Sport
15 August, 2026
Sharp outscored as Mean Machine marches on
IT’S A rare game in which Bridgewater coach and peerless goalkicker Lachlan Sharp is outscored by a teammate. But on Saturday, despite Sharp kicking 13 goals against Calivil, fellow forward Oscar McKinley booted 14 goals.
IT’S A rare game in which Bridgewater coach and peerless goalkicker Lachlan Sharp is outscored by a teammate.
But on Saturday, despite Sharp kicking 13 goals against Calivil, fellow forward Oscar McKinley booted 14 goals.
That gave Sharp 50 goals in the past three matches, and Bridgewater more than 100 in an unprecedented burst of goalscoring form.
The 207-point win over the Demons followed a 233-point victory against Mitiamo and a 169-point demolition of finals hopeful Maiden Gully.
And in a comment sure to send chills through potential finals opponents, Sharp insisted the Mean Machine was not yet at its best.
“We’re playing a really good team brand of football, but I don’t think we’ve hit our peak yet,” he said. With Macorna to come this week – one of the two teams to have beaten Bridgewater this season – Sharp is looking for revenge and another powerful statement from his team against a side hoping to hold on to fifth spot on the ladder.
Sharp needs just six goals to break Brandyn Grenfell’s all-time record of 143 for the year.
“If it comes, it comes, but I’d trade every goal I’ve kicked this season to win a grand final,” he said.
The Mean Machine jumped Calivil, and by half-time had kicked 19.10 while keeping the Demons scoreless.
Calivil coach Sam Maher said his team “played like scared footballers” early in the game – Bridgewater had 13 goals on the board at quarter-time. “Our response was pretty putrid,” he said.
But he insisted the massive loss would not define his team’s season.
“We just have to move on from it,” Maher said. “We’ve still got an important game left, and we can win it if we play our best football.”
Calivil can play the spoiler by defeating Maiden Gully, or minimising the scale of any defeat, as the Eagles try to sneak into the finals ahead of Macorna on percentage.
Sharp said McKinley, who now has 51 goals from just 10 games to sit third on the league goalkicking ladder, was in “ripping form.
“He’s incredible – he’s marking everything and kicking the ball well, and with Mitch Patten he helps to straighten up our forward entries.” Bridgewater has a tight selection squeeze to deal with for the finals, with junior Logan Moss kicking four goals to add to his five majors on debut.
“He’s definitely in the squad, and he’s put his best foot forward to push for selection.”
Although he had 13 goals kicked on him, Calvil full-back Josh Connolly was named as his team’s best player.
Maher said Connolly’s defensive effort on Sharp was excellent, with many of the Mean Machine star’s goals coming from his exceptional ground play rather than marks. Connolly came to Maher at Thursday training and put up his hand to play on Sharp and his performance was a rare positive on a bleak game day for the Demons.
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