Sport
8 June, 2024
Goal streak: Sharp fan's strip sprint
CHEERS rang out from the crowd when Bridgewater’s Lachlan Sharp slotted his 20th goal for the day on Saturday. The cheers were as much for Sharp as the streaker who made an immediate dash from the fence to Sharp and Mean Machine teammates at the...
CHEERS rang out from the crowd when Bridgewater’s Lachlan Sharp slotted his 20th goal for the day on Saturday.
The cheers were as much for Sharp as the streaker who made an immediate dash from the fence to Sharp and Mean Machine teammates at the goal square.
Fans had earlier made congratulatory incursions onto the ground as Sharp, in his first year of Loddon Valley football after crossing from Bendigo league powerhouse Strathfieldsaye, edged towards a career-best match haul.
Sharp’s 20th goal came late in the fourth quarter against Mitiamo on a day when Bears Lagoon Serpentine’s Josh Mellington was also booting goals in quick fashion just kilometres away at Janiember Park.
The Bridgewater streaker was claimed as a first at the town’s recreation reserve and for the league.
“The first time ever at Bridgey ... never in Loddon Valley football before has it happened,” said long-time Mean Machine supporter Kevin Poyser.
Sharp’s 20th goal also sealed a 181-point win over Mitiamo and was his biggest haul since booting 15 against Inglewood in round three. His first shot for the day netted just a behind.
Injuries and opposition had put Sharp into the midfield for three tough encounters against Pyramid Hill, Marong and Bears Lagoon Serpentine. He had seen him limited to six goals in the three games before Saturday.
Sharp’s 20-goal performance - Bridgewater had 10 goalkickers for the day - was the third highest haul in a Loddon Valley match in decades.
Bears Lagoon Serpentine’s Greg Gadsden kicked 29 goals against Dunolly in 2003 and Mitiamo’s Alex Chapman bagged 22 goals the same season also against Dunolly to set a club record in the first of 10 seasons at Mitiamo.
Gadsden’s record put on 1200 goals after the Bears defeated bottom side Dunolly late in the 2003 season. He kicked six in the first quarter, followed by five, 10 and eight.
The Bears’ 2024 goal star Josh Mellington on Saturday kicked 17 goals against Maiden Gully as Serpentine headed to a 127-point win.
Mellington again commanded the forward zone for Serpentine and was one of seven goalkickers for the home team playing in the heritage Saints colours for a reunion round of past players.
The ex-Fremantle Docker outplayed opponents all day and had the upper hand over Maiden Gully’s Angus Monfries. A spectacular mark in the fourth quarter had Mellington using the former Essendon and Port Adelaide player as a springboard to mark and add to his goal tally.
Mellington has kicked 87 goals, 26 more than Sharp. Bears Lagoon Serpentine has the bye when the Loddon Valley season reaches the half-way mark after the King’s Birthday weekend.
The pair is streets ahead of the next most prolific goal scorer, Pyramid Hill’s Zach Alford who is sitting on 28
WEEKEND MATCH REPORTS, SCOREBOARDS - INSIDE