Bridgewater makes history by winning seventh straight Loddon Valley flag

BRIDGEWATER has made history by becoming the first team in the Loddon Valley Football League to win seven consecutive senior premierships.

Historic: Bridgewater won the 2016 Loddon Valley Football League premiership against Mitiamo. It was the first time in the league a club has won seven consecutive premierships. Picture: Hannah Driscoll

BRIDGEWATER made history yesterday by becoming the first team in the Loddon Valley Football League to win seven consecutive senior premierships.

The “Mean Machine” defeated Mitiamo for the second year in a row to claim the silverware at Pyramid Hill with its 31st straight win, 19.12 (126) to 10.16 (76).

Bridgewater’s sixth flag last year equalled Calivil United’s run between 2003-08, but Mitiamo was unable to end this streak as it ended the Demons’ in 2009.

The Superoos were a longshot, having lost to Bridgewater by 59 points in a semi-final and the Mean Machine yesterday welcomed back four players — including ex-AFL players Andrew Collins and Rick Ladson — from suspension.

FINALS FIXTURE, SEPTEMBER 10-11

It meant selection heartache for first-year playing coach Marc Lindsay, who choked up on the winners’ podium, but there was a silver lining that Bridgewater’s reserves also went back-to-back yesterday.

Collins, Alex Galea — whose brothers Alex Collins and Ben Galea also played — and Brad Rohde booted four goals apiece, and captain and league best-and-fairest winner Zeb Broadbent was awarded best-on-ground honours.

“It’s a great achievement for the footy club, it’s a really special day for us and we’re going to enjoy this with our supporters and our community,” Lindsay said.

“We had a really good preparation, we couldn’t have done anything differently … it was a long time coming because we only had the one final in a four-week finals series before (yesterday).

“But we’ve done that for a few years now, it was a familiar feeling, and just good for it to be over and have a win.”