BEARS Lagoon-Serpentine are one step closer to securing an all-important top-three finish after defeating finals rivals Bridgewater by 83 points at the weekend.
The Bears restricted one of the Loddon Valley’s most potent scoring teams to just three goals for the match, and one after quarter-time, while piling on 16 of their own in the 16.12 (108) to 3.7 (25) win.
As a result, the Bears moved a game clear of the Mean Machine in third spot, with Bridgewater now needing a lot to go their way to earn a double chance, including defeating reigning premiers Marong this Saturday and either of Pyramid Hill or Bears Lagoon-Serpentine to suffer shock losses to bottom-five teams.
The strong performance reaffirmed the Bears’ credentials as a genuine threat in this year’s finals series.
“It was a great result for the club and for the boys, with the top four as even as it is this season, to get ourselves into the top three was really valuable,” Bears Lagoon-Serpentine coach Jake Wilkinson told the Gannawarra Times.
“To get the win over Bridgewater and put a little bit of space between us on the ladder was very pleasing.
“I thought our ability to win the contest was really good.
“We spoke before the game about putting (Bridgewater) under pressure, they have some really quality players and if you give them time and space they can hurt you, so we had a big emphasis on all 22 players applying a lot of pressure around the ball.”
James Rippingale returned for his first game since the Bears’ round 5 encounter against Bridgewater and finished with a game high four goals, with Andrew Gladman and Farran Priest also proving problematic with three goals each.
But as strong as Bears Lagoon-Serpentine’s performance was up forward, his team’s ability to restrict Bridgewater’s star-studded forward line containing Lachlan Sharp, Andrew Collins and Josh Martyn pleased Wilkinson the most.
“It started with our midfield, Doolan Nihill and Ross Turner were great and Nathan Twigg in the ruck got us off to a great start, but our defence was really solid too,” Wilkinson said.
“I can’t put it down to one key aspect, it was just a good team performance, in fact it was probably our best team performance for the year.
“It was all about keeping a consistent effort, we’re a team that’s been pretty good this year, but occasionally we have lapses in game, and we just had a big emphasis on playing a consistent four-quarters, winning the contest and putting a lot of pressure on them.
“We wanted to embrace the conditions too, the ground was pretty boggy and the wind was blowing a gale, so we wanted to make sure we were really positive and enthusiastic to be out there.”
Wilkinson was one of the key players in the win, with the coach taking the job of nullifying leading goalkicker Sharp, who finished the afternoon with just one goal, while Tyler Miles also played well on Collins, with wingman James Bailey given the Bears best player for the afternoon.
Harry McKinley was one of the best in what proved to be a dirty day for the Mean Machine, with Lachlan Cohen, Lee Coghlan, Jonathan Coghlan and Bo Alexander also among their teams better players.
Maiden Gully-YCW recorded their third win under Shawn Filo and Angus Monfries, with the Eagles’ one-point win potentially being the first nail in the coffin of Inglewood’s hopes of back-to-back finals appearances this season.
After holding a 30-point lead at the final break, MGYCW held on as the Blues kicked four unanswered goals with the wind in the final quarter to get within one point of victory.
Both teams would rue missed opportunities in the 6.16 (52) to 6.15 (51) result, with the Eagles’ win coming despite kicking just two goals after quarter-time.
Top-two teams Marong and Pyramid Hill recording convincing wins over Calivil United and Mitiamo, respectively.
The reigning premiers proved too strong for the Demons, with Ryley Taylor kicking 10 goals for Marong in the 21.11 (137) to 3.6 (24) win, while Pyramid Hill held the Superoos to just three behinds for the match in their 19.11 (125) to 0.3 (3) victory.
