BRIDGEWATER has clung on to fourth place on the Loddon Valley A Grade netball ladder despite a heart-breaking two-goal defeat to Marong on Saturday.
The Panthers won 54-52 after the Mean Machine led by four goals at the last change of ends.
It was a match of ever-shifting momentum.
Marong led by five goals at quarter-time, while scores were level at the half before Bridgewater established what looked like a winning lead at three-quarter time.
However, the Panthers stormed home with 16 goals to 10 in the final term to seal the thrilling victory.
Coach Bridget Willox, who was ill with the flu and missed the game, said all reports had Bianca Garton at the heart of the win.
Garton switched from wing attack to goal attack in the last quarter when the Panthers got on top, one of a number of positional changes that seemed to click.
Marong is now on the same number of points as Bridgewater, with the two sides looking destined for finals as they are three games ahead of Bears Lagoon Serpentine in sixth place.
Willox said the battle for the make-up of the final five might come down to the last game of the season against Newbridge, and she felt her side was capable of beating anyone on its day.
“The last time we played Pyramid Hill, who are comfortably second on the ladder, we only lost by seven goals, and we know we have the capacity to take those top teams,” she said.
Mitiamo’s unbeaten season goes from strength to strength, with the Superoos torching Maiden Gully by 49 goals.
The Eagles were more than competitive in the first quarter, trailing 15-17 on their home court.
But Mitiamo switched gears in the second term, piling on 26 goals to five to kill the contest. Another 40 followed in the second half, with Maiden Gully held to 14 goals.
Star goaler Laura Hicks shot 60 of the Superoos’ goals.
Mitiamo is at home to winless Inglewood this coming Saturday, which shapes as the mismatch of the season.
Pyramid Hill kept up the pressure on Mitiamo with a comfortable win over Bears Lagoon Serpentine.
The Bulldogs set up their win with a dominant third quarter in which they scored 14 goals to six to lead by 15 goals at the final change.
They ran out winners 57-41, with last season’s best-and-fairest winner nailing 41 goals.
The Bears appear fated to miss the finals as they sit three matches and percentage behind fifth-placed Marong, although they have a game in hand.
Newbridge thrashed struggling Inglewood 67-17 at the Woodies’ home.
Inglewood could manage only six goals in the first half to Newbridge’s 42, which set up the Maroons’ huge win.
Newbridge now sits third on the ladder behind Mitiamo and Pyramid Hill, while Inglewood is yet to taste victory in 2025.