Bendigo boilovers

by RICHARD JONES

BALLARAT-based North City scored its biggest win since joining the Bendigo Football League last year with a stunning six-point win over finals-bound Sandhurst on Sunday.

The victory, perhaps the biggest BFL boilover in the past decade, was achieved at the Queen Elizabeth Oval, Sandhurst's home ground and the site of Bendigo's finals series.

The Northies led all day and survived a late charge from the Dragons to win 13.7 (85) to 11.13 (79).

Matthew Doyle booted three goals for the winners with Cameron Richardson outstanding in midfield and Ryan Luke supreme in defence.

North City held a slender two-point lead going into the final term - 9.6 (60) to 8.10 (58) - but had the advantage of kicking with the wind to the QEO's city end.

Within 12 minutes the Northies had snared the first three goals to streak away to a 20-point lead. Eddy Den Ouden landed the first major and then Aiden Kickett (from the renowned Kickett footballing family) banged home two of his own.

The pacy Sandhurst, until Sunday famed as the BFL's speediest outfit, weren't done with. Mark Vigus, who returned to Sandhurst this year after a couple of seasons with the VFL's Bendigo Bombers, got his side moving. The Dragons reduced the margin to seven points at the 18-minute mark with goals to Matt Keown and 2006's BFL Rising Star, Seamus Young.

Northies' skipper Adam Richardson threaded through a beauty when he used sheer pace to burn off a would-be tackler and shot home a 25 metre goal-on-the-run. The Dragons came again with Ryan Gow coolly slotting through a 40-metre major, but a rushed Sandhurst behind when a goal was needed reduced the margin to six points with only 25 seconds left on the clock.

The win was just the third for North City since joining the Bendigo FL for the start of the 2006 season.The Northies, the former North Ballarat Junior Football Club, were unwanted as a new entity in their home town Ballarat FL. So they applied for entry into both the Geelong and Bendigo footy leagues in late 2005, before deciding to accept Bendigo's invitation. All three senior wins have been posted this year as the Northies went through season 2006 without a single, senior victory.

Meanwhile, South Bendigo kept its finals double chances alive by booting the last seven goals of Saturday's QEO match to tip out second-placed Eaglehawk by 13 points: 12.12 (84) to the Two Blues' 9.17 (71).

The Two Blues led by 26 points at the last change and increased the gap to 32 points by the 10-minute mark of the last term.

But then South took control of the centre breaks. Skipper and ruckman John Hardinge won tap after tap, Cameron Hall was the take-out king and the Bloods whittled away at the overall lead.

Brad Wright and Zane Taylor goaled to cut the deficit to 19 points and then Leigh Burke marked Hall's high kick to boot South's third major in as many minutes.

Hall handpassed to Wright for another six-pointer, big Dane Frew converted a Kaleb Weight pass with the Frew major handing South the lead.

Eaglehawk had stopped to a walk and when Josh Dawson's snap bounced through it was curtains for the Two Blues.

Eaglehawk slipped to just its second defeat for 2007. On the other side of the coin, the win leaves South Bendigo poised to grab overall third spot on the BFL ladder which carries with it the prized double chance in September's finals.

South (fourth) hosts old rivals Golden Square (third) at the QEO this Saturday (11 August) with the winner almost certain to snare third spot.

Sandhurst, in the meantime, has been left languishing in fifth spot. The Dragons are one clear game and percentage behind both Square and South and headed for the elimination final. They take on second-placed Eaglehawk at the Two Blues' Canterbury Park in round 15.

10 August 2007

australianrules.com.au

Disclaimer