Sport
26 June, 2026
Bulldogs build a bridge too far for plucky Blues
PYRAMID Hill faces the next two matches without its top midfielders, with James Sala and Isaac Brill both travelling overseas.
PYRAMID Hill faces the next two matches without its top midfielders, with James Sala and Isaac Brill both travelling overseas.
It’s the kind of mid-season juggling act that coach Jarrod Fitzpatrick – indeed, all coaches at all clubs – are forced to perform.
Injuries, holidays, the unavailability of fly-in players – all play their part and make it tough to know a team’s strength from one week to the next.
The Bulldogs, with eight senior players missing, got home by 13 points against Inglewood, which itself had key personnel sidelined including playmaker Gabe Nevins, who will miss another week with concussion.
“Inglewood is a really good outfit, and they matched really well against us,” Fitzpatrick said.
“They were playing a few young kids, and they stuck with us all day and were probably running over the top of us at the end.”
The Woodies kicked three goals to one in the last quarter but found the early lead that Pyramid Hill established too tough to bridge. Inglewood in fact kicked the first two goals of the game, but the Dogs fought back quickly and led by around 20 points for much of the game.
Jhye Baddeley-Kelly was in dazzling form, booting nine goals to bring him to 55 for the season, just one fewer than goalkicking leader Lachie Sharp.
Pyramid continues to get great service in midfield from veteran Ben Knight, who is having a fine season and whose experience will be critical in the absence of Sala and Brill.
Liam Marciano has been consistently good for Inglewood, and he again was the team’s best, kicking two goals as well as providing great drive from the centre.
Inglewood debuted Riley Murphy in Saturday’s game, joining two other local under 18s in the senior side - his brother Tyler and Mitch Pickering who broke into the seniors earlier in the season.
This week is a massive challenge for both teams, with Inglewood’s six-game winning streak over and Marong awaiting, while the Bulldogs travel south to meet Bridgewater.
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