The intensity of the contest steps up another cog and when opportunities present to hit the scoreboard, you’ve got to grasp them with both hands and make it count.

The best pressure is scoreboard pressure, but as has become a recurring theme for Bendigo over recent years in its attempts to crack the top four of the AFL Victoria Country rankings, the Blue and Gold wasted early opportunities against Ballarat on Saturday, and by match-end had kicked just four goals from 16 scores.

Bendigo’s scoreline of 4.12 (36) was more reflective of those days gone by when AFL Victoria’s inter-league was the mickey mouse carnival round-robin format where leagues played three shortened games over a weekend.

But not only was Bendigo’s score of 36 kicked in a full-scale match, it was in bright sunshine at Ballarat’s Eastern Oval - a venue that’s proving anything but a happy hunting ground for the Blue and Gold.

Those who were at the Eastern Oval two years ago will recall Bendigo let Ballarat off the hook in the first quarter when it kicked 2.7.

By match-end that day Bendigo had a horrible 8.17 on the board in what was a 23-point defeat.

It was a similar story on Saturday.

Bendigo missed four set-shot goals in its first term score of 2.5 and blew the chance to get some early scoreboard heat on Ballarat.

In turn, Ballarat came out and kicked seven goals with its first seven scoring shots in the second quarter and killed off the contest.

Since 2011, Bendigo has had three cracks at getting into the top four of the rankings and lost them all.

In those three 5 v 6 clashes against Geelong (2011) and Ballarat (2013 and 2015) the Blue and Gold has kicked a combined 27.41 to 49.29.

And now we’re back to square one, so to speak, against Gippsland in 2016 for what will be the fourth time in seven years - a 7 v 8 match-up which is getting all too repetitive.