Bulldogs fight Machine to stay in flag race

PYRAMID Hill will take on Bridgewater in a fight to stay in the Bendigo Bank Loddon Valley Football League premiership race this Saturday.

The Bulldogs take on the Mean Machine in the preliminary final at Holloway Air Riverside Oval in Newbridge from 2.15pm.

Pyramid Hill must regroup and quickly after a 58-point loss to Marong in last Saturday’s second semi-final played at Gadsden Finance Serpetine Reserve.

Momentum is on the side of Bridgewater which beat Mitiamo in Sunday’s first semi-final at Calivil.

It was a hat-trick wins for the Machine against the Superoos in the ’22 campaign.

The Rick Ladson-coached Mean Machine beat Bears Lagoon Serpentine in an elimination final.

The preliminary finalists met in round one of the season in which Pyramid Hill won 68-48 on Bridgewater’s turf.

In the 10th round the Nathan Fitzpatrick-coached Bulldogs won 87-52 in the Mitchell Park kennel.

Key players for Pyramid Hill include Dylan Morison, Brad Ladson and Gavin James in defence, ruckman Adrian Holland, Braidy and Ryley Dickens and Scott Mann.

A talented Bridgewater line-up has the goalkicking power of Andy Collins and Josh Martyn, Cameron Ross in the ruck, on-ballers Harry Donegan and Callum Prest, as well as the skill of Lloyd Needs, Emile Pavlich and Alex Pollock.

The winner advances to the 10 September grand final against Marong at Marist College Bendigo in Maiden Gully.

It will also be a showdown between Pyramid Hill and Bridgewater in the reserves preliminary final from 12.30pm.

The Bulldogs were beaten 35-25 in the second semi-final by Marong, while Bridgewater overcame a three-goal deficit at quarter-time to mark a 44-41 victory in the first semi against Newbridge.

In round one, Pyramid Hill won at Bridgewater by 25 points but it was 79-32 the Bulldogs’ way in the 10th round at Mitchell Park.

Most recent match between the preliminary finalists was the qualifying final in which Pyramid Hill won 76-24 at Marong’s Malone Park.

Preliminary final day begins with the under-18s match with Bridgewater in action again, this time against Inglewood from 10.40am.

The rising stars from Bridgewater were on the end of 66-21 loss to Marong in last Saturday’s second semi-final.

Inglewood kicked off its finals campaign with a 122-40 victory against East Loddon in the first semi at Marong’s Malone Park back on 20 August.

The Blues and Mean Machine met five times in the home-and-away series.

All matches went the way of Bridgewater by margins of 31, 117, 45, 16, and 26 points.