Sport
30 May, 2026
Maroons storm home after stellar second half
NEWBRIDGE sits second on the ladder after a storming second half saw the Maroons overwhelm Marong at Malone Park. They trailed by as much as eight goals in the second quarter before leading at half-time by a single goal.
NEWBRIDGE sits second on the ladder after a storming second half saw the Maroons overwhelm Marong at Malone Park. They trailed by as much as eight goals in the second quarter before leading at half-time by a single goal. And then came the deluge when Newbridge doubled its first-half score of 23 goals in the third quarter alone to set up 15- goal margin that effectively won the game. Wing attack Alyssa Cole took control in mid-court and with goal keeper Jas Daly quelling Panthers coach Bridget Willox’s scoring, the Maroons ran away with the game. Maroons coach Hayley Martiniello said her team was struggling to start games well, but tended to work out what was going wrong, and successfully made changes later in the match. She felt her side “got into Marong’s head” in the second half: “It felt like Marong did not know what to do.” Willox said Newbridge simply played a better four-quarter game than her side, but she was confident that the team was beginning to gel. She said defenders Lauren Prowse and Paige Gordon battled bravely against taller Inglewood opponents. Inglewood’s match against Inglewood on Saturday will see the winner go ahead by a game in the chase to catch Mitiamo and firm up a likely finals spot. Martiniello has a tough decision to make at selection – whether to go again with tiny Issy Egan in centre or to select a more robust players to combat Woodies coach Dani O’Toole. Marong, in sixth place on the ladder, is also firmly in that finals mix and will meet struggling Maiden Gully this week, with a chance to push higher before the bye weekend.
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Win over Superoos too Mean a feat for Machine
BRIDGEWATER went down by 14 goals to unbeaten Mitiamo on Saturday, but coach Lou Dupuy in confident her players have learned enough to turn the tables the next time they meet. The Superoos skipped out to a 6-0 lead before the Mean Machine made a personnel change, settled and cut the margin to a single goal at quarter-time. However, the dual reigning premiers controlled the next two quarters, feasting on Bridgewater’s mistakes before an even last term. The match brought together the top two teams in A Grade, in a big challenge for an improving Bridgewater. Dupuy said there were “lots of positives” from the game, with Keira Lane performing well after being shifted to goal keeper and shooter Nat Flood presenting a lot of challenges to the Mitiamo defence. “They are a brilliant side, and they are so smart and play to their strengths,” Dupuy said of the Superoos. “But it’s good to know where the bar is, and we’ve got a lot of confidence from that game.” Mitiamo coach Jen Wilson said the match was the toughest her team had faced this season, and she regarded Bridgewater as the side’s most dangerous rival. While hard to single out players for praise, she said Abbey Battersby in goal defence and Laura Hicks in goal attack were strong performers at either end of the court. Wilson said Mitiamo’s third quarters had been strong all season, with the players adjusting impressively to different opponents and conditions after halftime.
Read More: Bridgewater, Newbridge