THE spotlight is on Bridgewater again as it hosts Pyramid Hill in this Saturday’s 11th round in Bendigo Bank Loddon Valley FNL senior footy.
A week after beating a Newbridge team which had Gary Ablett jnr as part of the Carlton Draft, Bridgewater now features in the clash between third and second.
Back in round two it was Bridgewater which won on Pyramid Hill’s turf at Mitchell Park by four goals.
Among the changes to the Bridgewater team which won at Deepcore Drilling Riverside Park in Newbridge will be former St Kilda and North Melbourne midfielder Nick Dal Santo who was part of the Carlton Draft promotion being out .
A strong squad for Bridgewater coached by gun forward Lachie Sharp includes Harry Conway, Jacob and Luke Ellings, Oscar McKinley, Jack Neylon, Mitch Patten and Darcy Wood.
The Jarrod Fitzpatrick-coached Pyramid Hill fought for a 90-77 win at home against Inglewood last Saturday.
It’s been a brilliant season by Seb Erharter who joined the Bulldogs from Boort and has kicked 55 goals in 10 matches.
Players to watch in the red, white and blue include Zach Alford, Brodie Carroll, Harrison Goodes, Ben Knight and Ryan McGhie.
The ladder-leading Marong will be on its turf at Jackal Oval in Malone Park to play Inglewood.
The Panthers charged to a 122-35 victory when it played at Inglewood on “Kaye’s Day” in round two.
An Inglewood team coached by Jackson Hood has bounced back from a nil-three start to be in fourth place on a six-four record.
Marong had to work hard for a 94-84 victory against Bears Lagoon-Serpentine at Gadsden Finance Serpentine Reserve last Saturday as Inglewood took it right up to Pyramid Hill.
Key match-ups for the James Flaherty-coached Marong will be Lachlan Lee in the centre against Liam Marciano, Michael Bradbury in the ruck against Tom Kennedy, and Jimmy Gadsden roving against Daniel Polack.
The Panthers have Richard Tibbett and Matt Willox to lead the defence, and Shaun Knott and Ryley Taylor as key targets in attack.
A Harding medallist as league fairest and best, Corey Gregg is also back in the Marong line-up.
Key players for Inglewood include Kai Cavallaro, Bregon Cotchett, Mischa Fraillon and Mitch Pickering.
Maiden Gully YCW Eagles take on Newbridge at Marist College Oval.
A win will keep the heat on the fifth-placed Macorna.
The Eagles worked hard for a 55-51 win at Macorna last Saturday as Mitch Hill, Anthony Robins and ruckman Daniel Russell led the way.
A Maiden Gully YCW Eagles squad coached by Shawn Filo, non-playing, and Angus Monfries, playing, includes Ed Crisp, Stacy Fiske, Lewis Pigdon and Josh Worsley.
The Jayden Cordy-coached Newbridge was beaten by 67 points when it faced the Eagles in round two.
After the hype of Gary Ablett jnr’s appearance last Saturday the Newbridge team has to focus on taking the points in a match crucial to challenging for a top-five finish.
The Maroons’ line-up includes Jon Coe, Jackson Eadon, captain Kobe Friswell, Jackson Hufer, Dylan Lloyd, Zebb Murrell, Caleb Sanders and Jed Zimmer.
Calivil United hosts Bears Lagoon-Serpentine in the battle of Demons and Bears.
The Sam Maher-coached Calivil United will again chase back-to-back wins after a 91-82 victory at home against Mitiamo.
In round two it was the Jake Wilkinson-coached Bears who dominated in their den to beat the Demons by 85 points.
Best for Calivil United in the win against Mitiamo were Henry McCarthy, Liam Stephens, Rhys Lourie, Zac Tickell, Kade Blow and Cody Thompson.
The Bears have the experience of Charlie Gadsden, Andy Gladman, Tyler Miles, Miggy Podosky, Ross Turner and Nathan Twigg.
Other players to watch in the purple and gold include Jason Addlem, Darcy Hawker, Joseph Ketterer and Farran Priest.
Mitiamo and Macorna meet on the Superoos’ ground at Mitiamo’s John Forbes Oval.
The Luke Lougoon-coached Mitiamo faces an opponent stung by a loss at home to Maiden Gully YCW Eagles.
In round two the Fergus Payne-coached Macorna beat Mitiamo by six goals.
A score of 83 points was Mitiamo’s second-best of the season.
Best for the Superoos at Calivil last Saturday were Zac Cruse, Koby Gibson, Luke Lougoon, Zak Myers, Ryan Clark and Lenny Cook.
Macorna’s team bound for Mitiamo includes Hunter Anset, Will Canham, Matt Colak, Seb Erharter, Kieran Foley, Spiros Sklavenitis, Toby Whinfield and Josh Whittle.
Loddon Valley FNL senior footy ladder:
Marong 171 per cent, 36 points; Pyramid Hill 165, 36; Bridgewater 166, 32; Inglewood 134, 24; Macorna 101, 20; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 88, 16; Newbridge 81, 16; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 77, 8; Calivil United 46, 8; Mitiamo 58, 4.
Leaders in the goalkicking race:
56 Lachie Sharp, B.
55 Jhye Baddeley-Kelly, PH.
34 Dimitri Fasoulis, Mac.
28 Cooper Hale, Mar.
25 Farran Priest, BLS.
20 Oscar McKinley, B.
18 Seth Wright, Miti.
17 Mischa Fraillon, I.
16 Seb Erharter, Mac.; Caleb Sanders, N.
15 Zach Alford, PH; Shaun Knott, Mar.; Henry McCarthy, CU; Mitch Pickering, I.
In the netball……THERE’S plenty at stake as Bridgewater faces Pyramid Hill in this Saturday’s 11th round of A-grade netball in the Bendigo Bank Loddon Valley FNL season.
Fourth takes on fifth at Bridgewater Recreation Reserve from 3pm.
Both teams are locked on 24 premiership points and go into this contest on the rebound from defeat.
When they met in round two it was Pyramid Hill which scored a 53-50 victory on its Mitchell Park court.
A Bulldogs’ team coached by Chelsea Emmerson, Amber Dingwall, Darci Tierney had a great duel with Inglewood at Pyramid Hill last Saturday.
It was the Blues who fought on for a two-goal win against the Bulldogs.
Bridgewater was also beaten by a two-goal margin on Newbridge’s court at Deepcore Drilling Riverside Oval.
The Mean Machine is jointly coached by Lou Dupuy and Carly Wild.
Another big match on Saturday will be at Jackal Oval in Marong’s Malone Park where the Panthers face Inglewood.
When these teams met in round two the Dani O’Toole-coached Inglewood scored a 60-50 victory at Centre State Scaffolding Oval.
The Blues teamed superbly to win last Saturday’s match on Pyramid Hill’s court.
A win for Marong could put the Panthers in the top five.
The Bridget Willox and Bianca Garton-coached Marong scored a 16-goal win against Bears Lagoon-Serpentine at Gadsden Finance Serpentine Reserve last round.
Maiden Gully YCW Eagles faces a tough task at home at Marist College Oval against Newbridge.
The Christie Griffiths-coached Eagles played well to win last Saturday’s match at Macorna by 25 goals.
Back in round two it was Newbridge which beat the Eagles by 22 goals.
The Hayley Martiniello-coached Newbridge is on a ??-match winning streak.
Calivil United is back on its court to play Bears Lagoon-Serpentine.
Both teams are on the rebound from defeat.
A Calivil United team coached by Annie Blow and Alex Ingram will start favourite to take the points.
Just two goals separated the Demons and Bears when they met in round two.
Calivil United netted a 40-38 win against the Erin Varker-coached BLS.
Unbeaten in its quest for a premiership hat-trick, Mitiamo is back on its court at John Forbes Oval to play Macorna.
The Jen Wilson-coached Mitiamo won its latest match at Calivil by 32 goals.
The Superoos scored a 39-goal win against the Macorna Tigers in round two.
Another huge test for the Brooke Allison-coached Macorna against the reigning champions.
Standings in the Loddon Valley FNL A-grade netball competition:
Mitiamo 192 per cent, 40 points; Newbridge 113, 28; Inglewood 103, 28; Bridgewater 144, 24; Pyramid Hill 114, 24; Marong 103, 24; Calivil United 83, 16; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 66.7, 8; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 66.5, 8; Macorna 53, 0.
Loddon Valley FNL netball ladders after 10 rounds:
A-reserve:
Bridgewater 215 per cent, 40 points; Marong 167, 34; Calivil United 112, 30; Newbridge 141, 28; Pyramid Hill 104, 22; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 97, 18; Mitiamo 79, 12; Inglewood 81, 8; Macorna 42, 4; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 35, 4.
B-grade:
Newbridge 230 per cent, 40 points; Bridgewater 144, 32; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 108, 28; Calivil United 113, 24; Inglewood 105, 24; Marong 108, 22; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 81, 14; Pyramid Hill 80, 8; Macorna 78, 8; Mitiamo 35, 0.
B-reserve:
Bridgewater 192 per cent, 36 points; Newbridge 134, 32; Inglewood 122, 32; Calivil United 116, 28; Marong 124, 24; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 97.2, 16; Mitiamo 97.0, 16; Pyramid Hill 102, 12; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 54, 4; Macorna 31, 0.
17-and-under:
Calivil United 338 per cent, 40 points; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 180, 36; Pyramid Hill 121, 28; Mitiamo 106, 28; Bridgewater 107, 24; Marong 85, 20; Macorna 50, 8; Inglewood 42, 8; Newbridge 34, 8.
15-and-under:
Newbridge 395 per cent, 40 points; Calivil United 547, 36; Marong 293, 32; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 197, 28; Bridgewater 81, 20; Pyramid Hill 40, 12; Mitiamo 36, 12; Inglewood 39, 8; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 20, 8; Macorna 30, 4.
13-and-under:
Calivil United 749 per cent, 40 points; Maiden Gully YCW Eagles 399, 36; Newbridge 145, 28; Mitiamo 141, 28; Marong 110, 24; Bridgewater 70, 16; Inglewood 61, 12; Pyramid Hill 33, 12; Bears Lagoon-Serpentine 21, 4; Macorna 11, 0.