A second-quarter blitz ensured the Ballarat Football League held bragging rights over its Bendigo Football League rivals in the AFL Victoria Country Championships on Saturday.
While nothing could split the two teams early in the contest, Ballarat showed its quality in 30 minutes of dominant football at Eastern Oval.
Ballarat trailed by two points at quarter-time but a goal to Daniel Tung at the five-minute mark kicked off the second-term onslaught.
Lucas Anderson and Mitchell Phelps then got in on the act, combining for four goals in quick succession to drag the margin to 28 points.
Despite having the momentum, Ballarat wasn’t about to ease up on the pressure, and Rowan Marshall and Anderson added to the home side’s advantage as half-time approached.
The late goals put an exclamation point on the league’s dominance and handed Ballarat a 41-point lead at half-time.
There was no coming back from there for Bendigo and the Ballarat players were able to savour their 17.11 (113) – 4.12 (36) win. Nathan Horbury was outstanding for Ballarat, winning a number of important contests and helping his team stay on top when the match was in the balance.
He was well supported by Grant Bell and Callum Currie, who both worked hard until the final siren.
Derick Micallef was the leading goal kicker for the winners with four majors.
On a tough day for Bendigo, Matthew Thornton and Brayden Dorrington were among the standouts, while Gisborne’s Tom Waters and Tim Walsh were part of the team.
Ballarat will take on Goulburn Valley at next year’s interleague championships in a battle between the third and fourth-ranked leagues in the state.
Meanwhile, Bendigo will meet Gippsland when the seventh and eighth place leagues square off.
The Geelong Football League is again the top-ranked country league in Victoria after beating Goulburn Murray.
In the senior netball, Ballarat made it a winning double in a tight contest.
Ballarat’s ability under pressure to convert was the difference in the 46-40 win.
Gisborne’s Maddie Stewart, who started in attack before moving into defence later in the game, was best on court for the Bendigo side.
Liam Twomey
