THE Bulldogs have revenge on their minds after losing the A Grade grand final to Mitiamo last season.
Chelsea Emmerson stays on as a coach with unfinished business, admitting that her competitive nature brought her back for another crack at the premiership.
Pyramid Hill has lost one young champion in Imogen Broad, the coach’s niece, who won the league’s rising star award in 2023 and had an important role in mentoring the club’s younger players.
She has moved to Macorna in the Golden Rivers league for personal reasons.
However, Emmerson is confident the recruiting of mid-courter Morgan Dingwall from Rochester will prove to be a like-for-like replacement for Broad.
Former Bulldogs junior Danica McCahon has returned after taking a few years off to have a family.
Pyramid Hill has played pre-season matches against Huntly, Boort and White Hills, giving Emmerson a chance to see how her new line-up is shaping up.
She is confident the Bulldogs will be in the A Grade premiership mix again in 2025, naming title holders Mitiamo and Maiden Gully as the main potential threats.
“The two players we have brought in add more experience, and Morgan was involved in our last premiership in A Grade,” Emmerson said.
Jessica Holdstock took out the club best-and-fairest last season, and polled 15 votes in the league’s Helen Ward Medal, two votes ahead of Pyramid Hill stalwart Abbey Dingwall, a former A Grade coach.
Nothing is guaranteed in sport, but for Pyramid Hill the future looks bright, with all four senior teams making grand or preliminary finals last season.
Last year’s club best-and-fairest winner Jessica Holdstock is a Pyramid Hill stalwart, juggling her netball with a career as a nurse and being mother to four children.
She made her debut in A Grade as a junior in 2001 and was a regular member of the top senior side a year later, aged 16.
Her longevity is a wonder, and Holdstock was the Bulldogs top vote winner in the Helen Ward Medal last season.
She was pivotal in Pyramid Hill grabbing the early lead in last year’s grand final against Mitiamo, with 11 goals in the first quarter.
Along with Abbey Dingwall, Holdstock was named in the league’s team of the season and chosen as vice-captain to Mitiamo legend Laura Hicks.
Her contribution to the Bulldogs also included coaching an A Grade premiership – one of three she has played in – and five club best player awards.
There’s no reason to imagine there will be any drop off in 2025 for this star of the competition.
With two A Grade premierships with Pyramid Hill under her belt, Morgan Dingwall’s return to the Bulldogs’ kennel is more than timely.
Last season’s runners up have lost key mid-court player Imogen Broad for the year, but in Dingwall have secured an experienced replacement who can play as a shooter as well.
She has represented the Goulburn Valley senior regional side in the state championships while playing with Rochester.  
Way back in 2014, she was named best on court in Pyramid Hill’s 17-and-under premiership win.
And even before that, she was representing the Loddon Valley select side in regional competitions at 15-and-under level.
The legend and the star recruit will add depth and power to a Bulldogs outfit that impressed in 2024.