Bendigo Advertiser | North Bendigo dominated Heathcote, winning by 159 points on Saturday.
NORTH BENDIGO v HEATHCOTE: PHOTOS
NORTH BENDIGO 28.24 (192) d HEATHCOTE 4.9 (33).
NORTH Bendigo dished out the biggest hiding to Heathcote for 15 years with a 159-point belting of the Saints in the Heathcote District Football League on Saturday.
The Bulldogs crushed the Saints 28.24 (192) to 4.9 (33) at Superior Roofing Oval in what was Heathcote’s biggest loss since it was flogged by 236 points by Colbinabbin in round 13 of the 2000 season.
“For the first three quarters, even though the scoreboard didn’t show it, I thought we were quite respectable in the way we played the game,” Heathcote coach Paul Kennedy said.
“We didn’t take our chances – we were 1.8 at half-time – but we just couldn’t play out that last quarter when they kicked 10 goals to one.
“North Bendigo is a slick unit and for three quarters I couldn’t fault the commitment of our players.”
North Bendigo’s score of 192 was the highest in the HDFL this season, with the Bulldogs kicking 4.7 in the first quarter, 9.5 in the second, 5.5 in the third and 10.7 in the last.
The Saints had no answer for the star forward duo of Sam Barnes (eight goals) and Brady Herdman (six), who kicked 14 goals between them, while Tyson Findlay also chipped in with five goals, with the trio the Bulldogs’ three best players.
“We had a real focus today on fixing up the things we hadn’t been doing right and I thought we did that for probably 90 per cent of the game,” Bulldogs co-coach Rob Bennett said.
“We wanted to improve our accountability and first option use to get the ball moving quickly and we were pleased with that today.”
In what was a major boost for the Bulldogs, Michael Leech returned to the side for his first game since suffering a knee injury in round two, last year.
“It was great to get Leechy back… he was a bit rusty as you’d expect being his first game in 17 months, but every time he went near the footy you knew he was going to make a contest and you forget just how big, fit and athletic he is,” Bennett said.
“The boys were really rapt to have him back and you could see that when he kicked a goal.”
Also back in the side for his first game since breaking a collarbone in round four was ruckman Troy Kelm, who picked up from where he left off earlier in the season.
“He was super for us today and with him back in the ruck, we were really able to dominate the stoppages,” Bennett said.
Dylan Brooks competed hard in the ruck to be named the best for the Saints, along with Daniel Carroll in the midfield and Marc Millard (two goals).
COLBINABBIN 20.14 (134) d LBU 3.7 (25).
GRANT Weeks’ hot form inside 50 continued for Colbinabbin, with the superboot bagging 11 goals in Saturday’s 109-point hiding of Lockington-Bamawm United.
For the second time this season the Grasshoppers crushed the Cats by a triple-figure margin, winning 20.14 (134) to 3.7 (25) at Lockington’s Norlec Oval.
Weeks’ haul took him to 78 goals for the season, which includes 42 in his past five games – 7, 7, 7, 10 and 11.
While Weeks was again one of the stars for the Grasshoppers – who are now a game clear in third place – they also had Will Morrow, backman Matt Riordan, Lucas Hill and the smooth-moving Pat O’Brien play pivotal roles in the win.
The victory was Colbinabbin’s sixth in its past seven games, with the Grasshoppers building strongly towards what will be their first finals appearance since 2012 when they were bundled out in straight sets.
The 109-point loss was the fifth this season the Cats have suffered by more than 100 points, with their cause not helped by the absence of three of their key experienced players in premiership coaches Adrian Dohnt and Kahl Oliver, plus David Clarke.
“We battled on fairly manfully today… we laid more than 20 tackles in each quarter, so I was happy with that,” Cats coach John Halloran said.
“The intensity was there and the boys had a crack, but we just couldn’t stem the supply down to Weeksy.
“Full credit to Colbo; they are a good side and we’re blooding young players.”
Ruckman Greg Carne was best for the Cats, with Samuel Wolfe, who has moved into the midfield, the consistent Matt Bongiovanni (two goals) and James Woodland also playing well.
LEITCHVILLE-GUNBOWER 11.23 (89) d HUNTLY 7.9 (51).
LEITCHVILLE-Gunbower straightened up in front of goal after half-time to defeat Huntly by 38 points.
The Bombers won 11.23 (89) to 7.9 (51) at Leitchville on a 20-year reunion day for the club on Saturday.
The Bombers kicked a wasteful 3.15 in the first half to trail by nine points at the main break, before adding 8.8 to 1.3 after half-time to secure their 12th win.
“It was a hot-pace early, but we had the yips missing easy set-shots,” Bombers coach Matt Hawken said.
“But I thought we played well defensively in the second half and ran the game out really well.”
Wingman Tim Lincoln (three goals) enhanced his Cheatley Medal credentials to be the Bombers’ best, with midfielder Daniel Couwenberg and defender Kieran Treacy also prominent.
Ryan Semmel kicked four of Huntly’s seven goals to be one of his side’s standouts, along with Stacy Fiske, while Josh Harris held the dangerous Matt Perri goalless for the first time this season.
MOUNT PLEASANT 17.8 (110) d ELMORE 11.14 (80).
MOUNT Pleasant gained revenge for its loss to Elmore earlier in the season, defeating the Bloods by 30 points at Toolleen on Saturday.
With both teams going in with three victories, it was the Blues who won their fourth game with the 17.8 (110) to 11.14 (80) triumph.
Having struggled with their starts for much of the season, the Blues blew the Bloods away in the first quarter, leading 7.0 to 0.5.
While the Bloods fought valiantly for the remainder of the game, kicking 11 goals to 10, the damage was done in the first 30 minutes.
Matthew Filo (two goals) was again best for the Blues, along with Jason Shaw, Chris Black and Nick Edwards.
Elmore was best served by Jack Hayes and Luke Ryan. James Harney kicked four of the Bloods’ 11 goals