General News
23 August, 2024
LV elimination final: 0-4 gives way to hope
NEWBRIDGE will be looking all the way back to round one for encouragement as it faces the seemingly impossible task of beating Bridgewater in this Sunday’s elimination final. Raw statistics highlight the challenge facing the Maroons. They finished...
NEWBRIDGE will be looking all the way back to round one for encouragement as it faces the seemingly impossible task of beating Bridgewater in this Sunday’s elimination final.
Raw statistics highlight the challenge facing the Maroons.
They finished four wins and almost 100 per cent behind the Mean Machine on the ladder, finishing fifth in a competition where the top four teams were streets ahead of the rest.
But on the opening day of the season, Newbridge travelled to Bridgewater and led by 10 points at three-quarter time, only to fall by 21 points after a one-goal-to-six final term.
The second time the sides met, in round 10 at the Maroons’ home ground, the Mean Machine thumped them by 99 points, with the freakish Lachlan Sharp notching 12 goals to go with the eight he kicked in the opening round.
Newbridge’s ability to limit Sharp’s potency will go a long way towards deciding the result, and it will require a team effort. Sharp is more mobile than most mark-and-kick full-forwards, and has 20 goals in his two match-ups with the Maroons.
For Newbridge co-coach Dan Smith, making the finals after a 0-4 start to the season offers “a free hit. We have got nothing to lose”.
He said the team “drew a line in the sand” after the poor start. “We just had to get to work, and once we found a bit of form we were gaining momentum.”
Smith said restricting Sharp’s supply from the midfield was the key to keeping him from racking up the goals again.
“Whoever plays on him needs support in stopping the best full-forward in the comp, and probably the best full-forward in the region,” he said.
The Maroons’ own attack has been bolstered by the mid-season recruitment of strong-marking Brandon Dimech, among a number of pick-ups that have helped improve the side.
Dimech and Chris Dixon — both of whom kicked five goals on the weekend against Mitiamo — provide a challenge for any defence, with Dimech mobile at centre half-forward and Dixon a stay-at-home full-forward with great hands and physical presence.
Sharp, of course, is not the only threat from the Mean Machine.
Defender Jack Neylon and nuggety midfielder Bo Alexander have been consistent all season, among others, but Bridgewater lost three games in a row to the three teams above them after Sharp kicked his 100th goal for the season in round 12 against Inglewood.
Sharp, clearly injured after copping a bad corky against the Blues, kicked only six goals in those three losses, so containing his brilliance is crucial for any opponent.
The Loddon Valley season has seen four teams streak away from the pack — that Newbridge could make the finals with only seven wins and nine losses speaks volumes of how dominant Marong, Pyramid Hill, Bears Lagoon Serpentine and Bridgewater have been.
But the Maroons have gone 7-5 since their scratchy start, and they find themselves in the finals for the first time since 2018. As Smith says, they have nothing to lose.