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BENDIGO ADVERTISER

Monday April 11, 2016

SPORT LODDON VALLEY FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE

bendigoadvertiser.com.au

Champs down Dogs

Machine
mean in
second
half
BY ADAM BOURKE

RIDGEWATER and
Mitiamo showed
why theyre regarded as the two best
teams in the Loddon Valley
Football Netball League with
first-up wins on Saturday.
Both teams were tested by
their opponents in the first
half, before class took over in
the second half.
Reigning premier Bridgewater scored a 17.23 (125)
to 7.4 (46) win over Pyramid
Hill, while Mitiamo kicked
18.12 (120) to Inglewoods
10.8 (68).
Rookie Bridgewater
coach Marc Lindsay was
satisfied with the Mean
Machines victory.
Pyramid Hills ball pressure was spot on and they
came to play, Lindsay said.
It was a good hit-out
for us.
Bridgewater kicked the
final two goals of the second
quarter to grab a 20-point
lead at the main break and
then dominated the second
half, kicking 10.14 to 2.3.
We had plenty of the
footy, but let ourselves down
kicking 17.23, Lindsay said.
That just shows we have
to straighten ourselves up a
bit. In transition we coughed
the footy up more than
we expect.
New skipper Zeb Broadbent set the tone for the
Mean Machine.
The midfielder was
clearly his sides best player
in the first half when the
Bulldogs were at their
most dangerous.
Fellow midfielders Kyle
Chant and Lindsay were
damaging, with the coach
floating forward to kick
three goals.
Darren Clutton enjoyed
some time inside forward 50,
kicking four goals, while Rick
Ladson added two goals in
his first game in the LVFNL.
Despite the lopsided final
score, there were positive
signs for Pyramid Hill coach
Brad Fawcett.
Key defenders Michael
ONeill and Michael Dundon
did a great job on limiting
the influence of Bridgewater
key forwards Alex Collins
and Brad Rohde.
Midfielders Andrew
Dobby and Daniel Price won
plenty of the ball, while key

BEST ON GROUND: Bridgewater's Zeb Broadbent was a ball magnet in his first game as captain of the club. Pictures: ADAM BOURKE

ON TARGET: Alex Galea snaps a goal for Bridgewater

against Pyramid Hill.

forward Nathan Fitzpatrick

kicked three goals from
limited opportunities.
New coach Justin Maddern kicked seven goals as
the Superoos overcame a
gallant Inglewood.
The Superoos only led by
six points at the main break,
but a seven-goal to one third
term broke the back of the
Blues resistance.
Inglewood is a welldrilled side and theyve
obviously done a lot of work
in the pre-season, Maddern said.
They stunned us in the
first half. They ran the ball
well and their full ground
press made it hard for
our entries.
We got back to the basics
in the third quarter and wet
man-on-man.
We had lots of run in
the third quarter and we
delivered the ball to our
forwards better.

Dynamic midfield duo

Doug Thomas and Tyson
Sidebottom were outstanding all day for the Superoos,
while Maddern credited
veteran Andy Grant for
sparking Mitiamo in the
third term.
We asked for someone
to stand up and Andy was
the man that set us up in the
middle in the third quarter,
Maddern said.
We overdid the handball
in the first half, but in the
third quarter Andy was the
man in tight feeding out
handballs to our running players.
The downside to Grants
performance was a
hamstring injury that will
probably sideline him for a
few weeks.
Craig Crichton, Zac Raeburn and Jordan Ashby were
best in a promising performance from Inglewood. Sam
Williams kicked four goals.

RELIABLE: Pryamid Hill

defender Michael Bateman.

CHEST MARK: Bridgewater key forward Brad Rohde

leads the defenders to the ball.

Calivil United opened

2016 with a 71-point win
over YCW.
A seven-goal to none
second quarter ensured the
Demons had the points in
the bag by half-time.
They went on to win 19.9
(123) to 7.10 (52).
We played well in
patches for about half a
game, Calivil United coach
Anthony Dennis said.
There was a six minute
patch in the second quarter
where we kicked four goals
and that was the difference
in the end.
There were some good
signs to forward with, but we
have a lot of improvement
left in us.
Ruckman Chris Down
was best for the Demons,
while Sam Green and Ben
Knight impressed through
the midfield.
Star recruit Mitch Farmer
kicked four goals in his first

game in Demons colours

and Dennis added four
goals himself.
Mitch straightens us up a
lot through the middle of the
ground and when he goes
forward he looks dangerous, Dennis said of the
former Richmond and Port
Adelaide listed player.
With that AFL experience
hes a very smart footballer.
Midfielder Mitch Collins
was the Eagles best player,
kicking three goals.
Nick Waterson, Dylan
Pierce and Jordan Crisp
also battled hard against
the odds.
The Newbridge versus
Marong game was hyped up
as the clash of the leagues
two big improvers.
Newbridge lived up to the
hype, while the Panthers,
who were missing five senior
players, were poor for the
first three quarters.
The final score of 12.12

(84) to 8.8 (56) flattered

Marong, with the Maroons
leading by the best part of
nine goals in the third term.
Newbridges even spread
of contributors proved to be
the difference.
Our theme leading into
the game was for everyone
to play their role and we had
22 contributors, Newbridge
coach Matt Dillon said.
In the last quarter we
went away from what served
us well in the first three
quarters, but overall we were
happy to get the win.
Marong were missing
a few players and Im sure
theyll do some damage
when they get those players back.
Sam Kennedy impressed
for Newbridge with his
pace and skill, kicking three
goals, while Brad Comer and
Lachlan Ford were superb
across half-forward and
through the middle.