Photos: Andrew Perryman Bendigo Weekly
After a recent string of success, the Bendigo Spirit have won three consecutive games and five out of their last six games, catapulting them up the ladder and sparking the team after a frustrating start to the season. The team’s frustration peaked in Round 4 against the Bulleen Boomers when the defending minor premieres handed the Spirit a humbling 85-55 defeat in Melbourne. Five weeks later, after improved form has catapulted Bendigo up the ladder and put it in prime position near the midway point of the season, the Spirit have a chance to see just how far they’ve come as they welcome the Boomers to Bendigo in a highly anticipated rematch. The 30 point defeat to the Boomers left the Spirit standing at just 1-3 on the season; their only win coming against the lowly AIS in Canberra. Since that game, though, the Spirit have shown their resilience, defeating top tier teams Dandenong and Logan and losing only to league leader Canberra en route improving their record to 6-4 through eight rounds. The Spirit followed their impressive sweep of the Rangers and Thunder in Round 6 with a convincing 72-57 win over the AIS last Saturday, setting up a matchup between two of the hottest teams in the league. While the Spirit have strung together a three-game win streak, the Boomers arrive in town sporting a five game winning streak, having not lost since dropping a 86-75 result to the West Coast in Round 2. During their bye week the following round, Bulleen took a trip to China to partake in a number of exhibition games against the Chinese national team, giving
the side a chance to gel as a team after spending more time as a unit. The results have been clear. Despite playing without starting point guard Sharin Milner and Opals member Jenna O’hea, the Boomers have won every game since returning to Australia. After Milner and O’hea returned from their injuries in last week’s win against Sydney Uni, the Boomers could prove to be an even stiffer test for opponents. Add them to the mix along with Liz Cambage and Rachel Jarry and the side appears to be stronger than ever. Still, Bendigo has shown the ability to hang with the best teams in the league and will no doubt be eager to take on another top opponent. Playing without Kristi Harrower last week due to a right shoulder injury, the Spirit were still able to overwhelm their opponent as they cruised to the comfortable win. After turning their season around since the last game against Bulleen, the Spirit now get a chance to see just how much progress they’ve made. Prediction: While it may not be pretty, the Spirit scratch and claw their way to a two point victory, extending their win streak to four.
Joe Turner of Bendigo Spirit Media