Island Bulldogs prove too strong in goal-filled Bunyip clash - Seniors

Off to Bunyip to meet the ‘other’ Bulldogs of the West Gippsland competition at their home kennel in Bunyip, the disparate positions between the two clubs on the ladder was uppermost in the minds of the Bulldog faithful.

What was the real difference between the two teams and would the ladder positions bear that out?

With the Under 16s starting later than normal due to the Bunyip Bulldogs not having an Under 18 team, a spread of Under 18s into the Reserves and some changes in the Seniors needed to also be considered.

Seniors

Pre-game saw a couple of changes in the senior side, with young guns Jack Papas and Daniel Bourke being managed as of Thursday night, and some further late changes.

Elder statesman Damian Holmes also out with what could be described as a hole in his foot as a result of an errant nail at his building site.

Matt Jones came into the side for his first game of the year, and Brendan Kimber a welcome addition back after several games on the sidelines.

Heavy rain made conditions slippery and hard to keep your feet.

After teams felt themselves out Kimber opened scoring with two goals in a minute.

Trav Woodfield then followed suit kicking two more.

Kimber kicked his third and Phillip Island were on their way to a 10 goal first quarter.

Second quarter started similarly with Max Blake opening the scoring.

Trav Woodfield then kicked two more to take his first half tally to four.

Each Taylor (Jack, Bill, Ben) kicked a goal and Kimber goaled again for four first half goals of his own.

Half time saw a 112-0 scoreline.

Much of the same in the third quarter but less scoring from the Island.

The highlights were a dashing goal from Kai McKenzie off half back and three consecutive goals to “Sauce” Tomada making his semi-regular switch up forward.

Kimber kicked his fifth, and a 146-0 lead.

The Island kicked nine goals in the last to finish with 16 individual goal kickers for an even team performance, only conceding one goal for the afternoon at the 21-minute mark of the last.

So, the gulf between top and bottom in this competition was clearly revealed.

The test for the Bulldogs will be to continue the focus when games against the bottom sides come around, with the first test passed with a 199-point win.

Scores:
Phillip Island: 10.3.63, 17.10.112, 22.14.146, 31.19.205.
Bunyip: 0.0.0, 0.0.0, 0.0.0, 1.0.6.

Goals:
Phillip Island: Brendan Kimber, Travis Woodfield – 5, Jack Taylor, Jason Tomada – 3.
Bunyip: Ned Ashton – 1.

Best Players: 
Phillip Island: Brendan Kimber, Max Walton, Daniel Pearce, Travis Woodfield, Cameron Pedersen, Jason Tomada.
Bunyip: Curtis Jenkin, Jason Williams, Alex Dijkstra, Adam Banks, Mitchell Sproles, Aaron Miles.