Bendigo Gold has shrugged off a disappointing first-up defeat at the hands of Essendon in Round 1 of the Peter Jackson VFL.
Despite succumbing to a Bombers’ outfit lined with experienced AFL players by 90 points on Friday night, Gold coach Aussie Jones said he and his coaching staff were realistic about the result.
“We certainly came away with positives and with the side they put out, it was always going to be tough,” Jones said.
“We were disappointed to let them kick 10 goals in the third quarter but if you take out that, and the first eight minutes of the match where they kicked five, then we actually competed pretty well.”
“We want the guys to play on instinct and it’s our job as a coaching team to make sure that instinct is a bit more team orientated and we get everyone heading in the same direction.”
In their first game since ending an alignment with Essendon last season, Bendigo were significantly outclassed in the 23.9.147 to 8.9.57 defeat.
Bombers small forward Jason Winderlich bagged eight goals before heading to the bench at three-quarter time, while first-round draft pick Joe Daniher kicked four to press his case for AFL selection.
Leroy Jetta, Nathan Lovett-Murray and Travis Colyer ran riot in the midfield while Tayte Pears was a tower of strength in the back half.
For Bendigo, it was young defender Matt Farrelly – playing his first VFL match – that led the way, never giving up despite the Bombers’ onslaught.
“Matt was clearly our best player,” Jones said.
“He’s a young guy who played with Echuca last season and showed on Friday night that he belonged at this level.
“He played on Winderlich for a bit and he actually came up to me after the match to tell me how impressed he was with Matt.”
Jones also praised key defender Daniel Mc Linden for his efforts in battling with the Bombers’ big men.
“We had to throw him around a bit as he was really the only one who could compete in the air with the likes of Daniher and Scott Gumbleton,” Jones said.
Bendigo must regroup quickly before travelling to Visy Park this Saturday to take on the Northern Blues, while the Bombers face the Box Hill Hawks at Windy Hill.
Picture: Dave Savell
Last Modified on 08/04/2013 12:36