DESPITE having seven more scoring shots, the Rural Bank Bendigo Pioneers were unable to beat the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup at the QEO on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Pioneers scored 24 times to Northern’s 17, but it was the Knights’ superior accuracy that proved telling as they recorded a 12.5 (77) to 10.14 (74) victory.
Despite a third loss in a row that left the Pioneers with a 1-4 record, coach Rick Coburn was upbeat about his side’s performance.
“I thought we played very well today for large parts of the game,” Coburn said.
“Even though we’ve had a win and been competitive in our first four games, I haven’t felt we’ve played overly well to this point.
“But today we structured up really well and the boys teamed and gelled quite well.
“We just weren’t as efficient as we would liked to have been with that last kick going inside 50, which was probably the difference in the game.”
Coburn attributed the inability for the Pioneers to deliver consistent clean delivery inside forward 50 to the inaccurate scoreline, which continued a trend this season in which Bendigo has now kicked more behinds than goals in four of its five games.
“A lot of those shots we missed were from wide and a reasonable distance out, which goes back to that last kick inside 50 and needing to get it into the corridor a bit more and getting some deeper entries,” Coburn said.
“But overall, the effort of the boys was really good. They ran the game out well and came home really hard, but just couldn’t get over the line.”
In-form ruckman Jobee Warde was again the best for the Pioneers.
“He was outsized all day, but competed really well and got a lot of footy around the ground,” Coburn said.
Darby Henderson (two goals) in the midfield, Bailey Henderson on the wing, Lewin Davis (two goals) and skipper-for-the-day Kane Farrell were also good contributors for the Pioneers.
The team included Austin Mertz and Jack Thomas who played their first games for the season, taking the number of players used by the Pioneers over the first five rounds to 39.
The Pioneers return to the QEO for the fourth game in a row next Sunday to take on Sandringham from 2pm.
Match details:
Northern Knights Northern Knights 3.0 6.2 9.3 12.5 (77) d Bendigo Pioneers 2.5 6.6 6.10 10.14 (74).
Goals – Bendigo: D. Henderson 2, L. Wallace 2, R. Turner 2, L. Davis 2, B. Daniels, R. Mutch.
Best – Bendigo: J. Warde, D. Henderson, B. Henderson, L. Davis, R. Turner, L. Wallace.
