Bulldogs take care of another HDFNL flag challenger to remain undefeated

The Bulldogs are now the only undefeated team after five rounds following their 26-point win over White Hills at Atkins Street.

North Bendigo's 20.7 (127) to 15.11 (101) victory followed the previous week's belting of Heathcote, with Saturday's win set up by yet another flying start.

The Bulldogs booted 9.2 to 2.3 in the opening term to lead by 41 points at quarter-time.

In their first four games this season the Bulldogs have now led by margins of 24, 39, 39 and 41 points at quarter-time, showing the value of applying scoreboard pressure early.

"To be honest, the first quarter probably flattered us a bit today," North Bendigo coach Rob Bennett said.

"They had the first couple of scoring shots and controlled probably the first 10 to 12 minutes, but we were able to wrestle our way back... we started winning the contest and the stoppages, which is where they were on top early and our forwards were really dangerous.

"We used the footy well and were able to get those shots from 30 to 35m out, which is where you want to be taking them from."

Following the opening term onslaught from the Bulldogs it was 13 goals to 11 in favour of White Hills over the remainder of the game, but the damage done early by the home side was to severe for the Demons to overcome as they suffered their first defeat of the season.

SATURDAY SCOREBOARD - MAY 4, 2024

Bulldogs forward Jordan Ford was pivotal in setting the tone for North Bendigo in the first quarter and despite rolling an ankle during the second quarter finished with six goals.

Fellow forward Dylan Klemm (three), who was named best after clunking plenty of marks, Sam Barnes (two), Tyson Findlay (two) and Hakeem Johnson (two) were also multiple goalkickers for the Bulldogs.

"I'm super proud of the boys. Today was a real character-building win after we lost Aarryn Craig (captain) in the first eight minutes after being knocked out in a contest when his head hit the ground hard," Bennett said.

"Our boys for the next five to six minutes afterwards were probably a bit shellshocked, but then they kicked into gear."

Under AFL Victoria's new concussion protocols introduced this year for community football Craig will be sidelined for a minimum of 21 days, ruling him out of at least the Bulldogs' next two matches against Huntly and Mount Pleasant.

One of the players earning a big wrap from Bennett post-game was Will Gilmore.

"Will had the job on (Kaiden) Antonowicz, but it wasn't the job he did on him... it was his work in general play and his defensive efforts were really good," Bennett said.

The trio of co-coach Antonowicz (six), James Davies (four) and Mitch Dole (four) combined for 14 of the Demons' 15 goals. New defender Alex Davis was named best for White Hills.

Lockington-Bamawm United regained a much-needed dose of confidence after a bounceback win over Mount Pleasant.

Coming off three losses in a row, including a shock defeat to Huntly the previous week, the Cats on the back of a second quarter blitz defeated the Blues 13.10 (88) to 7.10 (52) at Lockington.

In a game the Cats won by 36 points they outscored the Blues by 36 points during the second term when they kicked 7.2 to 1.2 in the defining period of the match.

"The past three weeks (losses to Huntly, White Hills and Heathcote) have been pretty dark for us to be honest," LBU coach Stacy Fiske said.

"Today we just had to get back to basics and we tweaked a few things that allowed us to defend the ground a bit better and win the contest.

"We were able to get back to what Locky has been known for and that starts with winning the contest.

"It's a credit to not only our leaders in the group, but all the players who played their roles really well today.

"Jeremy Mundie played a fantastic game kicking four goals and provided a lot through the wing and up forward.

"Tyler Phillips was sensational in the ruck and Brock Kennedy our skipper played really good footy, but overall it was a great effort from the lads."

As well as Mundie kicking four goals, so too did Anthony McMahon for the Cats, who were without two of their key players in forward Stuart Taylor (broken arm) and defender Ben Holman (knee).

The reigning premier Blues are on the backfoot early in the season now at 1-3, with there a familiar pattern in all three losses - one poor quarter.

"There has been a theme. We've played four games and three of them we've lost through lapses in quarters," Blues coach Cameron Carter said.

"We've got to be better at making sure it doesn't happen in the first place and then if the opposition gets a run-on we are quicker at being able to shut it down."

The better players for the Blues were led by Fletcher White, ruckman Chris Down and Sam Greene.

Colbinabbin won its second game of the season with a 24-point victory at home over Huntly.

The Grasshoppers outscored the Hawks in all four quarters in prevailing 11.13 (79) to 8.7 (55) as they climbed from sixth to fourth on the ladder.

Forwards Alex Carr and Clint Shields both kicked three goals for the Grasshoppers, while classy veteran Nick Knight was best and impressive midfield recruit Nathan Basile was again a standout.

The Hawks were unable to back up their strong performance from a week earlier when they beat LBU by 34 points for their first win of the season.

"We had a similar inside 50 count to Colbinabbin in the first quarter, but just couldn't capitalise early," Huntly coach Hamish Morcom said.

"I thought we ran the game out okay, but there were just a few occasions where we couldn't stop their momentum.

"I reckon we gave them a goal in red time in just about every quarter and that ended up being the difference.

"And I don't know how many goals they got from our turnovers, but it wasn't great and a bit reminiscent of our game against Mounts a couple of weeks ago (104-point loss) with our ball use.

"Any team is going to hurt you as poorly as we used the ball today, so it's something we've got to continue to work on."

Defender Brodie Fry, who had the job on Carr, forward Harry McCormick (three goals) and Mitch Avard in the backline battled hard for the Hawks.

Heathcote played the role of party pooper on Elmore's 150^th anniversary weekend.

The Bloods were unable to break through for their first win of the season on their big weekend as an inaccurate Heathcote won 16.21 (117) to 8.5 (53) at Elmore.

It was a return to the winner's list for the Saints following their heavy loss to North Bendigo a week earlier.

"It was a big of an ugly game at times," Heathcote coach Andrew Saladino said.

"Elmore played quite well for the first three quarters, but we just couldn't convert. We had a lot of forward entries and it seems to be the way with us playing at Elmore; we kicked a lot of points there as well last year.

"We didn't have our kicking boots on, but I was pleased with the way we finished off in the last quarter (5.8 to 0.0)."

Corey Grindlay, Henry McCarthy and Braden Padmore all kicked three goals for the Saints, while gun forward and vice captain James Harney kicked three of Elmore's eight goals.

Heathcote's best players included reigning Cheatley Medal winner Liam Jacques through the midfield, Tim Long and consistent ruckman James Orr.

Skipper Rhys Holmberg, Nicholas Mayne and defender Joe Harney headed Elmore's better players.