SANDHURST turned a 20-point deficit early in the third quarter into a 27-point victory against South Bendigo thanks to a blitz of nine unanswered goals at the QEO on Saturday.
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The Dragons regained the Graeme Wright Memorial Cup with their 13.11 (89) to 9.8 (62) victory in their first win of the BFNL season.
While it became a comfortable win for the Dragons, they had to answer a challenge from the Bloods, who led by 14 points at half-time and then kicked the first goal of the third term through Braydan Torpey to extend their advantage to 20 points.
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At that stage the QEO scoreboard read South Bendigo 47 to Sandhurst 27 at the four-minute mark of the term in a game played in warm April weather.
But that’s when Sandhurst kicked into gear as the Dragons’ midfield got on top in the centre and around the clearances and they upped their intensity.
The first of what became a run of nine goals in a row came off the boot of Galen Munari as the Dragons were not only quick to erase their deficit, but kick away to a 16-point advantage by three quarter-time.
After Torpey’s early goal, the Dragons had the last 11 scoring shots of the third quarter, kicking 5.6.
And when coach Andrew Collins kicked the first goal of the final term, the Dragons had advanced their tally from 27 to 69 without South Bendigo scoring.
The Dragons got better as the game wore on, controlling the bulk of possession against a Bloods side that was outclassed after such a positive start.
When Adam Parry banged a 50m bomb 20 minutes into the final quarter it was the Dragons’ ninth goal in a row as their lead grew to a game-high 40 points.
The Bloods – minus ruckman Kieran Strachan who was a late call-up for Essendon’s VFL team – finally ended what was a 52-minute drought without a goal when the lively Brock Harvey kicked his fourth, before a rare South Bendigo highlight in the dying stages when Torpey took the mark of the day in the goalsquare and converted his second.
Earlier, the Bloods gained the momentum during the second quarter with a burst of four goals in 10 minutes to set up a 6.5 to 4.3 lead at half-time, before they were outscored 9.8 to 3.3 after the break.
Sandhurst’s midfield brigade led by Holmes, Lee Coghlan, Parry and utility Zac East were brilliant in the second-half turnaround for the Dragons, while Collins (two goals) played a superb leader’s game across half-forward after an early scare.
Collins left the field 10 minutes into the first quarter and was taken into the changerooms after a collision in a marking contest, but returned to the game in the second term and was one of the best on the ground.
Lachlan Ross down back also impressed, while better players for the Bloods – who have a draw and loss after two games – included ruckman Callum Crisp, new midfielder Quade Johnstone and Harvey with his four goals.