BEARS Lagoon-Serpentine recorded their second win for the season over rivals Pyramid Hill, but the seven-point win has come at a cost with star full-forward Josh Mellington set for an extended stint on the sidelines after straining his hamstring in the win.
Mellington, who leads the Loddon Valley goalkicking tally with an astonishing 93 goals, will have to wait to bring up his century after injuring his hamstring in the third quarter of the Bears’ 10.1 (61) to 7.12 (54) win.
The former Fremantle forward wasn’t the only key player for a leading finals contender to suffer an injury at the weekend, with Bridgewater’s Harry Donegan both breaking and dislocating his leg in a sickening injury that has ended the midfielder’s season.
Donegan’s injury occurred in the first half of the Mean Machine’s 99-point win over Newbridge when the popular midfielder was taken to ground in a tackle.
It was Bears Lagoon-Serpentine who walked away as the big winners from the weekend, the Bears moving a game clear of the Bulldogs in third spot on the Loddon Valley ladder and senior coach Jake Wilkinson saying he was satisfied with his team’s four-quarter effort.
“It was a great win. We’ve been looking to put together a four-quarter performance for the last couple of weeks and we did that, which was really pleasing,” Wilkinson told Gannawarra Times.
“They (Pyramid Hill) had a couple missing which made a bit of a difference, but our onballers were sensational.
“We were able to get on top around the stoppages and get first use of the ball and we were able to capitalise on that.
“I didn’t feel there was much difference between the two teams.
“We got off to a good start and held a lead for the majority of the game.
“They hit back in the last quarter and hit the front but the way our boys responded was just sensational, especially since we were down to two rotations on the bench for much of the second half.”
Joining Mellington on the sidelines was Ryan Prendergast, who also strained a hamstring, leaving the Bears with just two fit players to run out the final quarter.
It looked as though it would be a task too hard midway through the final quarter, with the Bulldogs hitting the front, before Andrew Gladman and Justin Laird stepped forward with late goals for the Bears to snatch victory from an inaccurate and wasteful Pyramid Hill.
Tyler Miles was dominant across half-back before moving forward, with midfielder Doolan Nihill, Nathan Twigg, Laird and Wilkinson all among the Bears’ better players.
Tom McGregor continued his dominant season roaming the Bulldogs’ back-half with another best-afield performance for Pyramid Hill, with Gavin James, Mitch Gunther, Ben Knight and Lachlan Sidebottom also among their team’s better players.
The race for fifth spot has intensified, with Calivil United joining Newbridge and Inglewood on three wins following their 20-point win over MGYCW in the club’s annual heritage game, with the home side wearing the maroon-and-gold Northern United heritage jumper.
The Eagles kicked just one goal in the first half, with the Demons opening up a 28-point lead at the main break, before holding on in the second half to record an 8.15 (63) to 6.7 (43) win, with Hamish Wall, Sam Maher and Darcy Thompson among the better players for Calivil United.
Newbridge, who sit in fifth place, will be hoping for an improvement when they play the reigning premiers Marong this Saturday following their disappointing performance against Bridgewater, who were never threatened in their 25.7 (157) to 9.4 (58) win on Saturday.
Lachlan Sharp again dominated up forward for the Mean Machine, kicking 12 goals for the match and giving him 45 goals from his past three games.
Sharp wasn’t alone in producing a destructive four-quarter effort, with Lee Coghlan judged best-on-ground for Bridgewater, along with Jack Symons and Jack Neylon, while Ben McKinley, Caleb Argus and William Copland were the best for Newbridge.
Marong continued their unbeaten start to the season with a commanding 167-point win over Mitiamo, with the reigning premiers keeping the winless Superoos to just one goal for the match.
That goal came in the third quarter of the 26.19 (175) to 1.2 (8) win, with Kain Robins kicking 10 goals and Ryan Wellington six for the Panthers, and Lachlan Lee, David Johnstone and Ryley Taylor joining Robins and Wellington as Marong’s better players.
