The Ants, with David Ellard and Brock McLean holding sway in midfield, dominated possession throughout the contest, but were unable to cash in through the first half. When the match opened up after half-time, and the Ants went direct and long, Mark Austin and Levi Casboult delivered as the potent marking targets.
Casboult, with five goals for the match, hauled in most that came his way, while Rohan Kerr was just as effective in the front half with three telling majors of his own.
“We knew it was going to be a big armwrestle because they had some quality midfielders. We knew we had to be on top of our game, and with the likes of Brock and Ed Curnow around there, together with McCorkell as well, we battled on pretty hard,” Ellard told ABC TV.
“Levi was a great target. He presented well all day. He always doing his extras down the club and it showed today. It really paid off for him.”
The Northern Bullants meet North Ballarat, which was on the receiving end of a 67-point thumping at the hands of Williamstown in the 2nd Qualifying Final, at TEAC Oval next Sunday.
Northern Bullants 1.3 2.6 8.6 14.9 (93)
Bendigo Bombers 3.2 5.4 8.5 10.5 (65)
Northern Bullants. Goalkickers: Casboult 5, Saad, Kerr 2, Ellard, Gale, Twomey, McCorkell, Bransgrove
Best Players: Ellard, Casboult, Lambert, Bower, McLean, Gianfagna
