Those 10 words from Bendigo Pioneers coach Danny O'Bree were a perfect summation of his side's 16-goal loss to the Dandenong Stingrays in their NAB League clash at the QEO on Sunday.

Yes, the Pioneers fielded a depleted team, but the way the Stingrays dismantled the home side, particularly in the first half, showed the Pioneers the level they need to go get to if they want to be a finals team in 2021.

"That was the real level of NAB League footy, it's no walk in the park,'' O'Bree said.

"It's a pretty good standard of footy."

Dandenong's footy was elite in the first half.

After the two teams split the opening two goals of the match, the Stingrays kicked nine unanswered goals before the Pioneers added their second in the dying moments of the second quarter.

The visitors' 50-point half-time lead could have been greater had they not missed a few gettable chances.

The Pioneers never threw in the towel and did their best to limit the damage in the second-half, but at times it looked like men playing against boys.

The Stingrays had close to their best team on the park and the gulf in class and body size and shape was telling.

Dandenong's 22 goals came from 10 individual goalkickers.

"I thought (Ricky) Monti tried really hard, I thought (Bode) Stevens tried really hard, I thought (Cooper) Smith was quite good, (Jack) Hickman got into the game after half-time and I thought Jake Nihill was marginally better in the ruck,'' O'Bree said.

"I'm not sure if we had any clear winners on the day.

"It was hard for our forwards to get into the game because of our ball movement. Our errors by hand and foot were just horrible."

Injuries, VFL, illness and school commitments in Melbourne and Geelong mean the Pioneers are back to the bare bones of their playing list.

"It's going to be a tough couple of weeks for us and we know that,'' O'Bree said.

"We're really going to be tested personnel wise and there's not a lot we can do about it at the moment.

"We need to focus on our strengths and what's worked well previously. We'll continue to develop our kids and we can't lose our focus and worry about the fact we got smashed.

"Our core business is providing development and knowledge for our kids."

Next Sunday the Pioneers host the Murray Bushrangers in under-16 and under-19 games at Victoria Park in Echuca.

Meanwhile, Bendigo Pioneers under-19 girls forward Tara Slender kicked a goal for Essendon in the Bombers' VFLW win over Williamstown on Saturday.

Playing across half-forward, Slender impressed in the 4.11 (35) to 2.2 (14) win.

In the VFL men's competition, former Sandhurst and Bendigo Pioneers forward Ferg Greene kicked three goals for Box Hills Hawks on Sunday.

Greene's three goals helped the Hawks to an easy 51-point win over Essendon.

Greene's thre-goal haul took his season tally to 17 goals in six games.

Pioneers' midfielder Sam Conforti kicked one goal for the Bombers. It was Conforti's fifth game in the VFL for the Bombers this season. He's kicked three goals and been in the Bombers' best players three times. Pioneers' captain Jack Evans also played for the Bombers.

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