26

BENDIGO ADVERTISER

Monday May 09, 2016

SPORT HEATHCOTE DISTRICT FOOTBALL-NETBALL LEAGUE

bendigoadvertiser.com.au

Bombers
clip wings
of Hawks
Huntly
suffers
first
defeat
ROUND 6
BY LUKE WEST

EITCHVILLE-Gunbower coach Matt

Hawken has praised
the character of
his side after the Bombers
inflicted Huntlys first loss of
Heathcote District Football
Leagues season, despite a
crippling injury toll.
The Bombers got away
to a strong start against the
Hawks at Leitchville to lay
the foundation for their
16.11 (107) to 10.13 (73)
victory on Saturday.
The win was the fourth in
a row for the Bombers, but
it came at a price as Tom
German (quad), Jason Dal
Santo (knee), Joel Helman
(broken collarbone) and Will
Brereton (hamstring) were
all injured.
Were happy with the
result, but it was a brutal
contest and with 10 minutes
to go until half-time we
were down to no bench,
Hawken said.
To get over Huntly on a
big ground with the situation
we were in, I was ecstatic.
We worked really hard
early to build a lead and
were able to hang in during
the second half.
In terms of wins, its as
good as Ive been involved
in given we were playing an
opposition that was flying
and to have lost four blokes
by half-time it was a
phenomenal effort.
Last years HDFL Rising
Star Adam Decicco (two
goals), ruckman-forward
Cameron Ross (four goals)
and the in-form Jackson McEwan were the best for the
Bombers, who now have a
21-day break until their next
game against Heathcote.
Having been strong
starters this season they
had outscored their opposition 144-23 in their previous
three first terms the Hawks
were forced to play catch-up

CRASH: North Bendigo's Tyson Findlay and LBU

veteran Mick Dobson collide during the third quarter of
Saturday's clash at Superior Roofing Oval.

footy after trailing by 24

points at quarter-time and
then 31 at half-time.
Chris Gleeson (four)
and Harry Whittle (three)
combined for seven of the
Hawks 10 goals.
Mount Pleasant rallied
from a slow start to overhaul
Heathcote by three points at
Pigeon Park the first match
this season decided by a
single-figure margin.
Coming off two hidings,
the Blues won 11.13 (79)
to 11.10 (76), with the
match-winning goal kicked
by Tyler McNamara from
the boundary.
Earlier, the Blues had
been slow out of the blocks
when they trailed 5.0 to 1.3
at quarter-time.
We slow to get going, but
I was really pleased with
the way the boys were able
to grind it out, Blues coach
Derrick Filo said.
It was one of those games
where we won ugly, but
youre happy to get the four
points and move on.
We lost two players
early, so there wasnt a lot of
rotations for the last two and
a half quarters.
The Blues lost midfielder
Paul Clemente (calf) and
veteran defender Chris
Black (corkie).
Not only did the win
improve the Blues to 3-2,
but they retained the Peter
and Cliff White Memorial
Shield in what was the 20th
installment.
Both clubs are very pas-

ROUND 6
RESULTS
Leitchville-Gunbower d
Huntly by 34
Mount Pleasant d
Heathcote by 3
Elmore d White Hills by
25
North Bendigo d LBU
by 42

sionate about the shield. Its

a great day for both clubs, so
its good to be able to win it
again, Filo said.
Nathan Byrne and Nick
Grigg kicked three goals
apiece for the Blues, whose
best two were midfielders
Adam Richardson and
Jason Shaw.
The Saints had good
players in Mitch McLean,
Marc Millard and Jake Condon. Rikki Stephens kicked
three goals.
Elmore has won two in
a row for the first time since
2012, backing up its victory
over LBU last week with a
25-point triumph over White
Hills at home.
The Bloods led by one
point at three quarter-time,
but finished the stronger of
the two sides to pull away
for a 14.15 (99) to 11.8 (74)
victory, ending a string of
seven-straight losses against
the Demons.
Elmore coach Alex
Gleeson says the reason for
the strong finish was simple
conversion.
The Bloods kicked 9.13

DOMINANT: North Bendigo ruckman Brett Strange was an imposing presence during
the Bulldogs' 142-point win over LBU on Saturday. Pictures: LUKE WEST

in the first three quarters,

before finishing with 5.2 in
the last.
The boys responded well
in the last quarter, but you
look at the scoring shots
we had 29 to 19 and only
won by four goals, so we
need to keep working on our
scoreboard pressure being a
lot better than it has been,
Gleeson said.
Phil Lobb, James Harney
and Danny Brewster all
kicked three goals for
the Bloods.
It was an emotional day
for White Hills following the
death from cancer on Friday
of Eddie Scarff, who only a
fortnight ago was officially
recognised as a club legend.
Its a sad day for the club
and theres quite a few of
our players who have had a
lot to do with Eddie over the

years, Demons coach Carl

Hardingham said.
We wanted to make sure
we went out and played with
heart today, which we did
and the effort was there, but
unfortunately, we couldnt
come away with the win.
Jake Ward and Sam
Frawley kicked three goals
each for the Demons.
North Bendigos Sam
Barnes booted the first senior double figure bag of goals
of the season across the AFL
Central Victoria region with
his haul of 11 against Lockington-Bamawm United.
In the most one-sided
game of the HDFL season
so far, the Bulldogs belted
the Cats by 142 points, 26.20
(176) to 4.10 (34), at home.
Barness bag of 11 included five in the final term,
while team-mate Brady

Herdman snagged six before

sitting out the final quarter.
In the second half we got
back to the style of footy we
were playing last year, which
was pleasing. The big thing I
spoke about before the game
was effort and communication that wasnt there last
week (loss to Colbinabbin),
Bennett said.
Brett Strange was outstanding in the ruck for the
Bulldogs in constantly giving
his midfielders first use of
the ball.
Darcy Richards (back)
didnt play after half-time for
the Bulldogs, who in their
past three games against the
Cats have won by a combined 465 points.
Nathan Dyson kicked
three of the Cats four goals,
while David Ismail battled
hard to be their best.