The Bendigo Bombers hosted the Northern Bullants in the Round 14 clash at the QEO.
 
Bendigo, coming off an 85 point thrashing by Port Melbourne, were the underdogs against the Bullants who were sitting in seventh spot, after knocking off Tasmania by five points last week. The last time these two teams met was in Round 14 last year at the same venue when the Bullants triumphed by 15 points and recorded their sixth win over the Bombers.
 
Ricky Dyson was a star inclusion for Bendigo this time, while the Northern Bullants welcomed Carlton players, Andrew Walker and ruckman Cain Ackland into their team. It had been raining on and off all day which meant the ground was wet, and this made the ball slippery and hard to control.

Bendigo set the ball rolling early, Brent Hartigan grabbed the first goal and Coghlan the second to signal their intentions. The Bombers applied pressure all over the ground, attacking the ball and tackling well but this didn’t stop the Bullants from registering the next two goals through Adam Hartlett and Shaun Hampson. Grant Weekes put Bendigo back in front scoring two goals in a minute, and the leading goal scorer for the Bombers this season, Hartigan, scored another before the end of the quarter to give Bendigo the advantage. The Bombers outscored the Bullants five goals to three to carry a 13 point lead into the first break.
 
Adrian Hickmott would have been wary of Bendigo’s tendency to let opponents back into contests and no doubt he would have talked about this during the break.

The second quarter got off to an even better start for Bendigo. Rhys Magin, Dyson and Hartigan all scored before the Bullants made a mark on the scoreboard. Weekes was dominant up forward for Bendigo, however he was inaccurate at times and missed shots he should have made. Carlton listed player Setanta O’hAilphin couldn’t contain Weekes and he struggled to make a positive impact on the game. Essendon rookie Jarrod Atkinson was prominent across half back, providing lots of run and carry out of defence and he set up numerous attacks for Bendigo throughout the game. David Ellard scored for the Bullants and this was the only time for the quarter that his team troubled the scorers. Weekes grabbed his only goal for the quarter and Shannon Geary registered another major before half time. The Bombers managed to grab five goals for the quarter and restricted the Bullants to only one to carry a 38 point lead into the main break.

Light rain started to fall as the second half began and this meant only four goals were kicked for the quarter. Jarrod Atkinson scored the first goal of the half and when Weekes scored his fourth, Bendigo was coasting at 48 points ahead. The Bombers pressure forced mistakes and this meant they had plenty of opportunities to push forward. Promising ruckman Tom Bellchambers managed to open his account with a good goal at the end of the quarter and the game was there for the taking for Bendigo as they carried an almost unassailable lead of 53 points into the last term.

The Northern Bullants came out with a do-or- die attitude and this was evident as Bendigo’s Blair Holmes was on the end of a big hit that left him a bit dazed. The Bullants managed to score four of the last five goals to give Hickmott something to talk about at the end of the game. Ackland, Dean Davies and Jason Saddington shared those goals around while Hartigan scored Bendigo’s only goal for the quarter.
 
The Bullants managed to cut the Bombers three quarter time lead from 53 points to 32 though Bendigo didn’t mind, they claimed all four points in a crucial game that kept their finals hopes alive.
 
The Bullants now turn their attentions to next week’s clash with cellar dwellers the Box Hill Hawks, while the Bombers can look forward to a week off due to the split round. They face new club Collingwood at Princes Park in a game that they need to win to keep September action in sight.
 
Still searching for their first win, the Bendigo Bombers reserves took on the Northern Bullants at the QEO.
The Bullants came out firing, kicking 10 goals in the first quarter to all but end the contest before it started. The only highlight for Bendigo in the first half was the goal to Chris Wilmott. The Bullants dominated all over the ground and this coupled with slack marking by Bendigo meant their opponents held a comprehensive 162 point lead heading into the last term.
The Bullants added nine more goals while Bendigo scored three to lose by 198 points in a game they never really came to play. They were very lucky the margain was under 200 points and struggled to string possessions together.