Adam Bourke

Finals series takes a twist with league's best player reported.

The Loddon Valley Football Netball League top five is set.

Spring Gully destined to finish bottom of the ladder.

Newbridge one step closer to finals berth after impressive win.

Eventful round of League One Men and League One Women matches.

Hard work pays off for talented Bendigo Strikers duo.

Wrap-up of CV League One Men and Women action from the weekend.

Action-packed NAIDOC Week game between Eaglehawk and Strathdale.

Tatura cruises further ahead in League One Men championship.

Bendigo Suns have a ball on the football field.

Castlemaine kicked its highest score in eight years in a 147-point win over the BFNL’s bottom side Maryborough at Princes Park on Saturday. Castlemaine won 26.20 (176) to 4.5 (29) - its best total and winning margin since defeating Maryborough 33.21 (219) to 6.7 (43) in round 15, 2016. Coach Michael Hartley kicked nine goals for Castlemaine and midfielders Ryan Eyre, Zavier Murley and Bailey Henderson had the ball on a string. While Saturday’s Golden Square-Eaglehawk result didn’t help Castlemai…

The CV League One season has reached the halfway point and it’s hard to see how the men’s and women’s ladder leaders can lose their respective championships. League One Men leader Tatura and League One Women leader Spring Gully United finished the first half of the season with perfect 7-0 records. Tatura holds a six-point advantage in the race for the men’s championship, while Spring Gully is one game and a hefty goal difference clear of Shepparton United in the women’s championship. While the b…

Marong on top, Pyramid Hill in second place - after an eventful opening half of the LVFNL season nothing has changed from previous years in terms of positions one and two on the ladder. However, this year the gap to third and fourth is much closer. Bridgewater consolidated fourth spot at the halfway mark on the back of a big round nine win over Calivil United, while results on Saturday saw a new entrant to the top five. Newbridge is in the top five for the first time this season after the Maroon…

The Bendigo Strikers were given a reminder of just how good the top teams in the Victorian Netball League are after the club suffered two heavy defeats on Wednesday night. League power City West Falcons won the championship game 71-52 and the 23-and-under clash 69-52 in Melbourne. In the championship clash, the Strikers played some great netball to be within one goal of the ladder-leading Falcons at half-time. After the main break the Falcons went up a gear and put the Strikers to the sword. An…

A refreshed mind and body, a new challenge and kicking goals on and off the field - footy life is good for Lachlan Sharp. The former Strathfieldsaye Storm and BFNL star is eight rounds into his first season with Loddon Valley club Bridgewater and he couldn’t be happier with his move. On the field, Sharp has kicked 61 goals in seven games, including a career-high haul of 20 goals last weekend against Mitiamo. Off the field, Sharp’s first co-coaching role has been a rewarding experience. “It’s no…

Why are central Victorian sports fans supporting the Bendigo Strikers in droves? Is it the novelty factor of a fresh, new Bendigo-based team in the Victorian Netball League? Is it the fact the championship and 23-and-under squads are largely made up of homegrown talent? Or is it that the passion for netball in central Victoria is greater than even Netball Victoria and Bendigo Strikers administrators could have imagined when the club was born? While there’s probably some truth in all of that, cha…

Epsom is off the bottom of the ladder after it broke through for its first win of the League Men season. After a string of frustrating near misses in the opening five rounds of the season, the Scorpions rallied from one goal down to defeat Shepparton United 4-2. The home side fell behind 1-0 in the first half, but a goal from Josh Christensen in the opening minutes of the second-half gave Epsom the spark it needed. A fine left-foot strike from Travis Robertson put Epsom in the lead and a short t…

Bendigo City FC senior coach Greg Thomas won’t play again this season after he suffered a fractured ankle. Thomas’ injury added to the club’s disappointing weekend after it was held to a 1-1 draw by ETA Buffalo Club of Victoria. The veteran forward was collected in a tackle late in Saturday’s game and scans on Monday warning confirmed the worst. “The doctor said the fracture is in a bad spot, so instead of being a six-week recovery it’s probably going to be 12 weeks,″ a dejected Thomas said. Sa…

Mitiamo and Bridgewater will get a good guide as to where they sit in the LVFNL A-grade pecking order when they meet at Bridgewater on Saturday. The Superoos sit on top of the ladder ahead of the round eight clash, but they have a point to prove after losing to Pyramid Hill in their only previous clash with a top-four team this season. Bridgewater is in fourth place with a 4-2 record and has built some momentum in recent weeks. The next step in the Mean Machine’s development is toppling a top fo…

Eaglehawk held off a surging Strathdale to claim the crucial three points in an absorbing League One Men’s clash between Bendigo soccer’s traditional rivals. A first-half goal from Caden Meeks was the difference between the two teams as the Borough snapped Strathdale’s three-game unbeaten run and leapfrogged the Blues into second place on the ladder. The Hawks controlled the game in the opening 45 minutes and deserved their lead when Meeks was in the right spot to slot home a low cross. The Blue…