BRIDGEWATER has turned the Loddon Valley football season upside down with a stunning 29-point win against previously unbeaten Marong.
Not only was it the Panthers’ first loss for 2025 it was also their biggest defeat for three seasons.
The Mean Machine became only the second team to beat Marong since 2022, following Pyramid Hill’s two wins last season and one in 2023.
The Panthers are searching for a fourth consecutive premiership, and until Saturday looked well on track for another flag.
Bridgewater led all day at Malone Park and despite the best efforts of Marong playing coach Kain Robins, who kicked five goals in a lone hand on the forward line, always looked like getting the points.
Goalkicking giant Lachie Sharp, Bridgewater’s playing coach, relished his role further up the field than usual, and turned provider rather than scorer. He finished with two goals, but his outstanding ground ball skills and pinpoint kicking created many opportunities for others, and Nic Naughton cashed in with five goals as the deepest forward.
The win may have come at a cost for Bridgewater, with forward Ollie Watt badly injuring his AC joint. If surgery is required, he will miss the rest of the season.
Watt has been a consistent goal scorer since being moved forward, with 18 goals for the season.
The Mean Machine led by 31 points late in the third quarter, but a goal after the siren to Robins, followed by another after a strong mark at the beginning of the final term cut the margin to three goals.
The gap was trimmed further after a running goal to Marong, and the Panthers looked a chance to surge home over the top of Bridgewater.
However, Sharp kicked a critical goal on the run and followed that with a brilliant pass to Tyler Estrada for another major.
A goal after the siren was icing on the cake as the Bridgewater players celebrated a rare victory over the league’s best team.
Sharp’s contribution was even more meritorious as he was battling the flu, which was one of his reasons for playing further up the field.
“The win has given our players a taste now of what we can do,” he told the Loddon Herald.
“Consistency has been the hardest thing for us to nail this year, especially for the young guys,” Sharp said.
“Now they’re owning the big moments and it’s not just the old hands doing it all.”
Bridgewater faces another stern challenge this week, taking on second-placed Pyramid Hill – a win would see the Mean Machine move into second spot.
Marong travels to Bears Lagoon Serpentine, whose season is faltering in the absence of star forward Josh Mellington.