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<\/p>\n
Emphasising just how prestigiously the win was regarded, Rosa was fortunate to have represented Western Australia twice during a two-year stint in the WAFL with Peel Thunder, as well as Country Victoria once, all of them victories.<\/p>\n
“This means so much more to the playing group and the broader community, so this pips those,” he said.<\/p>\n
Rosa’s sentiments were echoed by BFNL captain Fergus Greene, whose own career has taken him to the AFL, and to the heights of a premiership with his beloved Sandhurst on his return in 2024.<\/p>\n
“For me, this is pretty high up there. You talk about premierships and playing in big games; there was certainly an element of pressure coming into it, knowing what a win would do for the league,” he said.<\/p>\n
“To start the way we did and to gel as well as we did, it was so exciting.<\/p>\n
“We know they are a great league and they will come back bigger and stronger next year.<\/p>\n
“All the implications that came from it \u2013 it just sits really high on my chart.<\/p>\n
“It’s hard to put a number against where it is, but it’s one I will sit on for a long time.”<\/p>\n
On the BFNL’s roaring start, Rosa insisted there was no surprise, confident he and his assistants had got their planning and match-ups right.<\/p>\n
“I thought our prep work was really good. And just the quality of the people in the side,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The 22 guys we had, I knew they just wanted to be here. They all connected really well, they all wanted to play for each other.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “In these games, you always second guess yourself if you’re a player or a coach, so it didn’t surprise me, but I think it surprised them.<\/p>\n “Talking to (O&M coach) Jake Sharp, he was just in awe in of how we started, and ultimately that set the game up for us.”<\/p>\n The BFNL was likely unlucky not to have been further in front at quarter time than 40 points, given its relentless pressure and the ease in which it was able to force the ball inside 50.<\/p>\n When the challenge came after quarter time, Bendigo was able to hold firm, with the margin still 33 points at half-time and 28 going into the final term.<\/p>\n Rosa and Greene revealed the BFNL side which turned up so switched on Saturday, was a far cry from the one that had failed to impress on the training track on night one at Castlemaine.<\/p>\n “We had four sessions to gel, and Simon was pretty critical of us on night one, saying we were not there, knowing what was coming,” Greene said.<\/p>\n “Our second night at Kangaroo Flat, I said to the boys, it’s just unacceptable to turn up at interleague training at that level and train the way we did,” Rosa added.<\/p>\n “It was a little bit of a wetter night and slippery, but it was still no excuse; the best players still play well in the wet and handle the ball well in the wet.<\/p>\n “I put it on the boys, and from that moment it clicked.<\/p>\n “They knew it was an ordinary night one, but the boys really drove things from there.”<\/p>\n The BFNL was well led by some of its most experienced players, with former AFL players Greene and Michael Hartley (three goals), and vice-captain Bailey Henderson in the thick of it.<\/p>\n None was more influential than Gisborne’s Dylan Johnstone (one goal), who capped a hard-as-nails and ultra-busy performance with the Derrick Filo Medal as the team’s best.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Johnstone earned the nod ahead of his Bulldogs teammate James Gray, who shone for a second straight year on the interleague stage, and contributed three crucial goals.<\/p>\n The youngster was the BFNL’s best on ground medal winner in the previous year’s under-19 clash against the VAFA and had only Johnstone ahead of him for the honour in his senior interleague debut.<\/p>\n A sterling defensive effort was led by Jayden Burke, Jack Fallon and Angus McPherspon, while up forward James Schischka took the most of his opportunities to kick three goals, including the final quarter sealer, and play a hand in several others.<\/p>\n The win was the BFNL’s first over the O&M since the 1990 Country Championships semi-final, albeit the two leagues had not met at interleague level since 1997.<\/p>\n A disappointed O&M coach Sharp paid full credit to the BFNL for a clutch performance and to his own players for their resilience.<\/p>\n “We’ve got a lot of competitors in the group and you can just see it, a few of the boys are hurting,” he said.<\/p>\n “Individually and collectively, knowing that once we got going after quarter time, just how much of the contest was even.<\/p>\n “We just left ourselves too much to do \u2013 that was the reality of our situation.<\/p>\n “There were moments across the day where I thought we were probably one goal off really tilting some momentum, but when you leave yourself open with a start like that, you leave too much to chance.<\/p>\n “Credit to the boys, they were always positive enough to stay in the hunt.”<\/p>\n Redemption will be on their minds when the O&M host Bendigo next season in the return bout.<\/p>\n DERRICK FILO MEDAL VOTES<\/p>\n Dylan Johnstone – 8<\/p>\n James Gray – 5<\/p>\n Bailey Henderson – 2<\/p>\n Jack Fallon – 2<\/p>\n Michael Hartley – 1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A proud BFNL senior interleague coach Simon Rosa has declared his side’s stunning 20-point upset of country football powerhouse Ovens and Murray as the best win he has been involved in at representative level. Propelled by a breathtaking seven-goal to one opening quarter, Bendigo showed remarkable resilience, composure and an ability to respond when challenged […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2026\/05\/BFNL_85500.jpg\")
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