May 21, 2007
From Bendigo Advertiser
THE Metricon Bendigo Bombers yesterday halted their four-game VFL losing streak in what coach Matthew Knights labelled one of the most significant wins in his time at the club.
The Bombers defeated Frankston 13.16 (94) to 10.11 (71) at Frankston as the side finally got some reward for its good month of football.
THE Metricon Bendigo Bombers yesterday halted their four-game VFL losing streak in what coach Matthew Knights labelled one of the most significant wins in his time at the club.
The Bombers defeated Frankston 13.16 (94) to 10.11 (71) at Frankston as the side finally got some reward for its good month of football.
The win – just their second in five visits to Frankston – lifted the Bombers (2-5) into ninth position on the ladder after seven rounds.
"Today's win was huge, and it was one of the team's biggest since I have been coach," said Knights, who has coached the Bombers since 2005.
"If we had copped another loss, you start to go too far back in the pack and it's a long way back.
"What we have done today is given our group a belief that we're going to have a strong second half of the year.
"That is no more prevalent than in the fact our last month of footy has been pretty damn good, without getting our just rewards," he said.
"So it was pleasing for the players that they played hard and actually got a win out of it."
After kicking against the breeze in the first quarter, the Bombers found themselves staring at a five-goal deficit early in the second term.
But after conceding six of the first seven goals of the match, the Bombers kicked
12 of the final 16 goals to finish all over the top of the
Dolphins, who are always tough to beat at home.
"We got our structure right with Kepler Bradley,
Grant Weeks and Mark Bolton up forward, and Courtney Johns, James Flaherty and Danny Chartres were doing a good job down back," Knights said.
"Our key-position players really played well."
The Bombers set the win up in the third quarter.
Kicking against a four-goal breeze, the Bombers extended their six-point lead at half-time into a 25-point buffer at the final change.
"That was an outstanding quarter, and it was really just our willingness to run harder between the lines," Knights said.
"Dean Dick and Tom Hislop were giving us a lot of rebound off half-back, and
Jay Nash, Sam Lonergan, Ben Jolley and Jason
Laycock all had good quarters."
Nash was the Bombers' best, finishing with 23 disposals through the midfield.
Jason Cloke furthered his cause for selection in the
VFL team for this week's game against Western Australia with a dominant performance on the wing, while Jolley, Laycock in the ruck, and half-forward Aaron
Connaughton, who played one of his best games for the Bombers, were prominent.
Weeks kicked two goals in his first senior game.
The Bombers' reserves won their second game of the season, winning a thriller 11.14 (80) to 11.11 (77).
Josh Bowe was named Bendigo's best player.
