The Gunnedah Bulldogs showed no ill effects from their last-start loss against the New England Nomads as they bounced back in emphatic fashion on Saturday.
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Taking on the Eagles in Gunnedah, the boys in red white and blue were a little slow out of the gates but seemed to find their way toward the end of the first term to take a 15-point lead into the first break.
The second was all the Doggies as the back six stood up to repel Narrabri’s attacking efforts and kept the Eagles to a solitary behind for the quarter.
Meanwhile, up front Mark Ewington was once again starting to wreak havoc on his much younger opponents, going into half-time with five goals next to his name.
At that point, Gunnedah had taken a commanding 13.12 (90) to 3.2 (20) lead.
There was no slowing down in the third term.
Some quality football from the Doggies saw the side kick nine goals and five behinds as they put the game beyond doubt.
Midfielder Brent Hartley was a standout for the Bulldogs as he combined with ruckman Jeremiah Howegate to cleanly pump the ball from the midfield to the awaiting forward line.
With a commanding 123-point lead at the final change, Bulldog’s coach Andrew George urged his side not to let up and continue to pile on the goals.
Following the three-quarter-time break, the home side heeded the coach’s instructions and with strong performances from a returning Brad Jenkinson and Jasper Thomas, the scoreboard saw the Bulldogs pass the 200-point mark late in the final term.
After a promising first half, the Eagles were kept to just two majors in the final two quarters with strong defensive performances from Oliver Neader and Patrick Higgins making scoring difficult for the Eagles forwards.
The strong four-quarter performance saw Gunnedah return to the winner’s list with a resounding 30.25.205 to 5.2.32 victory.
The Bulldogs will now turn their attention to a top of the table clash with the Inverell Saints on June 17 at Inverell.
Only percentage separate the two ladder leaders who both currently have six wins apiece.
Gunnedah were too good for the Saints in their round three encounter in Gunnedah, picking up a 52-point victory.
The clash is Gunnedah’s only game in the next four weeks with this weekend being a competition break for the June long weekend, followed by a representative weekend and the teams second scheduled bye for the season.
