The 35s played first and piled on the pressure early, but it was Bendigo who opened up the account and never really looked back.
The Emus tried hard and never threw in the towel despite being down on the scoreboard but it was a win for Bendigo on the day.
Jon Beach was instrumental up forward, booting three goals and over-celebrating every time.
He was clearly the Emus dominant forward on the day.
New faces Shaun Trice through the middle and Jamie Maddison off halfback showed their experience, getting plenty of ball.
Damian Hammond kicked a nice goal in the last quarter after spending time down back.
Nathan Marsh again showed his durability, mixing his time in defence and on ball winning many one-on-one contests.
Garner Smith worked hard all day, playing mostly at full back.
Special mentions to Daniel Flemming and Dean Mitchell, who played in both the 35s and 45s.
While this game was being played, the partners of the Emus and Bendigo played an exhibition netball match.
Thank you to Madi Van Poeteren for umpiring.
Next up, the 45s had a game against Macorna.
The Emus were always in the contest, but in the end, Macorna got the chocolates.
A great game played in true masters spirit.
The 45s had five new faces pulling on the Emus jumper, and none of them looked out of place.
Stuart Young was busy up forward, booting a goal after selling some candy, much to the delight of the enthusiastic crowd.
Les Butler kicked a nice goal in the last quarter and probably should have finished with two or three, but with his son Matthew Butler umpiring, frees were proving difficult to receive.
Lyndon Nevill was excellent in the ruck, often giving Mark Van Poeteren, Jeff Abela and Chris Hagan plenty of opportunities.
Paul Elso was providing a strong target at centre half forward, and when not marking, was scooping up plenty of ground balls.
Rob O’Connor, playing his familiar role on the wing, was busy all day winning many one-on-one contests.
Down back, Drew Elliott was fantastic with his intercept marking and spoiling.
A real solid game and voted best on ground by Macorna.
Overall, the Emus played 10 new players, illustrating it is a destination club to be part of.
As always, new players are most welcome.
Training is held every Wednesday night at 6pm at Echuca South Oval.
Next up, the Emus will be playing another double header on Sunday, August 3, against GV Giants and Kerang.
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