BENDIGO Pioneers sit at the bottom of the TAC Cup table despite some competitive efforts, claiming two victories thus far this season. One came against the Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels in Round 1, before shocking the Gippsland Power at Windy Hill later in the year. It was their best performance of the year, and a reward for effort after a narrow loss to Western Jets at Williamstown. To finish off the season they have fellow bottom four side GWV Rebels up at Mars Stadium, before finishing off the regular season against Western Jets at Queen Elizabeth Oval.

Wins: 2
Losses: 12
Draws: 0
Position: 12th
Points For: 648 (12th)
Points Against: 1152 (12th)
Percentage: 56
Points: 8

Fixtures:

R15: vs. GWV Rebels – MARS Stadium
R16: vs. Western Jets – Queen Elizabeth Oval

National Combine Invitations: [1] Jye Caldwell

State Combine Invitations: [2] Jacob Atley, Zane Keighran

The Bendigo Pioneers will face one of Murray Bushrangers, Oakleigh Chargers or Western Jets in the Wildcard Round in three weeks, entrenched in the bottom two. A win in the final fortnight would see them overtake Eastern Ranges into eleventh which should hand them a slightly better chance at upsetting a challenger in the Wildcard Round. They have a star midfielder in Jye Caldwell, while the likes of Jacob Atley, Zane Keighran, Noah Wheeler, Hunter Lawrence, Flynn Perez and Brodie Kemp form a solid nucleus around the ground.

Top Fives:

Disposals:

1 – Noah Wheeler – 292 (8th overall)
2 – Liam Marciano – 250
2 – Hunter Lawrence 250
4 – Flynn Perez – 199
5 – Jacob Atley – 190

Marks:

1 – Jacob Atley – 59 (19th overall)
2 – Noah Wheeler – 50
2 – Flynn Perez – 50
4 – Hunter Lawrence – 49
5 – Liam Marciano – 48

Contested Possessions:

1 – Noah Wheeler – 133 (11th overall)
2 – Liam Marciano – 104
3 – Hunter Lawrence – 89
4 – Zane Keighran – 76
5 – Jacob Atley – 66
5 – Flynn Perez – 66

Tackles:

1 – Hunter Lawrence – 69 (eq. 10th overall)
2 – Noah Wheeler – 60
3 – Jack McHale – 34
3 – Callum McCarty – 34
5 – Flynn Perez – 32
5 – Daniel Keating – 32
5 – Riley Ironside – 32

Hitouts:

1 – Daniel Keating – 190 (5th overall)
2 – Mitchell Christensen – 47
3 – Daine Grace – 41
4 – Max Johnson – 25
5 – Matt Hird – 23

Clearances:

1 – Noah Wheeler – 57 (eq. 6th overall)
2 – Liam Marciano – 34
3 – Hunter Lawrence – 24
4 – Zane Keighran – 21
5 – Bailey Henderson – 18

Inside 50s:

1 – Noah Wheeler – 62 (eq. 1st overall)
2 – Hunter Lawrence – 44
3 – Bailey Henderson – 31
4 – Flynn Perez – 30
5 – Liam Marciano – 21

Rebounds:

1 – Hunter Lawrence – 42 (6th overall)
2 – Noah Wheeler – 34
2 – Jackson Williams – 34
4 – Flynn Perez – 30
5 – Jacob Atley – 29

Goals:

1 – Will Holt – 10 (eq. 34th overall)
2 – Noah Wheeler – 7
3 – Hunter Lawrence – 6
4 – Zane Keighran – 5
5 – Braydon Vaz/Brodie Kemp/Oscar Perez, Lucas Caccaviello/Riley Clarke – 4