Bombers crash back to earth as Bulldogs run riot

By Josh Huntly

May 21, 2023

Candy man: Leitchville-Gunbower’s Mitch Candy gets the hands away. Photo: Steve Huntley Photo by Steve Huntley

After toppling reigning premier LBU last week, Leitchville-Gunbower failed to bring that momentum into the clash against North Bendigo in round six.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

The Bulldogs were 51-point winners over the Bombers, with L-G overrun in the last quarter after a strong start to the game.

An inconsistent Bombers outfit conceded five goals to two in the second quarter to trail by four goals at half-time, and a six-goal burst in the final 10 minutes blew the margin out.

Jordan Ford was the chief destroyer for North Bendigo with eight goals, while Matt McLellan and Clay McGregor toiled hard for the Bombers.

L-G coach Shannon Keam said the performance was out of touch with what the side produced against the Cats.

“We were drinking our bath water a bit from last weekend, to be honest, the intensity and effort was up and down all day,” Keam said.

“It’s a bit similar to what we’ve had in the past, we look at our stats and they’re reasonably even, it’s just our skill level and our composure with ball in hand at times left a lot to be desired.

“The frustrating part is we showed glimpses of what we can do, then we seemed to take our foot off the pedal.”

The defeat consigned the Bombers to their fifth loss of the season, currently sitting in eighth place with a 1-5 win-loss record.

Despite this, they remain just one game out of the top five, with a clash against last-placed Huntly at home this weekend providing an opportunity to keep step.

North Bendigo jumped into first place on the back of their victory after Mount Pleasant’s upset defeat to Heathcote, while Colbinabbin kept in touch with the top five with a hard-fought 17-point win over Huntly.