Bridgewater needed a special performance from star recruit and co-coach Lachlan Sharp to see off a vastly improved Newbridge in round one of Loddon Valley football.
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The former BFNL star bagged eight goals as the Mean Machine added six goals to one in the final quarter to win 15.13 (103) to 12.10 (82).
Tipped by many as the team most likely to dethrone Marong, Bridgewater trailed Newbridge by five goals in the latter stages of the second quarter.
Two goals to the Mean Machine inside the final two minutes of the second term gave the home side some momentum.
While Newbridge had the better of Bridgewater in the opening stages of the third quarter, the Mean Machine closed to within 10 points at the last change and then dominated the final term.
"I didn't think we'd struggle as much as we did, but I always felt we'd be able to fight back because of the depth we have in this team,'' Bridgewater co-coach Rick Ladson said.
"Even on a bad day, if you can find a way to win it's a good example of a team that might be able to win a few games along the journey.
"Newbridge played a really solid brand of footy and their recruits played really well.
"They put on good pressure and they made the most of their opportunities when they went forward, which is why they got on top in the first half.
"After half-time our structures held up better and we made better decisions going forward as the game wore on.
"In the first half we turned the ball over and we missed the opportunities that we'd worked so hard to create.
"In the second half we turned those opportunities into goals."
In front of goals there's been few better in country footy over the past decade than Sharp.
The left-footer showed his class with a match-winning performance in his LVFNL debut.
"Sharpy was fantastic,'' Ladson said.
"A couple of the goals he kicked were real top-class goals, but that's Sharpy. He got us back into the game and then he sealed the game for us in the last quarter with a couple of his efforts.
"He led from the front in the way he competed and it was great he got some reward with a bag of eight."
Ladson named midfielder Bo Alexander as the Mean Machine's most consistent performer across four quarters, while he was also pleased with the performances of Jon Coghlan and youngsters Ben Derrick and Oliver Muggleton.
Ruckman Will Copland was superb for Newbridge and recruit Jono Aujard showed his class, particularly in the first half.
Will Daly and Tyler Constable were other good players for the Maroons.
"We couldn't maintain the heat and the pressure,'' Newbridge co-coach Daniel Smith said.
"They got on top of us and Sharpy kicked some fantastic goals, even though I thought Matt McArthur did a great job on him.
"We were down to two on the bench and they ran over the top of us.
"A three-goal loss was not a bad effort to start the season. We put some really good passages of footy together against a quality side.
"It's certainly a case of half glass full rather than half empty."
BL-SERPENTINE v PYRAMID HILL
Bears Lagoon-Serpentine snapped a six-year hoodoo when it edged out Pyramid Hill by 15 points on Saturday.
The 17.10 (112) to 14.13 (97) win was the Bears first victory over the Dogs since round 11 of the 2018 season.
The hero for the Bears was recruit Josh Mellington. The former Fremantle Dockers forward kicked 10 goals on debut.
After holding an 11-point lead at the main change, Pyramid Hill still led by two points 10 minutes into the final quarter.
It was the Bears who finished off the game strongest. The home side kicked the next four goals of the game to secure the four points.
"Pyramid Hill is a very good team, so we're very happy to get the win first-up,'' new Bears coach Jake Wilkinson said.
"Pyramid Hill has obviously had the wood over Serp for a few years, so it was pleasing to get the job done.
"We were kicking to the scoring end in the last quarter, so I was confident we could run over the top in the end.
"We've still got some work to do, but it's nice to get some reward for the effort."
Pyramid Hill coach Nathan Fitzpatrick said the Dogs didn't put Serpentine under enough scoreboard pressure.
"I thought we controlled the game pretty well in the first half, but we butchered the ball going inside 50 and lacked a bit of polish,'' Fitzpatrick said.
Mellington proved to be the difference between the two teams.
The 31-year-old gave the Pyramid Hill defence plenty of headaches.
"Our full-back Dylan Morison hasn't lost too many battles over the last couple of years, but anytime they got stuck in a one-on-one Mellington was a bit too strong,'' Fitzpatrick said.
"Mellington is strong and big chested and he played very well."
Justin Laird and Charlie Gadsden also had big impacts on the game for the Bears.
Zach Alford (five goals) spent most of his day in the forward line and was clearly Pyramid Hill's best player.
Recruit Damon Hemphill showed some encouraging signs as well for the Dogs.
MARONG v MITIAMO
Reigning premier Marong opened its premiership defence with a comfortable 147-point win over Mitiamo at Malone Park.
After unfurling their 2023 premiership flag, the Panthers outclassed the Superoos, 22.23 (155) to 1.2 (8).
Marong had 11 individual goalkickers on the day, including three from best afield Ryley Taylor.
The livewire midfielder/forward missed a handful of chances as well and could have kicked a bag of seven or eight.
Recruit Shaun Knott dominated across half-back and Ben Gregg set the Panthers up with some fine contested ball work in the midfield.
"It was a willing game early, it was hard around the contest and they bottled us up by spending a lot of numbers to the stoppages,'' Marong coach Linton Jacobs said.
"Once we started to shift the ball better we got some good looks at goal, but we didn't finish off our work as well as we should have.
"Forward of centre we have some work to do. Our connection between midfield and forward wasn't great."
The rebuilding Superoos never threw in the towel and competed hard.
Daniel Walters, Liam Shiell and Ryan Duncan were named their best players.
MGYCW v CALIVIL UNITED
The Maiden Gully YCW Eagles finished off a controversial week by scoring a confidence-boosting win over Calivil United.
The Eagles kicked 4.5 to no score in the final quarter to turn a 17-point deficit into, ironically, a 12-point win - 8.14 (62) to 7.8 (50).
"The (loss of points and fine) hasn't affected the players,'' MGYCW co-coach Shawn Filo said.
"It's something that the committee is working through. It was good for the club to get a win on the board."
Despite the off-field turbulence, the Eagles showed plenty of character to reel in the Demons.
Declan Phyland, Thomas Pridgeon and Mathew Crooks led the way, while a three-goal haul from NT-based recruit Will Farrer proved critical in a low-scoring game.
"I think the inside 50s were 15 to five in the final quarter and we could see that they (Calivil) were cramping in the third quarter,'' Filo said.
"We did a pretty hefty running program in the pre-season and we ran the game out well."
The Demons did plenty right for the first three quarters, but couldn't finish off their good work.
Mitchell Stephens, Sam Green and Sam Maher were best for the Demons.
"It was one of those days where we were far from our best,'' Calivil United coach Anthony Dennis said.
"We ran out of legs and a couple of crucial mistakes cost us. We broke down across half-forward and couldn't get deep entries.
"We lost our best and fairest (Jake Lawry) two minutes before the game, which didn't help. It was one of those days."
