General News
21 August, 2025
Bridgey bonds of brotherhood
By GARY WALSH THE MESSAGES from the rival coaches at three-quarter time of Bridgewater and Pyramid Hill’s qualifying final on Saturday could not have been more different. Bulldogs boss Nathan Fitzpatrick, having seen his team fight back from...
By GARY WALSH
THE MESSAGES from the rival coaches at three-quarter time of Bridgewater and Pyramid Hill’s qualifying final on Saturday could not have been more different.
Bulldogs boss Nathan Fitzpatrick, having seen his team fight back from a six-goal deficit in the first quarter to get within 13 points at the last change, was all about momentum.
The Mean Machine were on the run, he told his players. They were panicking, ripe for the kill.
Thirty metres away, Bridgewater coach Lachlan Sharp was preaching unity and the bonds of brotherhood.
By contrast, Pyramid Hill’s players – drawn from far afield – didn’t train together, he said, and didn’t really know each other.
And in the last quarter Bridgey played like men who knew one another inside out, pouring on seven unanswered goals before the Bulldogs pulled two back in the last minutes, winning by 44 points.
The Mean Machine got into their opponents’ heads, with two of the first three last-term goals aided by 50-metre penalties.
Pyramid Hill star Kai Daniels, who had played mostly in defence and had been impressive, was matched up against the relatively diminutive Bo Alexander.
Twice Alexander led hard for the ball and out-marked Daniels.
The first time, Bulldogs veteran Gavin James strayed into the protected area and gave away 50, putting Alexander on the goal line.
When Alexander marked strongly again, a frustrated Daniels threw him to the ground, conceding another 50-metre penalty.
The Bridgewater veteran strolled to the goal line as players pushed and shoved, with Sharp tangling with Daniels and nuggety utility Ben Knight.
With those two goals sandwiching Sharp’s fifth major, Bridgey’s lead was – seemingly in an instant – stretched to 31 points.
Four more followed, the margin blowing out beyond 50 points before Pyramid’s two late goals had Mean Machine players demanding more focus, angered to be giving up even those largely insignificant scores.
The Bulldogs won the toss and kicked with the breeze, although the wind was mostly blowing across the ground towards the pavilion.
Bridgewater promptly kicked six goals in the first 25 minutes of the match, with Sharp booting four of his own.
The lead was 39 points when Pyramid full-forward Ben Bisset won a free and converted, and then Zach Alford marked on the goal line to trim the margin to 24 points at the first change.
The second quarter was an arm wrestle, with neither team able to gain ascendency, but after the main break the Bulldogs for the first time took control. With ruckman Lachlan Sidebottom on top in an epic battle with Alex Powell and Jack Milligan, Pyramid kicked four goals to two in the third quarter to set up what looked likely to be a grandstand finish.
But the Mean Machine had other ideas. Powell, key defender Joe Mayes, star midfielder Luke Ellings and the McKinley brothers, Harry and Oscar (five goals) were best for the winners.
The Bulldogs’ best included Sidebottom, Brodie Carroll, Alford and Daniels, with the team needing to regroup quickly before facing Inglewood.