THE Rural Bank Bendigo Pioneers were held scoreless in the opening quarter in a TAC Cup loss to the Northern Knights on Sunday.
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With both teams chasing their second wins of the season it was the Knights who got the jump with the wind as they led 4.2 to 0.0 at quarter-time at Preston City Oval.
It was the early scoreboard pressure that was a catalyst in the win for the Knights, who narrowly outscored the Pioneers 50-45 over the remaining three quarters as they triumphed 11.10 (76) to 7.3 (45), leaving Bendigo with a 1-4 record.
A pair of debutantes in Deklan Loveridge and Ethan Roberts both performed well in their first under-18 games for the Pioneers, while ruckman Daniel Keating played a fine game in his return to the side and James Schischka was creative through the midfield and named Bendigo’s best player.
“We probably just weren’t quite as clean as Northern with their ball-handling and they had a height advantage which tested us,” Pioneers coach Rick Coburn said.
Bailey Henderson and Will Holt were late withdrawals for the Pioneers, robbing them of two goalkickers.
• DETAILS:
Northern 11.10 (76) d Bendigo 7.3 (45).
Bendigo goals – N. Wheeler 2, K. Lloyd, C. McCarty, D. Loveridge, L. Marciano, R. Ironside. Bendigo best – J. Schischka, H. Lawrence, J. Atley, D. Keating, N. McHugh, K. Lloyd.
