In a physical affair, Daylesford battled their way through Buninyong and a host of injuries until they were able to get two goals clear at the final siren.

Luke Adams left the field after a leg injury in the opening term, with Xavier Keighran joining him on the sidelines shortly after with a lower leg problem.

But the most serious injury was to dashing halfback flanker Peter Jenkin, who had to be driven out of the ground by ambulance after breaking two ribs in a big clash.

Daylesford was able to fight through these opening quarter injuries to take the lead at quarter time, as goals to Andrew Button and Luke Adams were enough to take an eight-point lead into the second quarter. Both teams attacked with more success in the second quarter, with some

goals finally starting to occur. Buninyong had the better of the Bulldogs as they claimed a slight lead midway through the term, with both teams then trading goals for the remainder of the quarter. Ben Broadway and Luke Beattie added goals late in the quarter to give Daylesford a

narrow three-point lead at the main break. The third quarter still remained a battle for attrition as both sides continued to press for the lead. Buninyong had their chances but were wasteful when attacking, allowing the Bulldogs to counter attack to great effect. A highlight of the

quarter was a tremendous spoil by Darren Chambers. who punched the ball from 60 metres out almost to the goal square where Toby Hughes was able to snap his first goal. Nick Sullivan also added a goal to his mountain of possessions when he calmly slotted a major from the pocket.

Despite Daylesford keeping Buninyong goalless for the quarter, the Bulldogs still led by just 13 points, setting up a tense final quarter. Daylesford's backline was constantly under attack in the final stanza, but backmen James Evans, Simon Beattie and Nick Lawrence were rock solid,

constantly running their opponents under the ball and then linking up to attack when Daylesford gained possession. Rob Rodgers sealed the game in fine fashion, soaring high over his opponent at half-forward to take a brilliant mark, and then hit the ground running to bang the goal

home from 40 meters. Daylesford travel to Waubra next week in another big challenge for the club.