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BENDIGO ADVERTISER

Monday April 04, 2016

bendigoadvertiser.com.au

SPORT HEATHCOTE DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE

North begins in style

Bulldogs
prevail
in final
rematch
ROUND 1
BY LUKE WEST

ORTH Bendigo
kicked off its
Heathcote
District Football
League premiership defence
in style on Saturday with a
35-point grand final rematch
triumph over Leitchville-Gunbower.
The Bulldogs prevailed
16.20 (116) to 11.15 (81) at
Superior Roofing Oval.
It was obviously a pleasing way to start the season
and no matter who you play
first-up, you just want to get
a win, Bulldogs coach Rob
Bennett said.
There were a couple of
times in the second and
third quarters where we
looked like we could take
control of the game, but
theyd fight their way back
into it.
But in that last quarter I
couldnt fault the boys.
The Bulldogs led by 28
points during the third
quarter, before the Bombers
cut the deficit back to 13
points through back-to-back
goals to Jack Dye and one to
Daniel Couwenberg.
However, the Bulldogs
were able to regain some
momentum late with a mark
and goal to Brady Herdman
that gave the home side a
21-point advantage at three
quarter-time.
The Bulldogs then added
five goals to two in the final
term the first coming in
the opening seconds from
recruit Blayne Ryan-Storey.
It was one of three goals
for Ryan-Storey, who starred
on debut for the Bulldogs
through the midfield.
He was super for us
today. Hes not overly big,
but he hits the ball hard,
Bennett said.
The quartet of Ryan-Storey, Sam Barnes (four),
the classy Jarrod Findlay
(three) and Herdman (three)
combined to kick 13 of the
Bulldogs 16 goals.
North Bendigos best players featured three recruits
Ryan-Storey, Daniel Morris
and Jordan Collins.
Leitchville-Gunbower
played the game one short
after Jackson McEwen
was injured in the warmup when he stepped in
the gutter.

WINNING START: North Bendigo team-mates Brett Strange (No.48) and Sam Barnes celebrate a goal on Saturday. Pictures: NONI HYETT

RESULTS
Round 1:
North Bendigo d
Leitchville-Gunbower
by 35
Huntly d Colbinabbin by
19
Elmore d Heathcote by 43
Mount Pleasant d LBU
by 79

I think we came up
against the benchmark today
and were a bit off, Bombers
coach Matt Hawken said.
North spread really well
and were able to get quite a
few goals from their smaller players.
Dye and recruit Daniel
Coates kicked three goals
each for the Bombers, who
named onballer Couwenberg (two goals) their
best player.
Huntly kicked the last six
goals of its match to defeat
Colbinabbin by 19 points at
M.J. Morgan Oval.
The Grasshoppers turned
a 27-point half-time deficit
into a seven-point advantage
at three quarter-time, and
then kicked the first two
goals of the final quarter.
However, with the wind at
their back, the Hawks piled
on six unanswered goals to
win 14.15 (99) to 11.14 (80).
It was a struggle, but we
got there in the end, Huntly
coach Jamie Hogan said.
It was a great fighting win
by the boys and will give us a
bit of belief.
Ruckman Tom Skewes

TACKLE: Leitchville-Gunbower defender Hoby Bussey

puts North Bendigo's Brady Herdman under pressure.
Herdman kicked three goals for the Bulldogs.

impressed on debut to be
the Hawks best player,
another recruit in Phil
Ryan through the midfield
also made a strong start for
his new club, while Harry
Whittle was instrumental in
the late revival.
With key forward Chris
Gleeson (hamstring) missing, David Symons and Ryan
Semmel helped cover the
loss with three goals each.
The Hawks lost captain
Stacy Fiske to a calf injury
during the third quarter.
Colbinabbin kicked five
of its 11 goals during the
third term, while holding the
Hawks to just two behinds.
Recruits Cameron Hall
and Ryan Hon (four goals)
were the best two for the
Grasshoppers, who lost Tom
Hill (head knock) at halftime.
We worked really hard
in the third quarter to get

back into the game, so it was

disappointing we couldnt
finish off in the last quarter
against the wind they were
just too good, Colbinabbin
coach Nick Knight said.
Elmores strong
off-season recruiting paid
dividends first-up with a
43-point victory at home
over Heathcote.
The Bloods had been
slow out of the blocks early,
before kicking 17 goals to
eight after quarter-time to
win 20.14 (134) to 13.13 (91).
Elmores score of 134
was the highest in its past
58 games.
It took us two-and-a-half
quarters to get moving we
were a bit sluggish early and
allowed Heathcote to get the
jump, but to our credit we
didnt panic, new Elmore
coach Alex Gleeson said.
We started to play to our
gameplan and structure,

STACKS ON: North Bendigo and Leitchville-Gunbower

players fight for possession in Saturday's HDFL grand
final rematch. The Bulldogs won by 35 points.

cleaned up our skills and cut

down our turnovers, which
were hurting us.
Heathcote had still been
in striking distance at three
quarter-time when it was
within 15 points, but the
Bloods kicked away in the
final term with seven goals
to three with the breeze.
Corey Wanganeen bagged
five goals for the Bloods
and Travis Mills kicked four,
while ruckman Jack Hayes
was named their best.
Heathcote also named its
ruckman Luke Carroll its
best player.
I thought boys were fairly
honest today and worked
hard. We were 20-odd
points up halfway through
the second quarter, but just
made some costly errors,
coach Paul Kennedy said.
Recruit Darren Turner
kicked three goals for
the Saints.

While its still only early

in the season, Mount Pleasant is on top of the ladder for
the first time in a decade.
The Blues defeated Lockington-Bamawm United by
79 points 20.12 (132) to 8.5
(53) to sit atop the ladder
for the first time since round
three, 2006.
The Blues kicked 10 goals
in the first half and 10 in
the second in what coach
Derrick Filo described as a
solid team effort.
The Blues had 11 goalkickers, led by recruit James
Armstrong (five), who was
his sides best, and Ethan
Langwell (four).
The Cats kicked four
of their eight goals in the
final quarter.
Mick Dobson snared
three goals and was one of
the Cats best players, while
Marcus Angove also battled
hard for the home side.