Bombers upset Seagulls

The Bendigo Bombers have upset ladder leader Williamstown by 3 points at a windy Pt. Gellibrand oval on Saturday afternoon.

A dominant first quarter by the 8th placed Bombers who kicked 4.7 to one behind provided the platform to set up the 9. 16 (70) to 9.13 (67) win.

Kicking to the Hobsons Bay end with the aid of the breeze, two goals from tall forward Jake Carlisle and one each from fellow Essendon listed players Jarrod Atkinson and Jake Melksham gave the Bombers the perfect start.

In comparison it was a tough quarter for the Seagulls whose problems were compounded with the loss of David Stretton who reportedly fractured a collarbone in a heavy clash with Tyson Slattery that could be heard through the TV broadcast effects mics.

Celebrating their inaugural Community Day, Williamstown thought they had a goal to celebrate within a minute of the restart when Mitch Hahn sent a brilliant left foot snap toward goal, only for goal umpire to rule that the ball had brushed the flag behind the post on the way through.

That would be the first of a number of puzzling decisions for the quarter after play on was called when Jarrod Atkinson appeared to be caught high in the Bombers forward line followed by a mark to Patrick Rose in Williamstown's forward pocket which was ruled to have hit the ground.

Nearing the end of a frustrating half for Williamstown where Josh Hill missed a great chance and Mitch Hahn was taken to the rooms in the hands of trainers with a cheekbone injury, Patrick Rose broke the drought on 21 minutes with some individual brilliance when he gathered a contested ball inside 50, broke a tackle and snapped truly from 40 metres.

Bendigo regained the ascendancy however after Jake Carlisle marked strongly and kicked his third to give the Bombers a 27 point lead at half-time.

David Myers extended their lead to 33 points early in the third quarter using the breeze to his advantage with a 55 metre bomb before a Ben Davies kick to advantage allowed Patrick Rose to mark and kick his second, keeping the Seagulls in the contest.

The game developed into an arm wrestle with both teams trading goals through Michael Quinn on the run for Bendigo followed by Rose, who grabbed his third for Williamstown 17 minutes in.

Stewart Crameri roosted a long goal from 50 on the run before Josh Hill became the first Williamstown player to kick a goal other than Patrick Rose, marking in the goal square after another long kick from Ben Davies, reducing the margin to 29 points at three quarter time.

Williamstown, who are the last quarter specialists of the VFL, would have to produce their best effort to have any chance of victory and they got off to the best start possible when Dylan Addison goaled from a 50 metre penalty however this was cancelled out almost immediately by Nathan Lovett-Murray who drilled a goal from 40 metres to restore the margin held at three quarter time.

Williamstown rallied with the breeze through Peter Faulks, who kicked his second goal in as many weeks, followed by 2 goals from Jarrod Bouman while at the other end Bendigo narrowly missed chances from Ben Duscher and Jake Carlisle to seal the game.

Despite being two men down on the interchange bench for most of the day, Willamstown were able to get within 3 points when Patrick Rose kicked his fourth late in the game but the Bombers held on for a memorable win and consolidated their spot in the top eight.

Bendigo Bombers 4.7 5.9 8.14 9.16-70
Williamstown 0.1 1.6 4.9 9.13-67

Williamstown
Goals: P. Rose 4, J. Boumann 2, J. Hill, D. Addison, P. Faulks
Best: T. Callan, C. Lockwood, P. Faulks, B. Davies, J. Daniels, J. Boumann

Bendigo Bombers
Goals: J. Carlisle 3, J. Melksham, D. Myers, N. Lovett-Murray, J. Atkinson, M. Quinn, S. Crameri
Best: J. Flaherty, J. Carlisle, B. Collins, N. Lovett-Murray, D. Myers, J. Cloke