Golden Square retained top position on the Bendigo Bank Bendigo Football League ladder after a 16-point win over Sandhurst at Country Vet Oval on Saturday.In a dour contest played in persistent rain, just 10 goals were kicked as the Bulldogs won 6.11 (47) to 4.7 (31).Sandhurst was again gallant against a top-three side, but the tough conditions favoured the bigger-bodied Bulldogs.The Dragons spent 34 minutes in front, kept Golden Square goalless for the opening 27 minutes, and held slender leads at quarter and half-time, but the Bulldogs gained control in the third quarter.So tough was it to score, all it took was three goals in a row from the Bulldogs in the third term to break the game open.The more efficient Dragons led by one point at half-time, 3.2 to 2.7, despite having had nine fewer inside-50s.Sandhurst then had three opportunities in the first seven minutes to kick away in the third quarter, but Lee Coghlan and captain Sam McGee both missed chances, and Braidy Dickens had a snap at goal that was touched on the line.The Dragons were then made to pay for their missed opportunities.At the 11-minute mark Michael Bateman, who had been switched to the forward line, marked and converted from 30m out to put Golden Square two points up.Two minutes later with the ball deep in the Bulldogs’ forward line, Sandhurst’s Simon Weekley desperately tried to rush the ball for a behind.However, the ball didn’t pass the goal-line and the Bulldogs’ Shaun Young pounced and soccered it off the ground.Young again kicked an opportunist goal for the Bulldogs late in the third term when, with just 1:12 left on the clock, he cleverly snapped over his shoulder to give Golden Square a 16-point break at three quarter-time.However, in the wet conditions the Bulldogs’ 16-point break was worth much more as the Dragons had kicked just three goals to that stage.But Sandhurst wouldn’t go down without a fight and dominated possession early in the final term.The Dragons had eight of the first 11 inside 50s of the last quarter, but couldn’t get any reward on the scoreboard as they kicked just two behinds.Down the other end it took the Bulldogs 16 minutes to score for the first time in the last quarter, but when they did, importantly, it was a goal as youngster Braden Deary used his strength to break a tackle and convert.Deary’s goal pushed the Bulldogs’ lead out to a game-high 20 points, before the Dragons kicked the last goal through Bryce Scott.The match was one dominated by ball-ups and boundary throw-ins, with the Dragons dominating the stoppage count 48-33.“After quarter-time I felt we got a bit of control, and the fact we had Simon Rosa, Luke Hammond, Nathan Bell and Adrian McErvale around the contest with their clean ball-use helped us out,’’ Golden Square coach Nick Carter said.“The cream rose to the top in the wet conditions.“It was a super contest and showed two sides that pride themselves on stoppage work, so we were rapt to get the win.’’Rosa was outstanding in the midfield for the Bulldogs to be best on ground.The lively Young – one of the unsung players in the star-studded Bulldogs’ side – finished with three of the game’s 10 goals in a fine wet-weather performance.However, the win was soured by a foot injury to young Bulldogs’ midfielder Jack Geary at the 27-minute mark of the first term.Star Golden Square forward Grant Weeks, who was opposed by Mal Borchard, kicked his sole goal for the game early in the second term.Weeks played a different role where he gathered most of his possessions outside the forward 50.The best players for the Dragons – who have now lost their past six games to the Bulldogs – were led by midfielder Blair Holmes, who was strong around the stoppages, Jon Coghlan and ruckman James Cozens.n Match statistics:Centre clearances: Golden Square 8; Sandhurst 5.Inside 50s: Golden Square 43; Sandhurst 34.Stoppages: Golden Square 33; Sandhurst 48.Meanwhile, there were two upsets in the earlier games at Country Vet Oval.In the under-18s, Sandhurst snapped Golden Square’s 32-game winning streak with a 6.4 (40) to 4.8 (32) victory.It was the Bulldogs’ under-18s first defeat since they lost the 2008 first semi-final to South Bendigo by 17 points.And in the reserves, Golden Square inflicted Sandhurst’s first defeat of the season with a 6.6 (42) to 5.7 (37) win.The Sandhurst reserves had won their first 12 games of the season by an average of 81 points.