Never let it be said that Bendigo’s captain, Trent Shinners, lacks commitment to the cause. When he went back hard tracking the flight of the ball and met his Williamstown opponent coming at full pace in the opposite direction, the third quarter collision drew a groan of horror from the large crowd. It did two things: the unfortunate Captain paid for his courage with concussion, and ultimately a trip from the ground on a stretcher. It also provided the most graphic snapshot of what had to that point been an intensely physical afternoon at Windy Hill.

The day had already seen the first quarter loss of forward Justin Maddern, who injured an ankle in a crunching tackle less than 5 minutes after the first bounce and took no further part. By quarter time, Anthony Long had seemingly suffered a similar fate and vanished into the rooms. The bench was already looking threadbare.

Ruckman David Hille, returning from a long layoff, was probably only scheduled to play half a game, but this likely became a certainty when he hurt a wrist during a second quarter marking contest. Hille played on until half-time, but was mothballed at the main break.

Co-captain Ben Duscher, and Essendon assistant Rick Ladson, both spent time off the ground with injuries, but managed to see out the game. Kyle Reimers got crunched in a pack and was sore, Hal Hunter was run over twice by a metaphorical semi-trailer within 30 seconds and Brendan Lee, also returning from an injury, played managed minutes.

And so, when Shinners -who had moved part time into the ruck with Hille out of the game- copped the full rounds of the kitchen and departed, Bendigo resembled nothing so much as a casualty ward, and severely lacking in key position strength.

Remarkably, under extreme physical duress, Bendigo lost out on the injury front but ground their way to a position of strength on the scoreboard. Williamstown dominated the first 15 minutes of play, skipped to a 21 point lead and seemed intent on physical intimidation as befits a side sitting inside the top 4.

But they appear to be made of stern stuff, and engaged in some heavy conflict of their own for the contested footy to get back in the game. Duscher was outstanding, yet again, as he sent a message of disapproval to the selectors who denied him a place in last week’s state game. He can play inside congestion, can split out into space as well as anyone in the VFL and led the way for his team.

Kyle Reimers followed up his last excellent outing with another promising effort, mixing aggression around the packs with his usual finishing skills, David Myers (yet another under-done player making his first appearance from the injury list in 2 months) provided some crucial strength when things got willing and Ladson dug in for the long haul. Perhaps most tellingly, and certainly most pleasingly,a whole host of young players, notionally out of their playing weight, picked up the cudgels in a bruising affair.Hunter appears to relish such game conditions and spent time in the centre square. Alex Browne looks no stranger to tough football. Lauchlan Dalgleish, Elliot Kavanagh and Jackson Merrett all stepped forward to be counted, Merrett in particular playing a key role in Bendigo getting back in the game with two lovely running goals in the latter part of the first quarter. But the big talking point was Scott Gumbleton, who moved as well as this scribe has seen. The big key forward was too mobile and hard-running for his Williamstown opponent, taking marks up the ground and then working back strongly into the forward 50. He kicked two goals for the first term, missed a chance for a third and provided a tangible contribution to turning the game on its head. A very entertaining 1st quarter of tough football ended with Bendigo surprisingly in front on the scoreboard, but licking several wounds.

The second term continued on in a similar vein of hard-hitting contests, with one key difference. The Seagulls never threatened to hit, let alone dominate, the scoreboard. Bendigo, despite young bodies, not only absorbed some physical punishment but emerged with the footy more often than not. A tough and uncompromising quarter of football, akin to an arm wrestle in more ways than one, saw Bendigo kick the only three goals of the term via Matt Little and Reimers. Once again, the younger players showed a perhaps unexpected hard-nosed approach to more than hold their own at a level of football that most look underprepared for. Williamstown could manage only three behinds as Shinners, Baguley and Freezer controlled the defensive areas and Bendigo could soothe their injuries at the main change with an extremely hard-earned 27 point lead.

The game resumed with Hille absent, but Dean Putt had control of the ruckwork and the home team had the perfect start when Gumbleton marked cleanly in the goal square for his third major. A lovely pass from Reimers found Corey Dell'olio soon after and his goal stretched the margin out to 40 points. Three minutes later, the indomitable Hunter rampaged through a pack in the offensive goal square to dribble another goal and Bendigo's supremacy could scarcely be believed. It became even more unlikely when Reimers, having hobbled around for 5 minutes after injuring a knee,got on the end of an incoming pass and drilled a long goal to post the lead at 51 points.

Shortly after this, Ladson injured an arm and the visitors lifted their work rate. Three consecutive goals reduced the margin to more manageable proportions, before Reimers intervened with another excellent pass to create a goal. Then came the Shinners injury, with play halted whilst the stretcher was called for. Williamstown goaled after the resumption, but Long - who had returned to the field of play under apparent duress- gathered a loose ball and snapped a neat goal to keep Bendigo well clear. Browne had an excellent quarter on the flanks and around the ball, and Baguley just keeps on performing week in / week out to provide some stability in the back half. Williamstown snared the last goal of the term, but Bendigo had eeked out a five point increase in their lead despite having multiple players down, leading 15.12 to 10.10 at the final change of ends.

The Seagulls signalled their intentions early in the last with the opening goal, reducing the margin below the psychological 5 goal barrier, only for Gold to restore it after an excellent centring kick from Little found Dell'olio, who kicked truly from a set shot. The pressure from both sides was immense, as the 'Gulls could sense Bendigo starting to flag as numbers dwindled.Kavanagh typified Bendigo's refusal to concede when he closed down 15 meters of space to pressure a Williamstown scoring shot.The kick went out on the full, and the ball was transferred to the other end where Reimers yet again found Dell'olio. The forward live-wire kicked his second in succession - and third for the match- to extend a lead that had looked like reducing.

The visitors hadn't given up on the task though, kicking consecutive goals to keep the game alive and giving every indication of running to the line much stronger than their opponents. But Bendigo displayed an iron will as Duscher managed to get the ball forward to Reimers, who slotted the key goal, and it was then a case of all hands on deck as the home side defended tenaciously. Williamstown managed two late goals, and the ball spent most of the time in Bendigo’s defensive half for the last eight minutes of play, but the win was assured when Ariel Steinberg took excellent defensive mark just minutes from full time to ensure the margin never got inside 3 goals.

Bendigo had weathered an intense physical storm, lost key players during the game, carried several other ailing ones and were forced to scrap for their lives at the end, but emerged with a super-impressive 19 point victory over last year’s grand finalists. In doing so, the win-loss record improved to 4 and 4, kept them in touch for a finals berth, and most importantly showed that multiple youngsters can handle the physical heat that a potential finals berth would bring.

My best: Duscher, Reimers, Putt, Myers.