Bombers lock up finals and slide into top four with blistering effort over Bloods

Hosting the Bloods at Gunbower Recreation Reserve, L-G needed to bank a win against a lower-seeded side to keep its nose in front and in the finals frame.

In a competitive first quarter, the game began well for the Bombers, who kicked four goals and a pair of behinds to open their account.

However, Elmore did the hard yards to remain competitive, with two majors and three minors to trail by 11 at the first turn.

Unfortunately for the Bloods, a downturn in attacking form meant L-G had the majority share of the ball and bulldozed them in front of goals, outscoring them 5.8 to one behind to widen its lead to 48 at the major break.

While Elmore (1.9) was able to get back on the goal-kicking horse, the Bombers continued their blistering pace with another four-goal effort, with the red, black and yellow tsunami looking unstoppable heading into the final frame.

It was much of the same down the stretch, with the Bloods mustering one more goal while L-G exploded with five majors throughout to cruise to an 18.17 (125) to 4.8 (32) victory.

Blake Dye went nuclear in front of goal for L-G, collecting eight goals to be included in his side’s best led by centre haf-forward Bryce Barnstable.

The 93-point thrashing sees the Bombers officially punch their ticket to the finals, while sliding into fourth spot.

Whether L-G can hold on to its top-four finish will come down to the final game of the season, which is set to be a blockbuster clash against league-leader North Bendigo at North Bendigo Oval.