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.
Reserves
With the Under18s having a week off, the Bulldogs’ Reserves were able to select one of its strongest teams of the year, with four Under 18s – Brady Ross, Finn Cashman, Kohen Beaumont and Eden
Goldsbury – providing a further youthful injection in the side.
With the locals bringing upwards of 11 players into the side, it was always going to be tough.
As so it was to be, with an opening of six goals seven behinds – many of which could easily have been goals – the Phillip Island boys jumped out to a 43-0 lead at the first break.
The trend was continued through the rest of the game, with the first – and last - scores for the locals being three behinds in the second.
No further scores meant a depressing scoreline for Bunyip at the end.
Meanwhile, the Phillip Island Bulldogs showed remarkable consistency through the entire game.
With scores of 6.6, 5.5 and 7-2 in the quarters 2-4 respectively, the Bulldogs were able to continue scoring at will through to the end of the game.
Led by Tyce Kleverkamp running riot through the forward line with six goals, ably supported by Tully Dickie, Jett McMillan and evergreen coach James (Nico) Nicolaci, goals flowed throughout.
Feeding the forward line were Tom Aylett in the mid, and Saxon Mau continuing his impressive improvement week-on-week.
Whenever the ball ventured towards the Bunyip forward line, newly anointed vice-captain Sam McRae led strong defence turning the home-team’s thrusts into attack for the visitors.
The Under 18s boys showed they are more than ready for senior football right now with strong showings.
A final scoreline of 164-3, with a 161-point margin was ultimately a fair reflection of the gulf between the two teams.
Scores:
Phillip Island: 6.7.43, 12.13.85, 17.18.120, 24.20.164.
Bunyip: 0.0.0, 0.3.3, 0.3.3, 0.3.3.
Goals:
Phillip Island: Tyce Kleverkamp – 6, Tully Dickie, Jett McMillan, James Nicolaci – 3.
Best Players:
Phillip Island: Tyce Kleverkamp, Tom Aylett, Saxon Mau, Tully Dickie, Jett McMillan, Samuel McRae.
Bunyip: Patrick Davis, Nick Roberts, Mitchell McKenzie, Tyler McMillan, Finlay Pinkster, Noel Mollison.
