointing performance of the backline to be lifted up a notch, and for the backmen to be more accountable.
Bendigo came out firing in the second term, with Darren Walsh and Andrew Welsh racking up possessions through the midfield. Bendigo were simply superb in attack, particularly when driving from the last line of defense. Both teams wasted valuable goal opportunities, in the early stages of the second quarter, but when strong tackling up forward put on another two goals for Sandringham (Oakley, Clark) it looked like Sandringham were gaining the upper hand. This is where Bendigo really lifted their work rate, and center clearance after center clearance gave Bendigo excellent opportunities to capitalise on Sandringham mistakes. Shane Harvey troubled the goal umpires on three separate occasions during the quarter as the Bombers piled on six unanswered goals, the last as a result of undisciplined conduct from Sandringham’s David Gallagher. Sandringham went into damage mode, making bad decisions when having possession of the football and dropping their heads when they didn’t. Bendigo went into the long break leading 11.4.70 to Sandringham’s 9.9.63.
Sandringham had the scoring end in the third quarter, but were a tad sluggish after the half-time break. Bendigo asserted their midfield domination. Poyas was moved out of the center into the forward line and was immediately successful, ending Bendigo’s run of 7 straight goals. Ted Richards led Bendigo’s backline from the front, throwing his body over the ball with blatant disrespect for his own safety. Despite Richards’ bravado, Sandringham hit the lead with a goal from the top of the goal square from the Zebras’ Luke Williams. Numbers at the fall of the ball helped Sandringham ascertain a relatively large lead, and flooding opened up the forward line for Aaron Rodgers to run riot, leaving Bendigo’s Ken Hall completely exposed. Ezra Poyas was then benched by the Zebras, leaving a sizable hole in both the Zebras midfield and forward line. Bendigo contained the ball well in the final minutes to be down by 19 points at the three quarter time mark.
Banfield demanded his players hit their targets off the half back line during his three quarter time address, and they responded by stopping and counter-attacking any attempt from the Zebras. Inaccuracy began to be costly for Bendigo however, with Brown and Carter both missing valuable chances to peg back the Sandringham lead. Jason Laycock’s hard work paid off, after goaling twice in succession to draw within 8 points of the Zebras. The Bendigo midfield got it right again, winning almost every tap and hard-ball get through the center, but Sandringham rose to the task and made a concerted effort to frustrate Bendigo’s attempts to hit the lead. The Bombers inaccuracy looked as though it would cost them the game at one stage, kicking 3.7 for the term. The Zebras backline got too cocky, and left key Bendigo forwards Nick Carter and Jason Laycock too much room, anticipating a quick turnover. Fittingly, captain Nick Carter kicked the winning goal for Bendigo after good work from the backline, Mark Fitzgerald, Mark Brown and Cory McGrath running the ball down the ground efficiently. Bendigo finished the game three points in front, 16.12.108 to Sandringham’s 15.15.105.
“We played with passion today, everyone put their hand up several times throughout the game,” said coach Peter Banfield of his team’s performance. “I was proud of both the individual and team efforts we made today, and the spirit and support the team had for each other when the going got tough.”
Bendigo face a tougher challenge next week, playing reigning premiers Geelong at the Queen Elizabeth Oval in front of a home crowd.
Match report provided by Nathan Cole from Lead-On.
