“If it bleeds, we can kill it”.
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A turn of phrase first uttered by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator before being immortalised in Australian Rules folklore by Leigh Matthews, when coaching the Brisbane Lions to victory over reigning premiers Essendon in 2001.
Fast forward 17 years and while not on quite as grandiose stage, that’s exactly the attitude the Bathurst Bushrangers Rebels took in Saturday’s sixth round of the Central West AFL season against the then-undefeated Orange Tigers.
The Rebels choked, pressured, hurried and chased at Bathurst’s George Park, making the Tigers bleed and ultimately taking them down in a 8.8.56 – 5.15.45 victory.
The ball spent significantly more time in Orange’s forward half, but the Bathurst defence meant the Tigers had no penetration and Rebels were able to consistently repel forward 50 entries, getting over the back and outpacing the opposition defence on the rebound.
That stifling defensive effort played in a huge role in the Tigers’ success in front of goal, or lack thereof, by three-quarter-time the visitors had kicked just one major and 12 behinds.
The Rebels did still lead by just 17 at that break though and while that was extended to 29 with two quick goals to open the final term, which looked to have slammed the door on the Tigers.
However, Tyson Hannus clunked a grab and slotted a goal, then Andrew Henry ran into an open square to kick another, giving the Tigers a sniff.
Hannus added another two in quick succession, sparking a desperate Tigers’ effort to move the ball forward at all costs and give themselves a chance at snatching an unlikely victory from the jaws of defeat.
Orange pushed hard through the middle in the final two minutes, searching for the two goals needed, but its final thrust forward was stifled by the plethora of Rebels flooding back to help and the Bathurst side was able to wind the clock down to claim a breakthrough, 11-point win.
Rebels coach Steve Grundy said he was feeling good after his side kicked the first two goals but faced a few “nervy moments” as the Tigers surged towards the end of the game.
“We did enough to hold on … it’s always very hotly-contested between Bathurst and Orange and if you’re lucky enough to get a win you always take it,” he said.
“It was just a great game of footy, they’re the sort of games you play footy for.”
The Rebels out-tackled and pressured Orange, with Grundy saying his side had to beat the Tigers at their own game of hard possession and strong defence.
“That’s the style they play, the pressure, contested footy, tackling and we wanted to really bring it to them in their own game and we managed to lay a lot of tackles and I think that’s what won it for us, we just wanted it more,” he said.
“We pride ourselves on our defence, through that defence we can start that strong attack and we can push forward and push back, so everyone works really hard and it was a fantastic team win.”
Andrew James was named best on ground in the awarding of the Byrne-Long Cup, but Grundy said Andrew Grinter stood out to him in the backline as a standout performance.
“He’s one of those silent performers who does his thing every week but lead from the front this week,” he said, mentioning Tory Robinson as another with an excellent game in the middle.
After being tagged out of the game in the first quarter by Pierce Frecklington, Matty Archer went forward in his 150th game and kicked a game-high four goals.
Tigers coach Dale Hunter said it wasn’t the side’s best performance, but also admitted his side didn’t handle blustery conditions, especially in front of goal.
“We had the shots on goal but just couldn’t convert them,” he said.
“We had a lot of the football but credit to the Rebels, they were the better side for three quarters and deserved the lead they had.”
He said the Tigers traditionally don’t fare well after a bye, with the two weeks off due to representative carnival and the long weekend setting them back for the first three quarters, but said the Rebel’s pressure – especially on the Tigers’ forwards – was the big factor.
“I mentioned their pressure acts and tackles and smothers, they were ready and we can go back to the drawing board,” Hunter said.
“We’ve got our first home game (next week) so hopefully that gets the boys back up and we need to be unified and ready to that and having (Tim Barry) up front will help our avenue to goal.
“You can’t underestimate his organisation up there, he puts a lot of people in the right spot with his directional talk and leads up better than anyone else in the competition, but we took in 24 fit blokes so it’s not an excuse.”
The Tigers’ own 150-game player in Mitch McKenna battled hard all day, with Hunter labelling him the side’s best player, wit Hannus and Mick Evans two others that stood out.
“Our whole back six as well was going really well considering how fast their ball came in, it wasn’t ideal for them but I thought they did really well and can hold their heads up high, we probably didn’t support them enough with our two-way running,” Hunter said.
The result, combined with the Bathurst Giants’ win over the Bushrangers Outlaws, leaves the Tigers, Giants and Rebels in a three-way deadlock for top spot, although the Orange side leads on percentage.
The Tigers will play their first home game next week against Parkes, while the Rebels play the Giants.