The win leaves the Bullants seventh on the VFL ladder after round 14. They are level on points with the fifth-placed Collingwood, sixth-placed Box Hill Hawks, and eighth-placed Geelong. Williamstown leads the league on 44 points, with North Ballarat and Port Melbourne on 36, and Casey Scorpions on 32.
Bullants coach David Teague talks about how the match evolved and how some of the Carlton-listed players performed in the exciting win.
IT WAS a good game last week. We probably didn't start the best and we had our chances, but then our third quarter was really good. The boys got it together and with the way they went about it, they made a plan to play good, team orientated football.
It got us back into the game, which was great against what is a really good team. North Ballarat are really well coached and they're very even.
We've found all year we've performed really well against the top teams. We've stepped up and played well, and we know we can mix it with the best; we just have to be able to do that each week.
Cameron Cloke was really good up forward. He often had their ruckman in front of him, so he had to get through two and three opponents, and it was really good to see him get rewarded with goals because he took a couple of good grabs.
Richard Hadley was very good in the middle, along with David Ellard. Hadley had 29 touches and 13 tackles, while Ellard had 24 touches and 15 tackles.
Jordan Bannister started down back and then went onto the ball, and he was really good. Daniel McCorkell was the other player who really played well for four quarters.
Steven Browne, Mark Austin and Jake Edwards were pretty good in the backline. Jeff Garlett as a small forward was very dangerous on the big ground. At Visy Park, he found plenty of space and looked really dangerous.
Nick Stevens didn't have his best game. He got a heavy tag and just couldn't quite break it. In the third quarter, he positioned himself well for the team and went behind the stoppages to allow us to have a bit more cover, which was really good.
At the end of the day, a player of his quality could probably have done a little more with his output.
Andrew Walker played his first game back and he was rusty. As the game went on, he grew in confidence within his body. He played a reasonably solid game without doing anything outstanding.
He won the ball and got a lot of out it, and I think he got a lot of belief in his body from playing the game.
I'll expect Robert Warnock to play with us this week if he gets through training. He's really looking forward to it. We had Sam Jacobs back last week for his first game, along with Walker, and they created a bit of enthusiasm for the playing group, and I expect it will be the same for Robbie.
Simon Wiggins will also be back as well, so they're all quality inclusions. Setanta O'hAilpin has missed a few too so he'll have to get through a test this week. He'd have to be raring to go if they were going to take him straight into the seniors, and if he missed this week, I'd think he'd come back through the twos.
Dennis Armfield rolled his ankle and he'll be doubtful this week, and so did Austin, but his has pulled up pretty well and he should be alright.
We've got the Bendigo Bombers this Saturday at Windy Hill, and there is always a danger against sides that haven't won a game.
We're sitting a few spaces above them on the ladder, but it's always a tough game. If you look at their team on paper, they've got some good players, so it will be a real challenge and a game we'll have to step up for.
It's essentially Carlton versus Essendon as well, and the Bombers always fire up for that. They pushed us in round one to nine points, and they pushed Port Melbourne on the weekend to about 14.
They're playing some good footy, and we'll have to bring our best intensity and pressure if we're to have a win.
NORTH BALLARAT 3.7 6.12 8.13 11.15 (81)
NORTHERN BULLANTS 0.4 3.8 9.9 12.13 (85)
NORTH BALLARAT
Goals: B. Driscoll 3, A. Edwards 2, M. Campbell 2, J. Smith, J. Spolding, B. Goodes, C. Garlett
Best: M. Sewell, A. Edwards, S. Clifton, B. Goodes, B. Driscoll, C. Garlett
NORTHERN BULLANTS
Goals: C. Cloke 5, J. Saddington 2, J. Garlett 2, M. Robinson, A. Gianfagna, J. Bannister
Best: R. Hadley, D. Ellard, C. Cloke, J. McCorkell, J. Bannister, A. Iacobucci
