Bendigo has surged into top four contention after overcoming a wasteful Sandringham outfit by 26 points at the Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday as James Hunter Smith reports.
Led by electric forwards Matthew Little (five goals), Tory Dickson (four) and Justin Maddern (four), the Bombers crucified their inaccurate opponents, storming home 17.7 (109) to 11.17 (83).
Kyle Reimers had a day out, providing plenty of run through the midfield while Brent Prismall and Irish rookie Michael Quinn were also strong.
For the Zebras, Will Johnson was outstanding with five goals while James Magner (35 touches), Tom Lynch (35) and Andrew McQualter (33) found plenty of the ball.
The win boosts Bendigo into fifth place on the Peter Jackson VFL ladder at the halfway point of the season while Sandringham sit just inside the top eight, Box Hill and Collingwood hot on their tail.
Bendigo coach Shannon Grant said he was delighted with his troops’ overall performance.
“I was really proud of the group today. I was really proud to be their coach,” he said.
“They way they continued to go about their business and fight and scrap and play the game out I was really pleased with.”
Grant made particular note of his forwards, lauding their consistent efforts and even contributions throughout the season.
“They’re all sharing the workload at the moment,” he said.
“They’re all pretty dangerous forwards when the ball’s coming in.
“For the small amount of football they’ve played together they’re doing it really well.”
The Bombers got away to a dream start with Dickson kicking the first three majors of the game, outmuscling his opponents with relative ease.
While Sandringham was on top of the clearance count-13 to 4 for the quarter- Bendigo converted more of their opportunities in front of goal, entering the first break with a nine-point lead.
Justin Maddern was superb in the second term, kicking three majors and worked hard around the ground, helping his side go into the main break with a 32-point lead.
The Zebras could have been in a better position at the half if not for wasted opportunities, with forwards Michael Lourey and Chris Irving missing crucial set shots only 25 meters out.
Turnovers plagued Sandringham in the third term, as Bendigo stretched their lead even further with the help of Kyle Reimers who seemed to find the ball no matter where he was.
The Zebras were winning out of the middle but Bendigo was harder at the ball, leading the tackle count 53 to 25 and inside fifties 45 to 31.
Will Johnson booted a goal with only minutes remaining in the term, but any chance of a Sandringham fight back was immediately halted after Matthew Little slotted two late goals in the remaining 60 seconds.
The Zebras dominated possession for most of the final quarter with Johnson booting another four majors in the space of 20 minutes, but it was too little too late as Bendigo ran out comfortable 26-point winners.
Sandringham coach Brett Lovett said he was frustrated with the lack of effort many of his players demonstrated.
“We had some really goods players, and then we had probably half a dozen guys who just really had no impact,” he said.
“It’s pretty hard when that happens, we need to have a bit more of an even contribution.”
Lovett said his team are capable of improving their poor win/loss record in the second half of the season, but need to capitalise on more of their chances.
“I truly believe we’re better than that,” he said.
“I think we’ve got the group here…we just haven’t been able to step up when the opportunities [have] arisen.
“Until we can actually win these games against sides that are above us on the ladder everyone’s going to be doubting us.”
This week Bendigo will hope to consolidate their position in the top four as they take on Box Hill at Windy Hill, while Sandringham get the week off with a bye.
Last Modified on 14/06/2011 11:52