Round 2 of the ECAFL was played in extremely windy conditions - both sides missing key players it was the Saints who would suffer the most, lucky to escape with only a 9 goal loss.The Bombers elected to kick into the stiff breeze in the first, lacking drive off the half back without injured Shane Blight, the Red and Black army welcomed Ben Vawser, Declan Coyne and Simon Paquin into the team. The Saints also without many of there regulars added Pat Considine and Seb Buteau to their line-up.
The Bombers midfield gained an early dominance with Stark and Vawser combining beautifully through the corridor putting alot of early pressure on the Saints backline. The Bombers were working the ball well into the wind and quickly added their first and second goals of the game. The Saints who were having plenty of the ball couldn't capatilize on their possesion, frequently breaking down across the centre of the ground and relying heavily on the ever solid Fred Frost in defense. When Bombers first gamer Simon Paquin slotted through his first ever goal late in the quarter the Bombers had forged a handy 3.2 to the Saints disappointing 0.2.
As the second quarter started the Saints were looking at the real possibilty of a blow out. James-Robert Theis continued to do well in the ruck feeding plenty of opportunities to his on-ball brigade. Max Sigler was dominating the 'hard ball gets' working well at ground level and giving the Bombers the advantages in the clearances. The Bombers surged forward again and again, Vawser adding another two goals to his tally - Fred Frost playing a blinder trying to keep the Saints in the game making the Bombers earn every shot. Pat Considine was serving the Saints well across half-back but they were losing the battle for the ball on the ground. The Bombers would have 11 shots on goal for the quarter to none, but the pressure applied by the Saints backman restricted them to only 2.7 and two out-of-bounds on the full. The worrying signs for the Saints continued as they failed to score, heading into half time down by 36 points 0.2 to 5.8
With the wind at their backs the Saints had one last chance to work there way back into the game. Anthony Williams pushed forward to create a target but had been well held by the Bombers defense all day in particular Declan Coyne who was on fire in his first Aussie Rules outing. The Saints started the quarter well, their midfield starting to gel together better. Gab Leiva's attack on the ball was creating more space and allowing Buteau, Considine and Frost to create some forward momentum. Trouble for the Saints was the Bombers were still getting plenty of the ball. Cam Stark continued to rack up possesion after possesion and partnered with Vawser in the middle the Bombers were able to match the Saints, eventually outscoring them 2.5 to 2.0 securing a 41 point lead effectively wrapping up the game by 3 Qtr time.
Not about to lay down the Saints came out strong in the final quarter looking for some respectability on the scoreboard. The Bombers woeful season in front of goals continued kicking another 6 behinds for the quarter.Goals to James-Robert Theis and number 5 (tying an ECAFL record) to Ben Vawser put the icing on the cake. The Saints soldiered on, Alex Rochette and Vincent Pottier working well throughout the midfield, eventually the Saints put through a major, their first and only scoring shot into the wind. Ending a disappointing day for the Bleu and Blanc eventually losing by 53 points.
Bombers 3.1 5.8 7.13 9.19 (73) defeated
Saints 0.2 0.2 2.2 3.2 (20)
Goals:
Bombers - B.Vawser 5, D.Coyne 1, S.Paquin 1, J-R.Theis 1, L.Anderson 1.
Saints - A.Williams 3
Best:
Bombers - Vawser, Stark, Theis
Saints - Frost, Considine, Leiva.
