A SHOOTOUT that turned into a blowout. That, in a nutshell, is the story of Saturday’s high-stakes football clash between Pyramid Hill and Bridgewater.
At the last change, the Mean Machine were ahead by four points on the back of a brilliant performance from coach Lachlan Sharp, who had seven goals of his own and a few assists in his side’s 14-goal haul.
The stage appeared set for a fierce contest in the last quarter to see which team was likely to be Marong’s main challenger in 2025.
And then came the deluge, as the Bulldogs’ attack feasted on the spoils of a midfield that took total control and kicked eight goals to one to storm to an unlikely 41-point win.
Bridgewater led by 18 points at quarter-time on the back of a seven-goal first term, with Sharp causing havoc with his strength and ground ball skills in kicking four of his own amid six score involvements.
However, at the end of the day the sending off of the Mean Machine’s powerful midfielder Bo Alexander mid-way through the second quarter proved the pivotal moment of the game.
Alexander chose to bump Pyramid Hill’s Mitch Cheesman rather than tackle as he crouched over the ball on the wing, and took him high.
The Bridgewater star was yellow carded despite protests from Mean Machine players, and was sent off for 20 minutes as Cheesman slowly left the field.
The extra player gave the Bulldogs a chance to move the ball more easily down the field, and after trailing at half-time by seven points, they hit the lead in Alexander’s enforced absence. In one outstanding piece of play, the speedy Brodie Carroll took advantage of a brilliant clearance by Archie Hildebrandt to snap a fine goal, but then Bridgewater responded with a great snap from absolutely nothing by the inspirational Sharp.
Bridgewater’s chances weren’t helped by some poor kicking for goal, but still they matched Pyramid Hill in the third quarter with four goals each and took a narrow lead into the last quarter.
But then the Bulldogs really began to bite, proving too slick out of the centre square for the tiring Mean Machine players and piling on four quick goals.
Bridgewater revived long enough for Luke Ellings to kick a fine major from outside the 50m arc, but Pyramid Hill was not to be denied.
Sharp’s goal run stalled as his side was thrashed in the clearances and his supply dried up. 
At the other end, Bulldogs spearhead Ben Bisset was proving a headache for the defenders, and he rubbed it in by heading into defence late in the game and taking a strong intercept mark from one of Bridgey’s rare attacks.
Carroll and Hildebrandt were superb in the midfield for the winners, who also had Zach Alford matching Bisset’s five goals as well as helping out in the centre square at times.
Oscar McKinley, back from Queensland for a few matches, kicked five for the Mean Machine, with Darcy Ferguson, Jack Neylon and the ever-reliable defender Joe Mayes also among their best.
Pyramid Hill is at home again next week for a testing clash with Inglewood, while Bridgewater will host bottom of the ladder Calivil.