At half-time on Saturday, the Bulldogs looked shot.

They only trailed by four goals, but they had failed to kick a single goal in the first half.

The four-goal margin looked more like eight goals.

 Despite having several senior regulars on the sidelines, the Bulldogs dug deep and worked their way back into the game.

By three quarter-time the margin was back to 12 points and midway through the final term they hit the front.

The Bulldogs held off a late Marong charge before youngster Steve Gunther kicked a goal with less than two minutes to go to seal a character building 8.7 (55) to 6.10 (46) victory.

“It was probably one of the more ordinary games I’ve seen as far as skill execution is concerned,’’ Pyramid Hill coach Brad Fawcett said.

“We needed to lift our work rate and intensity after half-time and to the boys credit they did that.

“They kept working hard and we managed to steal the game late. It was a great win for the club going into the bye.

“We’ve got three winnable games after the bye and, if we can get some of our injured players back, we have the chance to set ourselves up for a shot at the finals.”

The most pleasing factor of the win for Fawcett was that it was the Bulldogs’ youngsters who set up the win.

“We moved some of our young players forward to provide some run and pressure and they did the job for us,’’ he said.

“Steve and Bevan Gunther responded really well and Mitch Dingwall was good as well. It was great for the club to see some of the young local talent stand up under pressure like that.”

Justin Hynes, Corbin Fleming and Josh Gitsham were best for the Panthers, who slipped to fifth place and are now just one game ahead of sixth-placed Newbridge. The Panthers play bottom three sides YCW, Inglewood and Bears Lagoon-Serpentine in the next three weeks and must win all three games if they’re to be considered a genuine top five team.

Newbridge kept its finals hope alive with a six-goal win over YCW at Backhaus Oval.

The Maroons trailed by one point at three quarter-time before unleashing an eight-goal to two final term to win 14.12 (96) to 8.12 (60).

13 of Newbridge’s 14 goals came in two quarters, with the Eagles holding the Maroons to one goal across the second and third quarters.

“We played well early, went to sleep for two quarters and then came good in the final quarter,’’ Newbridge coach Matt Dillon said.

“We got lazy in the second and third quarters and to YCW’s credit they ran the ball well. They’ve got some good, young kids in their side that run the ball well and they exposed us.

“In the last quarter we went more direct and it paid off.”

Sam Kennedy was superb for Newbridge, kicking six goals in a best on ground performance.

“Sam missed a few shots as well,’’ Dillon said.

“He probably could have kicked 10 for the day.”

Brad Comer’s aggression and clean hands at the contest were crucial, while Jack Fowler and Sam Liston also played well.

Dillon said the Maroons weren’t thinking about finals.

“We’ve found ourselves in a situation where we have to rely on other sides,’’ Dillon said.

“Our focus is on controlling our footy, trying to improve our footy and trying to win as many games as we can. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

Nick Waterson, Luke Bell and Jake Klemm were best for the Eagles, who again showed their best footy is impressive.

The problem is the young group can’t produce that good footy for long enough.

Bridgewater, minus star player Andrew Collins, defeated Inglewood by 79 points.

The Mean Machine struggled to shake off a determined Inglewood in the first half, but a six-goal to one third quarter broke the game open and they eventually cruised to a 20.11 (131) to 8.4 (52) win.

Bridgewater forward Ben Galea continued his career-best form, kicking six goals to take his season tally to 30. Galea has only been held goalless once in 11 games this year.

Midfielder Zeb Broadbent’s outstanding form has been well documented this year and he was yet again in Bridgewater’s best couple of players.

Team-mate Callum Prest has probably flown under the radar compared to Broadbent, but no player in the competition has had a better past month than the fleet-footed midfielder.

Big ruckman Cody West was Inglewood’s best player, while Darcy Crapper, Craig Crichton and Logan Popple all impressed for the Blues.

Calivil United moved into second place on the back of its 121-point thumping of Bears Lagoon-Serpentine.

The Demons had 11 individual goal kickers in the 24.14 (158) to 4.13 (37) win.

Nathan Ryan, Jordan Lea and Alex Davis were best for Calivil United, while Alex Powell and Jake Lawry were their best players.

Usual suspects Nathan McNally and Josh Hutton were best for the Bears, while Kalem Paxton and James Rippingale were four-quarter contributors.

The Demons have one of their biggest games of the home and away season next Saturday when they host Mitiamo.