Gisborne again showed its premiership credentials as it knocked off Sandhurst for the second time in the Bendigo Football League.
The ladder leading Dragons had just one loss for the season coming into the top of the table clash with the Bulldogs.
That loss came in the first match up between the sides earlier this season.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs again proved too strong for Sandhurst to move equal on points at the top of the ladder.
Bulldogs skipper Jack Reaper said while it was nice to get another win against the Dragons, he wasn’t sure how much they would take out of it.
“We can’t read too much into yesterday [Saturday] in conditions that weren’t conducive to what we will likely see in finals in the QEO,” he said.
“It was nice for that psychological thing and having the edge over them so far with two wins against them and being the only team they have lost to.”
Reaper said the conditions weren’t as bad at Gardiner Reserve as he thought they would be.
It was one of the better grounds in the competition, with several low scoring games in the Bendigo based games.
Just one other team across the competition kicked six or more goals on Saturday.
He said it wasn’t a great game to watch but the ground wasn’t too bad.
The Dragons led by nine points at quarter time before the Dragons started to get going.
They were able to win each of the next three quarters to come away with an 11.10 (76)-5.9 (39) win.
“It was probably a two goal wind going to that scoring end,” he said. “We were able to keep them to just two goals and kick one ourselves in the first quarter which set us up.
“Our backline unit were really strong conceding five goals for the match and our forwards getting on the end in a few.”
Reaper said their endeavour and intensity were elite and they had a bit more patience with the ball going forward than Sandhurst.
He said they rushed it at times against Castlemaine in the previous week and it was something that they wanted to adjust going forward.
“We took our time,” Reaper said. “We knew there would be a lot of longs down the line.
“We waited until we had numbers and talls and made good decisions.
“The stats come out before and I think they show Sandhurst had more of the footy, but we were smarter with the ball use in those conditions.”
Pat McKenna was the key target on the ground, kicking four goals for the Bulldogs.
Reaper was named best along with Zachary Vescovi and James Gray.
The win moves the Bulldogs to only percentage behind Sandhurst. The two teams still have to play each other again.
The win almost seals up a double chance, which Reaper said they thought maybe earlier in the year that they wouldn’t get it.
He said they have three really tough games to finish off the season and will set them up heading into finals.
In the A-grade netball, Gisborne lost to Sandhurst, 44-39.
