Grand final rematch at Bridgewater

A REMATCH of ’22 grand finalists Bridgewater and Marong highlights Saturday’s eighth round of senior footy in the Bendigo Bank Loddon Valley FNL season.

Bridgewater has home-ground advantage as it strives to break the unbeaten run by the ladder-leading Marong who are pursuing back-to-back premierships.

It’s a daunting task for the Mean Machine which has a four and three record and sit fourth on the ladder.

Bridgewater coach Rick Ladson will stress the importance of defensive structures and pressure against a high-scoring Panthers line-up.

In the run to the bye last round, the Linton Jacobs-coached Marong had goal tallies of 20, 31, 18 and 32.

Inglewood’s on a four-game winning streak ahead of the trek to Pyramid Hill’s Mitchell Park and it’s a massive test for the Darrell Billett-coached Blues who have climbed to the third rung.

In-form players for the Blues include Sam Dorevitch, Charlie McGaw, Keelan Payne and Daniel Polack.

The Nathan Fitzpatrick-coached Pyramid Hill is second on a five and one record.

The Bulldogs beat Maiden Gully YCW last round as Dylan Collis, Billy Micevski, Jesse Sheahan and Bryden Morison were best.

Bears-Lagoon Serpentine tackles Mitiamo at Gadsden Finance Serpentine Reserve.

The Justin Laird-coached Bears played brilliant footy at home to beat Bridgewater by 40 points last round as Kyal Zass, Darcy Poulter, Beau Roy-Clements, and Aidan Brohm led the way.

It’s been a tough run for the Jon Varcoe-coached Mitiamo which has a 1-5 record after a 25-point loss to Calivil United on the Superoos’ ground at John Forbes Oval.

After breaking its season ‘duck’, Calivil United will target back-to-back wins when it plays Maiden Gully YCW at Raywood.

Key players in the win by the Anthony Dennis-coached Demons at Mitiamo included Evan Ritchie, ruckman Justin Hynes, Rhys Lourie, Brae Mensforth, Walter Miller, and Hamish Wall.

Newbridge has the bye.