Bundoora was again on the back foot early in the Northern Football League division 1 clash against Eltham on Saturday.
But this time the reigning premiers quickly regrouped to turn a 20-point quarter-time deficit into a seven-point half-time lead.
The Bulls then ran away with the game in the second half to win 13.10 (88) to 7.8 (50) at Yulong Reserve.
PICTURE GALLERY: Bundoora v Eltham
Bulls football manager Darryl Richards said the first-quarter yips were a concern.
“We’ve been working on what we’ve been doing wrong in the first quarters,” he said.
“We seem to be a bit short on aggression and lacking intensity and then we have to play catch-up.”
He said the Bulls lifted the intensity after quarter time.
“You can’t wait for your teammate to do it for you,” he said. “You need to step up and do it yourself, which we did after quarter time.”
Richards highlighted the performance of Trent Barbero as one of the reasons the Bulls won.
“Trent was at full back on James Kroussoratis, who had kicked 26 goals in the previous four rounds, and to keep him to one goal was a fantastic effort,” he said.
“Adrian Papaluca was flawless up forward and gave them a lot of grief late in the game.
“Brayden Shaw, one of our co-captains, led from the front. His aggression at the footy was top class and when he’s up, the others follow his lead.”
The win moves the Bulls to second on the ladder.
“We’re in a better position than last year in a win-loss sense, a win above last year,” Richards said.
“In that sense we’re fairly happy. The position on the ladder is different.
“We have two big weeks which will really tell us where we’re at.
“We face West Preston Lakeside, who beat us after a slow start, then Montmorency who we had a close game with.”
Whittlesea’s winless division 1 season continued with a 35-point loss to Northcote Park, 13.8 (86) to 7.9 (51), at Whittlesea Showgrounds.
In a match between the two bottom sides, Northcote Park took the early initiative with five goals to two in the first quarter.
The away side extended the lead in the second quarter to lead by 31, before an even second half. Andrew Fairchild was best for the Eagles.
For more pictures of the weekend’s clash visit northern.starweekly.com.au.
