THEY didn’t get the result they were after, but Bendigo coach Brett Fitzpatrick says the 23 players who represented the league can all hold their heads high.
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After leading by 14 points eight minutes into the final term, Bendigo conceded five of the last six goals of Saturday’s game against Ballarat at the QEO to go down by 11 points in one of the great inter-league tussles between the two arch enemies.
“The boys gave their all tonight, and given the previous encounter between the two leagues when we copped a hiding (by 77 points in 2015), they should be proud of their efforts,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Unfortunately, we made some simple skill errors and football decisions late in the game.
“But we asked the guys to play with some risk and take chances to try to get some reward. The boys played with plenty of spirit, but now it’s a case of we have to go back to go forward again.”
Bendigo has dropped out of AFL Victoria’s top 10 community league rankings, with the Blue and Golds now at No.11.
