Things started on an ominous note with the team bus breaking down halfway to the game — luckily some vehicles were in the area and a team assembled at White Hills oval in time for bounce down.
From the start of the match, the Bendigo B-52s looked to be a stronger line-up than the under-manned Emus and it eventually played out that way on the scoreboard.
However, the Emus’ pluckiness and windy conditions meant Bendigo was never able to get a run-on and it was a very tight first quarter with only one goal registered to Bendigo.
The effort and endeavour was on display with the likes of Mark Van Poetren, Mike Davis, and new recruit Drew Elliott setting the tone for the Emus, and they weren't going to be pushed aside easily.
Coach Jeff Abela took an aggressive approach to try and get some results in attack in the second quarter and it looked promising with some early forward entries.
But Bendigo was able to respond and kick three majors against the wind, giving the Emus a difficult task in the second half.
The Emus were left with no reserves on the bench after half-time, allowing Bendigo to open the floodgates and pile on five goals to nil in the third quarter, putting the game out of reach for the visiting side on a difficult day for footy.
Craig Danswan got the Emus off to the perfect start in the fourth term after captain Ron O’Bryan orchestrated a final-quarter assault with the wind, however it wasn't quite enough and the B-52s ran home as comfortable winners on the day.
Other strong contributors for the Emus were Justin Voss, Phil Arnott and Damian Hammond while for the home side Wayne Mitrovic proved a powerful force with five goals.
The Emus will be looking to get back on the winners list with their next game at home against Benalla's Samaria Suns on May 21.
This will be the annual sponsors and life members day at Echuca South Recreation Reserve with the footy kicking off at 1pm.
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