Bendigo Advertiser |Review of round 10 of the Loddon Valley Football League season, including Newbridge's 28-point win over Marong.
Having lost their first four games, the Maroons have since won three of their past five, and while they are still two games outside the top five, the signs are positive.
The Maroons defeated their elimination final nemesis of the past two years, Marong, winning a fiery contest 15.15 (105) to 11.11 (77) at Marong Links Oval.
Having led by 10 points at three quarter-time, the Maroons survived an early challenge in the final term from the Panthers to kick away to a 28-point win.
“It was a solid game of footy, but the boys dug deep and finished off really well,” Newbridge coach Matt Dillon said.
“I’m just rapt for the boys to start getting some rewards for what has been a fairly solid past month of footy.
“The first month was disastrous, but we’ve seen good signs the past month... we’ve got back to basics and everyone is working hard together at training.
“We’re still having some flat spots in games, and did again today, but we’re starting to get near the consistency that we want.”
Ruckman Angus Fortune was the Maroons’ best player.
“He was huge for us today. He rucked most of the day and also took some telling marks in the last quarter floating back,” Dillon said.
“And with his attack on the footy around the ground, he’s just like another midfielder.”
Lachlan Ford’s outstanding form through the middle also continued for the Maroons.
“He had another super game and is just getting better each week,” Dillon said.
“He gave us plenty of run through the middle.”
Dylan Burt on a wing also stood out for the Maroons, who had Austin Fithall kick five goals for the second week in a row.
The Newbridge team included Callum Williamson, who in round one had been part of the Marong side that defeated the Maroons, before making the mid-season shift to Riverside Park, where his father, Geoff Williamson, coaches the under-18s.
The loss ended Marong’s three-game winning streak.
Marong was again best served by midfielder Kyle Manley, who has been the Panthers’ most consistent player this season.
Forward Corbin Fleming (two goals), Ben Gregg and backman Matthew Frankel were also among the best for the Panthers, who are now 5-4.
• Bears Lagoon-Serpentine had the better of the second half against Mitiamo, defeating the Superoos by 32 points.
The Superoos led by one point at half-time, but the Bears kicked eight goals to four after the main break to win 14.15 (99) to 10.7 (67) at Mitiamo and are now a game clear inside the top three.
“It was a good game of footy from both teams. We lifted our intensity from half-time and again in the last term to earn the points,” Bears coach Mick Ring said.
Bears’ ruckman Sam Stavenuiter was a big presence on the ground, kicking five goals to be his side’s best player.
“Stav is playing some very good footy and continues to improve each week... he’s a big body and he uses it well,” Ring said.
Andrew Gladman and Daniel Hayes both defended well for the Bears, while in his first game of the season, key big man Josh Hutton was also among the best.
As well as Stavenuiter’s five goals, the Bears also had Shaun Monohan snag four and Matthew Davidson three.
Mitiamo forward Steven Tolongs made the most of his opportunities, kicking six of the Superoos’ 10 goals.
The Superoos named gun midfielder Doug Thomas their best, with the playmaker at his most damaging in the second quarter when Mitiamo kicked six goals to three.
Tolongs, Terry Reeves and skipper Dylan Clohesy also played well for Mitiamo, which lost to the Bears for the eighth time in a row.
“I thought our effort was there, but our execution was poor,” Mitamo coach Denis Grinton said.
• For the second time this season, Bridgewater held YCW to just three goals in its 118-point win over the Eagles at Laser Plumbing Bendigo Oval.
The Mean Machine lifted their percentage back over 300 with the 21.15 (141) to 3.5 (23) win.
Despite the one-sided result, Bridgewater coach Andrew Collins said the Eagles provided more of a contest than the scoreline suggested.
“YCW cracked in around the ball and put plenty of pressure on at the contest,” Collins said.
“I felt we were a bit off today with some of our non-negotiables like being hard and low at the footy and we were sloppy at times with our ball-use, so there’s still some areas to improve on.”
In his first game back from a month out with a hamstring injury, Daniel Connors kicked four goals for the Mean Machine, while Brian Westley added three.
The class of Andrew Collins (two goals) again stood out, along with ruckman Josh Metherell, hard-nut Deon Jones and Darren Clutton.
The Eagles, who lost their sixth game in a row, kicked two of their three goals in the first quarter.
The Eagles had better players in onballer Ryan Walker, Bendigo Pioneer-listed Liam Collins, who has had an impact in three games he has played, and Jake Concol.
• Calivil United maintained its unbeaten record against Inglewood that stretches back to 2002.
The Demons beat the Blues for the 27th-consecutive time with their 93-point triumph at home, winning 19.17 (131) to 6.2 (38).
In their second games for the Demons, mid-season recruits Luke Manders (six) and Lachlan Considine (four) kicked 10 goals between them.
Demons coach Andrew Freemantle described the win as a consistent team effort from his side.
“We had a lot of contributors today and it was just a really good team performance from the boys,” Freemantle said.
While Freemantle praised his side’s team-play, Sam Green was exceptional on the wing for the Demons.
Manders up forward, Glen Richardson through the midfield and Henry Miller also led the best for the Demons.
For the fourth time in the past five games, Ben Conley in the midfield was Inglewood’s best player.
Tom Stagg, Jarrod Starr (three goals) and Logan Popple also worked hard in what was Inglewood’s seventh-straight loss.
