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Pyramid Downs Bridgewater, snares GF berth

PYRAMID Hill, with more scoring options in attack, won Saturday’s Bendigo Bank Loddon Valley Football League preliminary final over Bridgewater at Backhaus Oval.

The Mean Machine’s Kurt Ashman and Alex Collins kicked eight of their team’s 11 goals.

In comparison the Bulldogs spread their goalkicking among Matthew Chilcott, Ben Altis, Paul Carmody and Stan Neohoritis on their way to a 14.15 (99) to 11.14 (80) win.

The big game was played on a great surface with virtually no breeze, but was a scrappy affair in the opening two quarters.

Bridgewater’s Collins opened the scoring at the pavilion end before Pyramid Hill on-baller Gavin James sparked his teammates with a scintillating burst.

James sent the ball in Chilcott’s direction for a Bulldog goal, hit the post high up with a shot of his own and then goaled on the siren to give the Bulldogs an 11-point lead at quarter-time.

Bridgewater’s wayward kicking for goal which was to plague the team all afternoon was on show early on. Andrew Duguid hit the woodwork from point blank range, first term, and in the second term Collins and Ashman were offline with set shots.

With Darren Clutton constantly driving the Mean Machine into attack from centre half-back, Ashman and Collins ultimately did convert from long, set shots wide out at the town end.

Indeed, Collins’ second major for the day reduced the margin to just seven points: 5.5 (35) to the Dogs’ 6.6 (42).

Pyramid Hill increased its intensity as half-time loomed with the dangerous Altis making amends for an earlier miss from straight in front with a sweetly struck snapped goal.

When Matthew Scott and then Altis again were on target, the Bulldogs stretched their advantage to just on four goals by the long break.

The Mean Machine needed a big performance in the third term. Clutton had been moved by Ashman to centre half-forward, but Collins missed everything from a set shot, dead in front of the pavilion end goals.

He tidied up moments later with a set shot goal from deep in the pocket yet Ashman missed twice when goals were needed.

When the Bulldogs went forward Nick Marchesani and Chilcott (2) didn’t miss and it took a Clutton six-pointer after the three-quarter time siren had sounded to reduce Bridgewater’s margin to 27 points: 12.9 (81) to 7.12 (54).

However, the Mean Machine was down to 17 men for the first part of the last term with centreman David Coghlan yellow-carded late in the third term for an alleged hit on Tom White.

The Bulldogs’ midfielders and flankers led by Brad Fawcett, Scott Mann and Stan Neohoritis continued to work hard with Mean Machine wingman Michael Allan providing a lot of the run for his team.

Pyramid Hill’s Paul Carmody, very elusive all day in the Bulldog forward line, made Bridgewater’s task almost impossible with a set shot goal.

To their credit, though, the Mean Machine kept working with Allan the driving force. Goals to Collins, Allan and Ashman cut the deficit to three goals, but Pyramid Hill had done enough to set up this Saturday’s grand final showdown with Calivil United.

Bulldog coach Shane Gilchrist, who played a fine defensive role on the dangerous Reece Poyner, said his forwards had got the job done.

“We spoke during the week about keeping the pressure on through the game. We started the game off well, which was also what we’d spoken out,” he said.

Gilchrist added wingman Travis Thatcher, who appeared to injure an ankle, would be right for the grand final.

Bridgewater coach Kurt Ashman said his players had bombed a number of chances in the second half.

“We had a number of opportunities. But at the end of the day if you don’t take your chances you won’t win in finals.”

“Strangely enough, when we were down to 17 men in the last quarter the team played our best footy. And we were under pressure then, too,” he said.

By Richard Jones

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