IF it hadn’t already done so with its 4-1 start to the season, South Bendigo has now officially announced itself as back among the top bracket of the BFNL.
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While the previous week’s two-point win over Kyneton was full of merit, there’s no bigger statement to make in Bendigo football then by knocking off the reigning premiers on the QEO.
That’s what the Bloods did on Saturday in what could prove the coming-of-age win of this group as they outclassed and outworked Sandhurst by 30 points.
In front of a large contingent of former players as the Bloods regained the coveted Graeme Wright Memorial Cup for the first time since 2013, South Bendigo won 13.18 (96) to 9.12 (66) in co-captain Aaron Connaughton’s 150th game.
Highlighting the advancements made by the Bloods this year, Saturday’s victory ended a string of seven losses in a row against the Dragons by an average of 70 points.
One of the big questions heading into the game was how would the Bloods handle the absence of star forward Kaiden Antonowicz?
The answer was with coach Brady Childs providing the key avenue to goal.
By the two-minute mark of the second term Childs, playing deep forward, already had three goals before he ended the match with five and as one of the most influential players.
The Bloods’ win was built on a combination of intense pressure on the Dragons that never let-up, with their tackle count hitting 89, and quick sling-shot movement from the back half.
The Bloods had been slow out of the blocks when inside the first six minutes the Dragons slammed on three goals to Seb Greene, Joel Wharton and Jon Coghlan, his after three bounces, before South had gone inside its 50.
But by quarter-time South was within two points and when Childs put the Bloods up by four points two minutes into the second term, they wouldn’t surrender the lead for the rest of the match.
Telling in the Bloods’ win was their ability to hit the scoreboard against the wind at the Barnard Street end, in particular the pivotal third quarter when they outscored the Dragons 4.5 to 2.6.
That put the Bloods up by 18 points at three quarter-time, before they squandered the chance to really put the Dragons to the sword in the final term by kicking 2.8 to Sandhurst’s 1.2.
Ruckman Kieran Strachan again played a ripper game for the Bloods to be their best player, while midfielder Liam Bartels, Childs and Connaughton, who was a workhorse as usual, were among South Bendigo’s best.
The Dragons named defenders Josh Hann and Liam Ireland their two best players.