A DOMINANT second half from defending Heathcote District Football Netball League premiers, Leitchville/Gunbower propelled the Bombers to a 110-point victory against Elmore on a blustery and unseasonally cold autumn afternoon.
Pushed by the Bloods in the first half and with both sides battling to come to terms with the trying conditions, the visitors put their collective foot down, stamping their authority with superior ball usage and many more avenues to goal as the visitors kept Elmore goalless in the second half.
Matt Perri was again sublime with an eight-goal haul – four of which came in the last quarter as the Bombers filled their boots against a side that had neither the fitness or plan by that stage to make a contest.
Fed by prolific ball winners Daniel Coates and Tim Lincoln, the Bombers forward maestro began ironing out the bugs from his rusty first week effort.
Captain Daniel Couwenberg buzzed around the midfield and with Liam Guinan extracting the ball from the scrappy packs, gave the Bombers a decisive edge in the middle of the ground.
Given the highly variable nature of the ball-ups and ensuing ruck contests, which often saw hands flailing wildly as the ball moved considerably, the alertness and sure hands of the midfielders was all important.
Already the Bomber onball brigade this season are starting to look a cohesive and highly interchangable unit, and with recruit Jack Gleeson missing with illness, look to be the benchmark of the competition.
Trailing by 33 points at quarter time, Elmore hit back, matching the Bombers for goals – five apiece – in the second term, hanging around like an annoying younger sibling at a teenage party.
The Bloods kicked three of the first four goals to peg the margin back to inside four goals, only to have Perri and another strong Bomber performer in Ryan Prendergast restore order with goals.
Then a terrific moment as Jake Vandongen marked and kicked truly for the first time in senior football since joining the Bombers at the start of 2016.
Swamped by his teammates soon after the goal was a fitting exclamation mark to the big forwards recovery from serious illness.
Another Vandongen goal at the start of the third signalled the commencement of Bomber dominance, with 11 unanswered goals following to give the visitors one of the highest scores across the State.
The win took the Bombers’ winning streak against Elmore to 11, with the Bloods last victorious against the competition’s northernmost side in round 15, 2012.
The only blemish for the day, apart from the weather, was a dangerous sling tackle in the last quarter that left Bombers player, Brady Hore dazed and unable to continue.
