Battling Bendigo Pioneers at Queen Elizabeth Oval, the Dungala girls engaged in a first-quarter arm-wrestle, heading into the first break trailing 12-10.
That was as far as the Pioneers would progress on the scoreboard, as the Bushies’ defence kept them scoreless for the remainder of the clash, piling on eight unanswered goals of their own in an impressive 9.11 (65) to 2.0 (12) win.
Rain Dodd, Skylah McPherson and Sophia Green were judged Dungala’s best, but coach Tyson Saunders, who praised his side’s ability to weather the Pioneers’ early assault, said the entire squad made its mark.
“Bendigo applied a lot of pressure early on,” Saunders said.
“They were coming off a really good win the week prior and we knew that they'd be right up and about.
“To their credit, our girls regathered themselves midway through that first quarter and started to gain a little bit of ascendancy towards the back end.
“For the girls to be able to identify that and then start to band together to work as a team to get the game back in our favour was really impressive.”
With three games, to play, Dungala is eighth and right in the mix for its first finals berth since 2022.
Meanwhile, an understrength Dungala boys squad found the going tough against the Pioneers.
Fielding 14 bottom-age players the round before, opportunity has presented itself for the younger Bushies cohort, but a more experienced Bendigo took advantage of that fact by racing away to a 111-point victory.
Shepparton United’s Tanner Armstrong once again presented well, while Mooroopna pair Caden Ratcliffe and Mackenzie Calleja also rated a mention in the best players, continuing a solid run of form.
Both Murray Bushranger sides now have a week off before facing Western Jets.
