Sam Lonergan and Tom Hislop have sent a strong message to Essendon selectors after playing an instrumental role in helping the Bendigo Bombers notch their third win for the season. Bendigo won convincingly defeating the Coburg Tigers by 52 points at Queen Elizabeth Oval, dominating the match for its entirety and never looking in danger of defeat.
 
Scott Camporeale, Kepler Bradley and Jason Cloke teamed up with the youth of Lonergan and Hislop to ensure the Bombers dominated play while making it difficult for Coburg to have much influence on the match.

However it was not all good news to come out of the thrilling victory, with Richard Cole likely to have a date with the tribunal this week after being reported for making forceful contact with a Coburg opponent. Dean Dick is also likely to be sidelined for some time after injuring his shoulder.

Bendigo statistics

J Atkinson 7 (kicks), 3 (marks), 4 (handballs)
K Bradley 14 12 9
S Camporeale 22 6 9
D Chartres 8 5 5
J Cloke 17 9 5
R Cole 11 8 7
A Connaughton 5 2 4
D Dick 2 1 1
R Dyson 20 10 6
J Flahrety 3 1 2
S Geary 1 0 5
C Heffernan 11 4 7
T Hislop 8 2 6
C Johns 9 9 2
B Jolley 11 6 10
A Lee 3 3 1
S Lonergan 12 6 12
L McKinnon 1 3 5
A Ramanauskas 11 4 6
K Reimers 11 6 4
S Rosa 18 7 1
G Weekes 8 5 3