The Courier |
THE best of the Ballarat Football League's under-18 competition went down to a highly skilled and determined Bendigo outfit by 25 points in blustery conditions at the Eastern Oval on Saturday.
BENDIGO 14.11 (95)
BALLARAT 9.16 (70)
With both teams fighting doggedly to win the inside ball and feed out to their runners, Bendigo's bigger bodies allowed it first use at the majority of stoppages and although Ballarat remained within striking distance all day, it never really threatened victory.
Bendigo centre-half forward Pat McKenna was clearly the most dominant player on the ground, finishing with six goals and more than a dozen marks, earning high praise from his coach.
"Pat's a Gisborne boy who's played some good senior footy this year and he certainly has a bright future in front of him. He was outstanding today," Rick Coburn said.
"Seven or eight of the boys have played senior football this year so they're used to playing at a high standard, and I think today's game was a good spectacle.
"There's always a massive rivalry against Ballarat so we're rapt to get the win."
Mobile Ballarat big man Josh Benfield threatened to tear the game apart early, but his kicking for goal let him down on numerous occasions, while another standout for the home side was Sam Glover.
The North Ballarat City 16-year-old kicked four goals before spending the final quarter floating across half-back, where he impressed with his ball-reading ability.
"Sam is a raw talent who put his body on the line many times today. He's still learning the game but has all the attributes to be a very, very good player," coach Tim Beacham said.
Tempers threatened to boil over in the last quarter, culminating in Ballarat's Matthew Coon whose run and carry had helped keep his team in the game and Bendigo's Brayden Aitken being sent off midway through the term.
Other fourth quarter indiscretions resulted in three 50 metre penalties and one downfield free-kick against Ballarat effectively snuffing out any chance of a comeback yet Beacham was full of praise for his players.
"Skill errors really let us down today, which is disappointing, but I'm sure all the boys will learn from that," he said.
"The most exciting thing is that 14 or 15 of the boys today will be eligible to play again next year, which makes for a very talented side.
"I'm really confident that some of the boys will go on to play some good TAC (Cup) or senior footy this year."
Ballarat's Jordan Payne and Bendigo big man Harry Crone were the umpires' choice as their team's best players.
In the other under-18 side the BFL was fielding in Tatura, Ballarat snuck home by the barest of margins over Maryborough Castlemaine Football League.
Elliott Gepp was awarded best on ground in Ballarat's 10.7 (67) to 8.18 (66) victory.
