Sport
22 June, 2023
Bears get grip on points
BY CHRIS EARL BEARS Lagoon Serpentine has stamped itself as a legitimate top three contender in the 2023 Loddon Valley race for finals actions. Saturday’s gritty 10-point victory over Inglewood had its turning point in the final 10 minutes of the...
BY CHRIS EARL
BEARS Lagoon Serpentine has stamped itself as a legitimate top three contender in the 2023 Loddon Valley race for finals actions.
Saturday’s gritty 10-point victory over Inglewood had its turning point in the final 10 minutes of the third quarter.
The Bears chipped away at a 12-point deficit at the main break and hit the lead when Andrew Gladman bagged the third of his four goals of the day.
Nash Kent and James Bailey joined the goal surge followed by a strong wind-assisted roost by Ryan Prendergast, leaving the Blues flat.
Serpentine coach Justin Laird then took his growling Bears out to a 35-point lead at the final break with another snap.
Inglewood had dominated the game in the first half - the second term was full of champagne football only soured by a couple of goals late in the quarter for Serpentine - and needed to quickly refocus and use the wind assistance to advantage in the last 30 minutes of play.
Captain’s goals from Charlie Ingham quickly put spark into the game that was taking on all the hallmarks of a classic finals encounter.
Gabe Nevins was putting in his best senior game of the season, popping up in defence and in the forward zone.
A solid turnover in the midfield saw the ball propelled towards Dorevitch who took a stunning one-hand mark centimetres from the ground and goaled to bridge the margin to 14 points.
The Blues were peppering their forward line, an erratic wind sending kicks for goal the wrong side of the posts.
Serpentine’s midfield tightened but then suddenly, Dorevitch found an opening, kicked to Keelan Payne and the margin was just seven points.
Inglewood kept going deep but Serpentine had loose men on the last line of defence for a series of chip kicks before heading to its Kerang end goals. The Bears got the margin back out to 12 points when ruckman Aidan Brohm, kicked truly on his way to be named the side’s best.
Intensity levels were high, umpires constantly breaking up packs to get the game flowing and just awarding frees to both teams in crucial parts of the ground.
The final minutes saw more behinds scored, Inglewood still needing two goals when the siren sounded.
Andrew Gladman was key to the thrilling victory for Serpentine. Besides his four goals, the Bears’ veteran set up clever passages of play in the forward zone that were converted to scores by teammates.
There was a fighting spirit not seen for decades in the Blues. The continued improvement of Nevins and Jayden Leach this season has added to the depth and versatility being cultivated by coach Darrell Billett.
Inglewood and Serpentine finished with equal scoring shots. They shared honours around the ground in a great tussle. It was only on the scoreboard that Serpentine achieved an edge.
With wins of 13 points and now 10 points over Inglewood, Serpentine has cemented itself in third spot on the ladder.
There’s a fair chance these two will meet in the finals. On Saturday, there were the signs of a classic encounter coming up in August.
“Yes, we’ve come a long way but there’s still a long way to go,” Billett said after the match.