Bundoora’s experienced players stood strong when it mattered in their Northern Football League division 1 clash against Montmorency.
The Bulls flew out of the blocks in the first quarter, before the Magpies hit back in the second and third quarters, seemingly in control early in the last quarter.
But, as so many times before, the Bulls found that extra gear to run out winners, 19.13 (127) –12.6 (78).
Bulls’ football manager Darryl Richards said, when it comes to the crunch, experience will always be the key.
“It got a bit tight in the last quarter, but to our boys’ credit, they ran away with it in the last 15 minutes.
“You cannot replace experienced heads when it gets tough, and they got the job done for us today.”
Richards said ruckman Matthew Dennis stood up in the last quarter, Brent Marshall controlled the ball in the middle, while Gary Moorcroft kicked four goals on his 40th birthday.
Richards was also full of praise for two new players, Isaac Muller and Willis Flanders.
“Isaac was good assisting Dennis in the ruck and was just as powerful up forward, while Willis gave us plenty of run from defence.
“The way things are looking, Isaac [a VFL-listed player] won’t play too many games for Essendon unless they have injuries.
“Which is good for us,”
Richards said having better depth would be a change from last year when the club struggled to support Dennis in the ruck.
“Last year in the reserves, we relied on Jordan Galea, an under-19 who played a couple of senior games as well,” Richards said.
“This year we’ve also got Daniel Guccione, who’s a tennis player at the AIS academy, who has decided to take 12 months off from tennis.
“He’s never played football before and is coming along nicely.”
The extra depth hasn’t just boosted the ruck; the Bulls have plenty of options in the reserves, something they didn’t have last year.
“Last year we struggled to even field a side in the reserves,” Richards said. “We had about 20 players who didn’t play yesterday.”
Richards said that depth would be tested in this weekend’s game against Greensborough with several players absent due to a wedding.
Meanwhile, Whittlesea is still without a win after losing to Heidelberg, 12.11 (83)-7.9 (51). Andrew Fairchild stood out, kicking five goals.
In division 2, last year’s grand finalists Lalor are without a win after two rounds. A slow start cost the Bloods another loss, 13.18 (96)-8.7 (55).
Epping won a thriller in division 3, beating Banyule by one point, while Mernda is without a loss after defeating Watsonia.
