Van de Camp said his players’ unity was the real standout of the 11.10 (76) to 3.6 (24) victory.

“Their ability to just play for each other was fantastic,” he said. “That was one of the things that really impressed me and it's one of the challenges of interleague – they’re coming from different clubs, but once they pulled the jumper on today it was as one team.

“They ran to support each other and their tackling intensity for each other was brilliant and the way in which they embraced the concept of team really impressed me today.”

The game was opened up in the third quarter with the Bottle Greens kicking four unanswered goals to head into the final quarter with a handy 45-point buffer that would be extended as the match ran away from Bendigo.

Van de Camp said he was frustrated with his side early in the third term.

“We felt our intensity had probably dropped off a little bit,” he said. “But four minutes in and it was like a switch flicked and we kicked three goals in five minutes and that really made it hard for Bendigo to come back, as we had opened up and blown the game away from them.”

Bendigo coach Jason Stevens said he was disappointed with how his side played.

“We positioned ourselves badly behind the footy and early we weren’t as hard at the footy as Hampden were, so that was a little disappointing from our perspective,” he said. 

Bottle Greens midfielder Josh Mawson was named best on ground, while van de Camp praised the efforts of fellow midfielder and vice captain Patty Smith, forwards Emmanuel Ajang and Jalen Porter, who kicked three goals each, and his whole back line for its ability to limit Bendigo’s score to 24.