Heading into the clash at Williamstown’s Burbank Oval – where the Bombers had never won in three previous trips – the Seagulls were sitting on top of the ladder with a 12-2 record and massive percentage of 162.7.
But the Seagulls were upstaged by Bendigo, with the Bombers winning 9.16 (70) to 9.13 (67) in a game televised on ABC TV.
The thrilling three-point win improves the Bombers’ record to 8-7 with three rounds remaining.
Having not won a game last year, the Bombers now look headed for the finals in what has been a remarkable turnaround by the club under new coach Shannon Grant.
Saturday’s result shows just how significantly the Bombers have improved.
In their previous two games against Williamstown, the Bombers had been beaten by a combined 256 points.
Saturday’s victory was the Bombers’ best since they defeated Port Melbourne by 38 points in their 2005 semi-final.
“It was a great win ... the boys played really smart, intelligent football all day,’’ Grant said.
“I couldn’t be more prouder of the boys; it was a win we really needed.
“It’s never easy going down to Williamstown and playing them on their home ground.’’
“To start like we did and then be able to continue to play well with and against the breeze was a credit to the group,’’ Grant said.
After their dominant start with the breeze in the first quarter, the Bombers then defended grimly against it in the second term.
The Bombers restricted Williamstown to just one goal in the second term, although the Seagulls certainly had their opportunities, also scoring five behinds.
At half-time the Bombers led by 27 points, 5.9 to 1.6.
The Seagulls’ score of 12 came after they had been averaging a half-time total of 52 in their first 14 games.
However, the Seagulls weren’t going to lie down.
The Bombers and Seagulls both added three goals apiece in the third quarter, which left Bendigo with a 29-point lead going into the last term, 8.14 to 4.9.
“It was a strong breeze favouring the end Williamstown was kicking to in that last quarter, so we knew we were going to have to still put in a fair bit of effort and play the conditions well,’’ Grant said.
The Seagulls dominated the last quarter with the breeze at their backs, but they fell just short in their bid to snatch victory.
In what was a final term that lasted 32 minutes, the Seagulls more than doubled their three quarter-time score as they booted 5.4.
However, Bendigo’s return of 1.2 was enough to ensure the Bombers hung on to win by three points and beat Williamstown for only the third time in 11 meetings.
“That last quarter seemed to go for ever, Grant said.
