It was a must win match and bolstered by inclusions of Damien Peverill, Patrick Ryder and Andrew Lovett, the Bombers kept the Scorpions goalless in the first half to set up the win.The final score was Bendigo 9.17 (71) v Casey 5.15 (45).
After a slow start, Ryder was among the Bombers best. He did the bulk of the ruck work for the day. He took some strong marks in defence but also pushed hard into the forward line where he was rewarded with two goals.
The Bendigo midfield was led by a hard running display by Peverill who used the ball effectively, while Ben Jolley and Jay Nash were also busy with 27 touches each.
Bendigo Bombers statistics
D Peverill 21 (kicks), 10 (handballs) 5 (marks)
B Jolley 15, 12, 7
J Nash 21, 6, 12
M Firman 7, 11, 6
S Lonergan 9, 9, 5
A Lovett 16, 2, 4 (3 goals)
S Rosa 8, 10, 2
N Carter 10, 7, 9
J Doering 11, 6, 4
K Pendlebury 11, 5, 6
J Bowe 10, 5, 4
M Vigus 7, 8, 4
R Cole 8, 6, 1
T O’Keefe 10, 4, 5
P Ryder 10, 3, 10
A Lucy 7, 4, 5
D Biggs 6, 4, 3
J Blumfield 7, 1, 5
L Marsh 4, 4, 3
B Childs 1, 2, 0
J West 1, 1, 1
J Maddern 1, 0, 0
