LVFNL: Not one for the spotlight, Gladman embraces 300 game feat with Bears

BEARS Lagoon-Serpentine's Andrew Gladman admits he's not one to get too caught up in milestone games.

That's why he had approached his 300^th club game for the Bears in the Loddon Valley league last Saturday just as he would have any other.

But as the day unfolded against Newbridge, the significance of the milestone dawned on Gladman and he embraced the achievement - even reluctantly being chaired off the ground by his team-mates after the Bears' 49-point win.

"I'm not a big one for celebrating milestones; it wasn't until it got to last Saturday and you get the people around you congratulating you that it starts to sink in," Gladman said on Wednesday.

"I'm happy that I've been able to get to 300 and it was a special day and one to soak up because it's obviously not something that happens every day."

Gladman's 300 club games for Bears Lagoon-Serpentine is a combination of seniors and under-17 matches, with the 34-year-old having never played a reserves game for the club.

While the bulk of Gladman's football career has been played with his home club Bears, he has also had a stint away during the 2000s playing with the Bendigo Bombers and Kangaroo Flat.

Since returning to the Bears in 2011 Gladman has ridden somewhat of a rollercoaster with the club.

There has been the highs of when the club was challenging for premierships, with the Bears playing in back-to-back grand finals in 2013 and 2014 (both losses to Bridgewater) and a preliminary final in 2015 (loss to Mitiamo).

The 2013 grand final loss to the Mean Machine cuts particularly deep.

Gunning for their first premiership since 1995 the Bears led by 27 points at quarter-time, but were later 22 points down at three quarter-time before storming home in the final term to fall short by 12 points as Bridgewater won the fourth of its seven flags in a row.

Then there was the low of the winless season in 2016 when after an exodus of senior players the Bears bottomed out and began a re-build that led to another preliminary final in 2019.

This year the Bears were tipped to be one of the competition's sliders, but the club has defied those predictions and is poised to again play finals under new coach Justin Laird.

With three rounds left in the home and away season the Bears (6-7) are two games inside the top five and Gladman can't speak highly enough of first-year coach Laird.

"I have unbelievable respect for the work Justin has done," Gladman said.

"To get appointed around Christmas time and then to pull it all together the way he has done... it was a tough gig, but what he has been able to do this year for the group has been fantastic."

Gladman has spent the bulk of his career at the Bears as a defender, but has played the majority of this year as a permanent forward and had a big impact in the final quarter of his milestone game last Saturday.

The Bears led the Maroons by three points at three quarter-time before kicking eight goals to one in the final term to run away with a 15.13 (103) to 8.6 (54) victory.

Gladman kicked three of those last-quarter goals.

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