The North Ballarat Rebels have begun their 2011 TAC Cup campaign in fine fashion, defeating fellow country side the Bendigo Pioneers by 43 points at Eureka Stadium on Saturday.
After a tight battle in the first term, North Ballarat kicked four goals in the second quarter while keeping the Pioneers goalless to jump out to a 29-point lead at the main break.
From that point onwards the Rebels just did enough to keep Bendigo at bay, slowly wearing down their opponents while gradually increasing their margin over the course of the second half.
The final quarter became a shootout after a relatively low scoring first three quarters, with North Ballarat kicking five goals to Bendigo’s four en route to a 12.14 (86) to 6.7.(43) victory.
Livewire forward Jake Neade was electric in the final term, kicking two goals in the space of five minutes while having a hand in another, with his defensive pressure inside 50 causing havoc for the Pioneers defence.
The large win places the Rebels in third position on the TAC Cup ladder, but with a game in hand over the top two clubs in Oakleigh and Sandringham, North Ballarat could well challenge for that top spot in the coming weeks.
Brad Crouch and Cameron Schache were both instrumental in the win, both compiling 31 possessions each across half-back and through the midfield, while up forward the goals were spread evenly with Jake Neade, Darcy Watchorn, Lauchlan Dalgleish and Brayden Ison all kicking two apiece.
To add to Bendigo’s loss, they were also struck with a cruel injury blow to star player Jake Stringer who broke his leg while being tackled midway through the third quarter.
The promising defender had proved to be a handful for North Ballarat in the first half, cutting off many forward thrusts, so he will certainly be sorely missed by Bendigo for the remainder of the year.
New Rebels coach David Loader praised his side’s efforts in their first up win. “We were very accountable I thought, our work rate was terrific,” he said.
“I don’t know if we played miles better but we outworked them. Our midfield was really good, (Brad) Crouch, (Sebastian) Ross and Coleman Schache gave us first use quite a bit.”
For the first four weeks of the TAC Cup season clubs are allowed to have six players on the interchange bench instead of the customary four, a rule that Loader is very pleased with.
“It gives another two kids a chance to play TAC Cup footy, and in a hard-working game like we had today, we pretty much needed everyone by the end of the day as the boys were all pretty tired,” he said.
The Rebels now take on the Dandenong Stingrays this Sunday at 1pm at Eureka Stadium in Ballarat.
North Ballarat 1.4 5.8 7.10 12.14 (85) d
Bendigo 1.0 1.3 2.3 6.7 (43)
Goals –
North Ballarat: Neade 2, Watchorn 2, Ison 2, Dalgleish 2, S.Ross, Taggert, Spriggs, Dobson.
Bendigo: Knox 4, Hird, Gilbert.
Best –
North Ballarat: Crouch, Schache, S.Ross, Ison, Dalgleish, Rippon.
Bendigo: Heavyside, Stevens, Knox, Hird, Kerridge, McCarty.
Last Modified on 05/04/2011 18:21