BENDIGO BOMBERS (Bendigo Diggers)
Affiliated: VFL 1998-present
Club Address: Osborne Street, Bendigo, 3550
Postal Address: P.O. Box 470, Golden Square 3555
Home Ground: Queen Elizabeth Oval
Formed: 1998
Colours: Black and red
Emblem: Bombers (formerly Diggers)
Premierships: Nil
J.J. Liston Trophy Winners: Nil
Highest Score (against current VFL clubs only): 22.20 (152) vs. Tasmania 9.7 (61) in 2004
Formed in order to give the football hotbed of Bendigo a presence in the VFL, the Diggers, as they were known initially, first entered that competition in 1998. In 2003, following an alignment with Essendon, the club changed its name to the Bendigo Bombers. Life to date has been tough for the fledgling club, and one particularly inauspicious phase between 2000 and 2002 saw it losing a calamitous 35 games in succession. The first glimmer of light came in 2004 when, under the coaching of Peter Banfield, the Bombers reached the finals series for the first time. In 2005, with former Richmond champion Matthew Knights at the helm, there was substantial improvement as the side went within one game of the grand final. However, the following season brought a dramatic slide, with just 4 wins from 18 home and away matches consigning the Bombers to 12th place in the 13 team competition. Finals qualification was narrowly achieved in 2007, but North Ballarat promptly doused the Bombers' premiership hopes with a 21.22 (148) to 16.15 (111) preliminary final victory.
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