PYRAMID Hill have followed up last weekend’s upset win over Marong and continued their climb up the Loddon Valley ladder with a strong 47-point win over fellow finals contender Bridgewater on Saturday.
After trailing by four points at half-time, the Bulldogs dominated the second half, restricting the Mean Machine to just two goals while kicking 10 of their own on their way to a 16.11 (107) to 8.12 (60) win.
Jack Burns and Sebastian Relouw kicked four goals each for Pyramid Hill.
Bulldogs coach Nathan Fitzpatrick said his team’s past fortnight had been the perfect preparation to their upcoming finals campaign.
“We’ve had a couple of big games in a row, but it’s been good to be exposed to those type of situations with pressure and a finals-like atmosphere,” Fitzpatrick said.
“To come away with two important wins over the last couple of weeks against top-three teams has been massive and now we’ve put ourselves in a good position for the rest of the year.
“The first half was very tight with several momentum swings.
“Each time they would kick a couple of goals in a row we were able to stem the flow and bring the momentum back our way.
“To break the game open the way we did after half-time was great and shows we’re on the right path.”
The midfield battle was always going to decide the contest and although Bridgewater’s Boden Alexander and Lee Coghlan were among the Mean Machine’s better players, the Bulldogs onballers won their fair share of the clearances and contested ball to give their team the advantage.
Ben Knight was one of Pyramid Hill’s key midfielders and was dominant around the stoppages, while Tom McGregor across half-back and Lachlan Sidebottom were also influential for the visitors, with Jack Burns starting in defence in the first half before moving forward after half-time.
“We ran the game out really well and even in the late stages of the game we were still moving the footy really well,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Our midfield group were working hard both ways, which was impressive and I suppose we had a bit more run in the legs in the second half.
“It was quite a good battle in the midfield, I think the centre-clearance count would have been pretty even for the day.
“Our defence as a whole did a great job in restricting some of their key forwards, obviously Lachie Sharp has kicked 100 goals for the year and Dylan Morison kept him to three, so that was a win, and Jack Timmins did a really good to keep Josh Martyn to one goal.
“When they did get exposed to the one-on-one situations they battled hard and created a contest, but our midfielders did a good job further up the ground to make sure the ball didn’t come in clean also.”
Pyramid Hill’s Jesse Sheahan injured his knee, with the extent of the damage not being known until later in the week.
Marong’s spell off the winners’ list lasted just one week, after the reigning premiers held on for a tough 10-point win over Bears Lagoon-Serpentine.
The Bears would come to rue their slow start, after the Panthers kept their opposition scoreless for the first 30 minutes, while also wasting opportunities with 3.7.
The home side responded after the first break but were unable to bridge the gap in the 8.14 (62) to 7.10 (52) loss.
Matthew Willox, Matthew Riordan and Jack McCaig were among Marong’s better players, while Farran Priest, Tyler Miles and Justin Laird were the best for the Bears.
Newbridge and Calivil United each laid claims to fifth spot with wins.
The Maroons proved too strong for a disappointing Inglewood as Chris Dixon kicked six goals in a 19.12 (126) to 7.6 (48) win.
While Newbridge remain in fifth position, the Demons are lying in wait following their 50-point win over Mitiamo.
A seven-goal third quarter did the bulk of the damage, with Sam Maher producing a best-on-ground performance in a 14.9 (93) to 6.7 (43) win.
