Normal service has been resumed in the Bendigo Football League . . . Gisborne is back on the winners’ list.
The Bulldogs have had a tough start to the season, winning just one of their opening eight matches. But they led from start to finish against Kangaroo Flat on Saturday to win 17.14 (116)-15.12 (102).
Coach Rod Sharp said the match was a rare good moment for the club this year.
“I’m just happy for the lads,” he said.
“Jeff Gieschen [former AFL coach] told me you don’t know coaching until you’ve coached six losses in a row.
“[Saturday] was a much better day,”
Sharp said the team was still a work in progress.
“We still made mistakes and a lot of guys are still learning,” he said.
“We have lapses at times and make silly mistakes and don’t play percentage football.
“It happened in the last 10 minutes of the game. We were six goals up and should have won comfortably.”
Sharp said the experienced guys led the way.
“Ben Sonogan took 14 marks [and kicked five goals] at centre half forward. Tom May had 30-plus possessions with 11 tackles and 10 clearances,” he said.
“Guys stood up across the board.
“The older guys were keen to get victory and showed them how it was done.”
Sharp said the win showed what the club had been working on the past four or five weeks.
“We are not that bad. We’ve had a tough four to five weeks on the track to get fitter and compete for longer.
“They have put in the hard work and done extra running sessions on top of training every week. It’s good for the confidence and we
think we’re a chance to win the next three matches.
“The boys now understand what they need to do to win; we just need to keep doing it.”
Kyneton also returned to the winners’ list with a 22.19 (151)-11.15 (81) thrashing of Maryborough.
The Tigers set up the win with five goals
to nil in the first quarter and were never headed.
Ben Weightman kicked eight goals and Mitchell Scholard seven, while best-on-ground Joel Stevenson grabbed four .
The Tigers are up to fifth on the ladder, while the Bulldogs remain ninth.
