The Bombers struggled early clearing the ball out of defence, whilst the Bullants dominated in the midfield and easily won the ball from stoppages, making Bendigo work hard to create any scoring opportunities.

The Bombers registered the first score of the game, with a soccer style goal to Jay Neagle. This was the only goal for Bendigo in the first term as the Bullants skipped out to a 12-point lead at quarter time. Whilst Bendigo lacked scoring opportunities, their hard working defence foiled countless attacks by the Bullants which could have seen their score inflate sizably.

Bendigo’s inability to penetrate their attacking 50m was still a problem in the second quarter. They were outscored again and saw another nine-points added to the Bullants lead by half time.

John Williams scored two goals early in the third quarter which kick started a Bendigo revival. They scored the first five goals of the quarter to get right back in the contest. The ball movement was more fluent, targets were being hit and the Bombers looked like a different team compared to the first half.

Good defending and the midfield dominance from Bendigo, meant it wasn’t until the final seconds of the quarter that the Bullants managed to score a goal, cutting the Bombers’ lead just before the final term. Bendigo’s hard work paid off on the score board, they managed to turn a 21-point deficit into a two-point lead.

Debutant Paul Scanlon was working hard in the midfield and showed he will be a more than handy recruit for Bendigo. The countless possessions racked up by Bachar Houli ensured the Bomber’s were starting to take control of this game.

Nathan Lovett-Murray gave Bendigo the perfect start to the final quarter, kicking a confidence boosting goal. He beat his opponent, ran into an open goal square and launched the ball over the grandstand at Visy Park.

Essendon rookie Rhys Magin scored another important goal to hand Bendigo a valuable nine-point lead. Paul Scanlon won a 50 metre penalty which brought him into scoring range where he easily converted the set shot.

At the other end of the ground, Bullant Shaun Hampson scored after a costly turnover in by the Bomber’s defence. With just minutes left, Tom Bellchambers scored to put the Bombers ahead by a single point.

Bendigo looked to likely just sneak away with a win until goals by Bullant's Setanta O’Hailpin and Simon Wiggins in the final 30 seconds of the game snatched victory away from the visitors. The Bullants ran out nine-point winners in a tough contest.

Both teams fought hard for the win and seemed to want it as much as each other but the Bullants experience prevailed in the end. Cale Hooker was the best performed Essendon-listed player, doing an excellent job at centre half back. Nathan Lovett-Murray and Jarrod Atkinson were other solid contributors as was rookie Bryce Carroll and first-year player Tyson Slattery.