LEITCHVILLE-Gunbower has set up an opportunity for a crack at back-to-back Heathcote District league premierships – but not before an anxious moment when North Bendigo’s Darcy Richards had the opportunity to win Saturday’s second semi-final after the siren.
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The latest installment of what has become the league’s No.1 rivalry delivered a thrilling encounter at Colbinabbin ultimately decided after the siren.
With the Bombers leading by five points in the dying seconds, Richards was awarded a free-kick for a push in the back about 35m out at the paddock end.
As Richards was walking in to take his kick, the siren sounded. He paused before re-starting his routine.
However, his kick pushed to the left as the Bombers finished 10.18 (78) to 11.8 (74) winners to book a berth in their fourth-consecutive grand final.
“It’s obviously shattering to have missed it and I haven’t stopped thinking about it to be honest. I’d love to have my time again, but we’ve got to move on now to next week,” Richards said on Sunday.
The Bombers have their injury worries out of the game, with Joel Donehue (hamstring) likely to be sidelined for the decider on September 8.
And coach Michael Pilcher again suffered a second semi-final injury. Last year it was compartment syndrome from a badly corked thigh that ultimately cost him the chance of playing in the grand final.
This time it’s an ankle injury suffered early in the game after he landed awkwardly following a pack mark.
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“I’ll do plenty of rehab and give myself every opportunity to get up and with the extra week off, I’m hopeful at this stage,” Pilcher said.
Saturday’s clash – the sixth final between the two rivals since 2014 – was a tale of two halves.
With their running game looking threatening, the Bombers had the better of the first half as their 15 scoring shots to seven would attest. But they didn’t make the most of the opportunities and left the door open for North Bendigo as they led by 18 points, 5.10 to 3.4, at the main break.
The Bombers’ 5.10 in the first half included a wayward 1.8 in the opening term.
However, the Bulldogs fought their way back with 4.2 to 2.3 during the third term to whittle the margin back to seven points at the final change, setting the scene for a frantic finish as the two heavyweights slugged it out for the first grand final berth.
The Bombers – who hit the post four times during the game – held the lead for all of the final term, but their advantage was reduced to less than a kick when Ben Knight kicked a goal for the Bulldogs before Richards later had the final chance to win the game.
“We’ve got one foot in the door to winning a premiership, so that’s exciting for the club and we really want to seize this opportunity,” Pilcher said.
“We started the game well today, but weren’t as clean in front of goals as we would have liked, particularly in the first quarter.
“A lot of that was due to the perceived pressure, which was there all day, and it probably played a bit on the minds of the forwards.
“We were able to get a bit of a break in that second quarter, which was important because they had the fresher legs and you could tell after the previous week against Huntly that we were fatigued in the second half and we only just hung on.
“It was a real dogfight in the last quarter and came right down to the wire.”
The standout for the Bombers was the classy Tim Lincoln (three goals).
“He was superb for us today. He was probably a bit slow early, but in the second half he had three scoring shots, six or seven inside-50s, he took strong marks and was influential with the drive he gave us,” Pilcher said.
“Over the course of the four quarters Liam Guinan was phenomenal and really stood up for us in the midfield, particularly with his clearance work.
“Brady Hore did a really good job playing on Tyson Findlay when he was at half-forward and gave us a lot of rebound, and as usual, Matty Ladson was brilliant with his in-and-under work.”
North Bendigo coach Matt Dillon said he had to look away and couldn’t watch as Richards prepared to take his kick after the siren.
“Obviously there’s a lot of pressure in that situation and unfortunately, it missed,” Dillon said.
“Darcy has taken it pretty hard, but along with Jordan Ford, he was really important in us getting back into the game in the second half.
“I thought it was a brave effort after half-time because the game had looked like it could get away from us.
“The boys fought on really well, but the fact is that brave footy doesn’t win a final, you’ve got to be smart as well and we probably just did a few too many things wrong with our ball movement and giving away stupid free kicks.
“But we’ll learn a lot out of today and still take plenty of positives.”
The Bulldogs lost Callum Tardrew to concussion early in the game.
Jordan Ford (three goals), who played the first half on a wing before being switched forward, ruckman Troy Kelm and forward Richards (three goals) led the better players for the Bulldogs, while teenager Mani Thalasinos was also one of the best in his first senior final.
“We gave him a job in the middle on Jack Gleeson and he stuck to it really well, and also won a bit of the footy himself,” Dillon said.
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