Marong, Pyramid Hill lead chase in Valley

AT THE halfway mark it’s Pyramid Hill and Marong who lead the Bendigo Bank Loddon Valley Football League’s senior footy premiership race.

Clubs take a rest on the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend before the chase for the Cup resumes on 18 June.

Unbeaten in eight matches, Pyramid Hill has shown it’s on track to break a long-running premiership drought.

The Nathan Fitzpatrick-coached Bulldogs have plenty of goalscoring power, hard-running midfielders and on-ballers, and strong defence.

Biggest challenger to the Bulldogs is Marong which has a 7-1 record and is second on the ladder.

Gun forward Brandyn Grenfell has kicked 58 goals and is one of many stars in the Linton Jacobs-coached Marong team.

The league’s most dominant clubs of the past 10 years, Bridgewater and Mitiamo are third and fourth on the ladder and locked on 5-3 records.

The Rick Ladson-coached Bridgewater moved to the third rung by scoring a 23-point victory in last Saturday’s match on Mitiamo’s turf at John Forbes Oval.

The Justin Laird-coached Bears Lagoon Serpentine has climbed to the fifth rung on the ladder.

In the past two rounds the Bears have beaten Inglewood by 81 points and then scored a hard-fought 58-52 victory on Maiden Gully YCW’s ground at Marist College Bendigo.

After a brilliant start in which it had a 3-1 run the Darrell Billett-coached Inglewood is now 3-5.

Finals prospects for Newbridge are slim, but the Luke Freeman-coached Maroons moved to a 2-6 record after Saturday’s home-ground win against Calivil United.

For Calivil United and Maiden Gully YCW the goal in the run to finals in August and September will be to upset more fancied opponents.

The Jack Daley-coached Demons did so at Bridgewater in round five.

The Wayne Mitrovic-coached Eagles were within 11 points of Mitamo two weeks later.

Matches on June 18 will be Bears Lagoon Serpentine against Mitiamo at Gadsden Finance Serpentine Reserve, Inglewood takes on Calivil United at Dissy Machinery Oval.

Pyramid Hill hosts Bridgewater in the clash of first and third at Mitchell Park, Marong plays Maiden Gully YCW at Malone Park, and Newbridge has the bye.