BY NATHAN DOLE
MARONG Football Netball Club marks its Golden Jubilee this Saturday when it plays Bridgewater at East West Oval in Marong’s Malone Park.
On the footy field, Marong will be aiming to extend its winning streak to 29 matches when the action begins at 2.15pm.
Off-field there will be the reunion of the Panthers’ premiership-winning teams of ’83 and ’93 reserves footy, ’83 under-16s footy, and ’93 C-grade netball.
The past two seasons have been among the best in 50 fabulous years for the Panthers.
It’s the second last round of the home-and-away series and an important build-up for Marong’s and Bridgewater’s finals campaigns.
Marong had the bye last round as Bridgewater was beaten by Bears-Lagoon Serpentine by four goals.
The Panthers and Mean Machine met in last season’s grand final where the Linton Jacobs-coached Marong marked a 94-point victory.
Rematch of the ’22 grand finalists was in round eight where Marong kept the opposition to a score of 1.4 in a 141-point victory at Bridgewater.
Panthers’ gun forward Brandyn Grenfell goes into Saturday’s contest needing a goal to hit the century mark once again.
A formidable Marong attack includes Kain Robins and Ryley Taylor.
They have been on the end of plenty and quality supply from the likes of Nathan Devanny, captain Corey Gregg, Jack McCaig, Richard Tibbett and many more.
Daunting task for the Rick Ladson-coached Bridgewater which has the bye in the 18th round ahead of an elimination final.
Key cogs in the Mean Machine include Tyler Estrada, Charlton Hindle, James and Nic Naughton, and Darcy Wood.
There is also the athleticism of Oliver Muggleton, skilful Ben Derrick and Alex Pollock.
It’s fourth against second as Inglewood is on home turf at Dissy Machinery Oval to tackle Pyramid Hill.
The Blues were beaten by 10 goals at Pyramid Hill’s Mitchell Park in the eighth round.
An 8-6 record has Inglewood in fourth place and through to a long-awaited finals campaign.
The Blues had many goalkickers in last week’s 44-point win on Newbridge’s turf at Beck Legal Riverside Oval.
Alex Lowe and Daniel Polack led the way on three goals.
A key to the chances of the Darrell Billett-coached Blues will in the on-ball and midfield duels.
Key players for the Blues include Bregon Cotchett, Tration Kendal, Gabe Nevins, Fergus and Keelan Payne, Cody Stobaus and Cody Wright.
Only defeats for Pyramid Hill this season have been to Marong.
The Nathan Fitzpatrick-coached Bulldogs won their latest clash with Maiden Gully YCW by 27 points.
Will Perryman and Jesse Sheahan will test the Blues’ defence.
In-form players for the red, white and blue include Zach Alford, Jack Hickmott and Thomas Hetherington.
Pyramid Hill also has Gavin James, Dylan Morison, Seb Relouw and Adrian Holland capable of winning many contests.
Maiden Gully YCW takes on Calivil United at Marist College Bendigo in Maiden Gully.
The Jay McDonald-coached Eagles put in a strong defensive effort to hold Pyramid Hill to 2.6 in the second half of last Saturday’s match.
In round eight it was the Anthony Dennis-coached Calivil United which beat the Eagles by eight goals at Raywood on Heritage Day.
The Demons start this match a win and 5.54 per cent clear of the Eagles.
Calivil United is chasing back-to-back wins after a 71-62 victory against Mitiamo.
Best for the Demons in that contest included Mitch Avard, Ben Baker, Anthony Dennis, Jake Lawry, Jack Maher and Cody Thompson.
The Jay McDonald-coached Eagles will look for big games from the likes of Ed Crisp, Matthew Crooks, Brandon Dimech, Tyler Miles, Will Noden and Lachie Sobina.
Mitiamo clashes with Bears-Lagoon Serpentine at Mitiamo’s John Forbes Oval.
The Jon Varcoe-coached Mitiamo played well in a 73-91 result in the Bears’ den at Gadsden Finance Serpentine Reserve in round eight.
Huge task for the Superoos to upset a BLS team chasing its 11th victory.
Mitiamo will rely a lot on the experience and skill of Dylan Clohesy, Andrew Cussen, Luke Lougoon and Ross Turner.
The Superoos also have Jay Reynolds in attack, Brayden Baines and Tom Campbell in their line-up.
The Bears’ attack includes James Rippingale and coach Justin Laird.
Other players to watch in the purple and gold include Aidan Brohm, Charlie and Harry Gadsden, Bailey Harrison, Kalem Paxton and Ryan Prendergast.
Newbridge has the bye.
Loddon Valley FNL senior footy ladder:
Marong 589 per cent, 56 points; Pyramid Hill 180, 48; Bears-Lagoon Serpentine 115, 40; Inglewood 107, 32; Bridgewater 85, 28; Mitiamo 56, 16; Newbridge 48, 16; Calivil United 53, 8; Maiden Gully YCW 51, 8.
Leaders in the goalkicking race:
99 Brandyn Grenfell, Marong.
45 Kain Robins, Marong.
39 Josh Martyn, Bridgewater.
38 Ryley Taylor, Marong.
34 Matt Riordan, Marong.
31 Justin Laird, Bears-Lagoon Serpentine.
30 Andy Gladman, Bears-Lagoon Serpentine.
30 Charlie McGaw, Inglewood.
29 Jay Reynolds, Mitiamo.
28 Keelan Payne, Inglewood.
28 Will Perryman, Pyramid Hill.
26 Zach Alford, Pyramid Hill.
24 Bailey George, Pyramid Hill.
22 Ben Baker, Calivil United.
22 Jesse Sheahan, Pyramid Hill.
21 James Bailey, Bears-Lagoon Serpentine.
20 Nathan Devanny, Marong.
20 Jack McCaig, Marong.
19 Andrew Cussen, Mitiamo.
19 Chris Dixon, Newbridge.
18 Brandon Dimech, Maiden Gully YCW.
18 Sam Dorevitch, Inglewood.
17 Daniel Polack, Inglewood.
16 Brayden Baines, Mitiamo.
16 Harry Gadsden, Bears-Lagoon Serpentine.
15 Thomas Brennan, Pyramid Hill.
15 Kyle Manley, Marong.
15 Caleb Sanders, Newbridge.
14 Bregon Cotchett, Inglewood.
14 Mitch Dingwall, Pyramid Hill.
13 Dylan Collis, Pyramid Hill.
13 Jake Lawry, Calivil United.
13 Tyler Miles, Maiden Gully YCW.
13 Nic Naughton, Bridgewater.