Still searching for their first win of season 2009, the Bendigo Bombers travelled to Trevor Barker Beach Oval to take on the Sandringham Zebras for their Round 8 clash.
Scott Lucas once again took the field for Bendigo and lined up next to Essendon team-mates Brent Prismall, Kyle Riemers, Jarrod Atkinson and David Myers.
Andrew Welsh was the big inclusion for the side, returning for his first game of football since he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle in an intra-club match during the pre-season.
Sandringham boasts the leading goal kicker of this season in their team, Nick Sautner. If Bendigo was to have any chance at notching up their first win of the season then they would have to limit his impact on the game.
The Zebra line up, through their alignment with St Kilda, had Saints Max Hudghton, David Armitage and Matt McQuire on the field.
Getting a win was vital for both teams with Bendigo desperate to experince a victory for the first time this season while Sandringham were looking to grab four points to move further up in the top eight.
Sandringham came out of the blocks hard, kicking four goals to none in the first quarter, including two to the dangerous Sautner.
Worrying news for Essendon fans, Jay Nash looked to be in pain and came off early in the quarter. He reappeared later with his arm in a sling and early reports are that he injured his shoulder.
Bendigo’s intensity was good; however, they weren’t able to convert this into scoreboard pressure. The Sandringham defence was too good and their midfielders and forwards used the ball much more effectively.
Bendigo weren’t doing much wrong, just couldn’t compete with a much more skilled opponent.
The story of the second half was very similar to the first one. Six unanswered goals to the Zebras meant they held a pretty comfortable 65-point lead at the main break.
The only score Bendigo could manage in the first half was a behind to Brent Prismall as the Zebra’s defence choked the Bombers’ forwards.
The Bombers’ young bodies couldn’t match Sandringham’s strong outfit in a very physical half. Holding the ball for too long and poor choice of disposal by Bendigo meant they could only watch on as the Zebras piled on goal after goal.
The better players for the Bombers were Prismall and Flaherty while Kyle Reimers kept at it all day despite giving away two questionable 50 metre penaltes in a row and getting frustrated with the umpires.
The second half was completely dominated by Sandringham. They were finding plenty of the ball and easily hitting their targets.
Scott Lucas had an ordinary game in the forward line, too often was he caught behind his opponent and wasn't able to create scoring opportunities. Coach Adrian Hickmott moved him up the ground and he started to find more of the ball however, he couldn’t inspire a Bendigo comeback.
The Bombers were facing another 100 point loss as the Zebras blew their lead out to 86 points by the end of the third term. Sautner had four goals to his name out of his team’s total of fifteen.
Bendigo kicked two of their three goals for the match in the third quarter - Simon Weekley and Steven Stroobants were the only Bomber players who could put their names on the scoresheet.
Despite having already sealed the contest, Sandringham came out and buried the Bombers. They outscored Bendigo five goals to one, Sautner got three of those to finish with seven.
The Zebras accelerated out of the blocks early in the game and led comfortably all day. Bendigo isn’t kicking enough goals to win games however the young players are gaining valuable experience that will stay with them for the rest of their careers.
Darcy Daniher played on Sautner for the whole game and while he couldn’t contain the rampant forward he had a red hot crack and never gave up.
Jarrod Atkinson showed moments of brilliance, Reimers kept running all day and the young Tom German showed plenty of promise in his best game of the season.
Prismall had a consistent game gathering 30-possessions and running the full game out in the midfield. The former cat will no doubt be looking to push into the AFL side after gaining match fitness and returning to form.
Andrew Welsh got through his return to football unscathed, getting some much needed game time under his belt playing 60 minutes of the game.
He was relieved and happy to get through his return game and said it would give him confidence for the rest of the season.
Bendigo has another tough assignment next week when it hosts the Box Hill Hawks at the Windy Hill (note change of venue) at 2pm.
