BEARS Lagoon-Serpentine put its first-half struggles behind it to end a string of three losses in a row against Marong in the Loddon Valley league on Saturday.

Despite only kicking one goal in the second half, the Bears had done enough in the first to set up their season-steadying 9.13 (67) to 6.13 (49) victory at Marong.

READ MORE - Marong v Bears Lagoon-Serpentine PHOTOS

The fast-starting Bears led by 29 points at half-time - a scoreline that had been a contrast to their previous three games when they trailed by 23, 21 and 49 points at the main break.

"It was a big game... lose today and we would have been up against it and chasing the pack," Bears coach Greg Gadsden said.

"Our problem over the past few weeks has been some inaccuracy in front of goal. We converted better in the first half, but to Marong's credit, defensively they made it difficult and our only goal of the second half came late in the last quarter."

The Bears could muster just 1.8 after half-time, with their final scoreline of 9.13 their fourth game in a row kicking more behinds than goals after scoring 6.14, 11.16 and 5.11 in their previous three matches.

The victory levelled the Bears' record at 3-3 and along with Newbridge, Marong and Maiden Gully YCW they are among a group of four teams separated by just percentage from fourth to seventh after seven rounds.

Brodie Leonard-Shannon at centre half-back and consistent on-baller Matthew Gibbs were the best for the Bears, whose leading goalkicker was James Rippingale (three).

Following their 2-0 start, the Panthers are now 1-4 in their past five games ahead of the bye next week.

Corbin Fleming and recruit Adam Ward were Marong's best two players.

Mitiamo's chances of celebrating its 130^th anniversary year with a premiership have been given a massive boost with the full-time return of Justin Maddern.

Having played a cameo game for the Superoos earlier in the season, the star forward and former coach will play out the rest of the year with Mitiamo, which won its fourth game in a row with a 20.19 (139) to 5.5 (35) belting of Inglewood.

Maddern bagged seven goals, co-coach Tyrone Downie kicked four, Tim Brooks slotted three and with Ryan Wellington (one) also in attack, the Superoos boast a formidable front half.

"It's great to have Harry (Maddern) back with us full-time now. He kicked seven today, which was a good start, and he had plenty of opportunities to kick more," Mitiamo co-coach Andy Grant said.

The first and third quarters were where the Superoos did the bulk of their damage. They outscored the Blues by 50 points in the first term and 53 in the third, kicking a combined 105-2.

But in the other two quarters the Blues more than held their own, only being narrowly outscored 34-33, which included keeping Mitiamo goal-less in the last term.

Midfielders Terry Reeves and Doug Thomas were both big possession-winners for the Superoos, while the Blues continue to struggle to impact games early having been outscored 227-40 in first quarters this year.

"We had some better patches today in the second and last quarters, but still the gap between our best and worst is far too big," said Inglewood assistant coach Hayden Polglase, who was among the Blues' best.

"They kicked with a bit of a breeze in the first quarter, but it wasn't that strong, so it was disappointing to start the way we did."

The winless Blues named defender Chris McKay, who battled valiantly on Maddern, their best player.

Proof of Pyramid Hill's improvement was evident against Maiden Gully YCW.

The Bulldogs comfortably lost three times to the Eagles last year, including in the qualifying final, but again showed just what a force to be reckoned with they are in 2019, winning by 61 points at Mitchell Park.

The 17.15 (117) to 8.8 (56) victory was the fifth of the Bulldogs' six wins so far by more than 50 points.

"It felt a lot closer than the end result. They were competitive for most of the game, but we were able to get a bit of a break in the second quarter," said Bulldogs coach Adrian McErvale, who was sidelined with an Achilles injury.

The Bulldogs were 36 points up at half-time, but it could have been much more had they been sharper in front of goal after kicking 5.11 during the second term.

Midfielder Billy Micevski showed he can be just as damaging inside 50 for the Bulldogs, booting six goals, which included three early majors.

The Bulldogs also had Braidy Dickens (three), Jack Woodward (two) and Steven Gunther (two) kick multiple goals in a win that gave Pyramid Hill a 6-0 start for the second year in a row.

Adrian Holland in the ruck and around the ground was best for the Bulldogs to continue his impressive season.

The Eagles - who had gone into the game off the back of three wins in a row - had the tenacious Dylan Morris and Bailey Graham play well.

Reigning premier Newbridge regained its spot in the top five thanks to a gritty 10-point win at home over arch-rival Bridgewater.

The Maroons led at every break in their 10.9 (69) to 8.11 (59) triumph as they bounced back from two losses in a row.

"We spoke before the game about how important today was. We could either go 2-4 or 3-3... if it's 2-4 you start making things hard for yourself, so it was a really good result," Newbridge coach Brad Comer said.

READ MORE - SATURDAY SCOREBOARD - May 25, 2019

"We got an early buffer on them, which was really important because we were down two rotations on our bench halfway through the second quarter, so it was a really gutsy win."

Newbridge's Cam Grant (hamstring) and Chris Dixon (concussion) both had their games over by half-time.

Sam Kennedy (three goals) was Newbridge's most influential player as his fine season continued, while captain Jordan Gilboy was the leading goalkicker on the ground with four.

"Sam was super for us today. He's a real X-factor, a genuine A grade footballer who we're playing a lot through the middle, but is also such a hard match-up in front of goal," Comer said.

Among the better players for the Mean Machine were Lachlan Mangan in his 200^th club game and Jake Rusbridge in his 50^th club game.

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