Sport
25 July, 2026
Day of Mean carnage
NEW Loddon Valley league top side was facing an anxious wait after Saturday’s stunning win over Marong.
NEW Loddon Valley league top side was facing an anxious wait after Saturday’s stunning win over Marong.
Club officials were sweating on whether a clash that saw Panthers’ captain Nathan Devanny leave the ground would be come under match review panel scrutiny.
Devanny was “coat-hangered” by the Mean Machine’s Harry Conway in the second quarter, an a clash that Bridgewater insisted was accidental, and was taken from the field.
The umpires laid no match-day charges against Conway.
It was a day of carnage for the four-time premiers, who also had star midfielder Jimmy Gadsden taken to hospital after badly dislocating his finger, and playing assistant coach Jacob Ede was on and off the ground after hurting his neck.
The win lifted Bridgewater above the four-time reigning premier into top spot on the ladder.
Crucially, staying there would give the Mean Machine a week’s rest at the start of the finals in a long season of attrition, with only one league-wide bye in an 18-match home and away year.
The win illustrated a couple of things - Bridgewater has the firepower to kick a winning score even when coach and champion goalkicker Lachie Sharp has a quiet day and second, Marong struggles in the clearances without the brilliant Gadsden’s speed and footy smarts.
Sharp, held to one goal by Brodie Hartland, still had influence, but it was left to Gold Coast fly-in duo Mitch Patten (five) and Oscar McKinley (three) to hit the scoreboard along with veteran Tyler Estrada, who also booted three.
Bridgewater broke free in the third quarter to lead by 30 points before David Johnstone sparked a mini-fightback with a couple of moments of brilliance, and centre half-back Richard Tibbett, in his 200th game, surged from defence to kick a third Marong goal in a row.
Suddenly under pressure, the Mean Machine responded with goals to Jack Symons and Mitch Patten before a freak bounce saw Patten outwit three defenders and goal from the goal square.
It could have been more, had Sharp and McKinley not crashed into each other in a marking attempt that left the coach on the deck cursing their luck.
Marong had little left in the legs in the final term, and Bridgewater ran away to a 40-point win that added to the percentage gap between the teams.
Bridgey heads to Maiden Gully this week, while Marong hosts Macorna – a big test for both of the teams fighting for fifth spot.
Read More: Marong, Loddon Shire