BRIDGEWATER star Lachlan Sharp has been given a free kick in the Loddon Valley football race to a century.
Sharp needs 14 goals to be the first gun to crack the tonne this season and on Saturday is fancied for a big haul when the Mean Machine takes on Maiden Gully.
His rival for the century honour, Bears Lagoon Serpentine’s Josh Mellington, will miss the clash against Inglewood after a hamstring injury in the third quarter last weekend when the Bears snuck home by seven points over a grossly-inaccurate Pyramid Hill.
Mellington had added six goals in the first half to sit on 93 goals from nine games.
Sharp and Mellington are streets ahead on the league goal kicking table. Marong veteran Kain Robbins bagged 10 last Saturday to take his season’s tally to 33.
Last time out against Maiden Gully, Sharp kicked 12 of the Mean Machine’s 21 goals in the 95-point victory, Mellington finished with 12 in the season’s first clash between Serpentine and Inglewood.
Sharp’s best haul of the season has been 20 against Mitiamo. The Mean Machine co-coach switched from Bendigo league side Strathfieldsaye and has been a key magent up forward although three tough games against fellow final spot contender Marong, Pyramid Hill and the Bears saw him in the midfield.
Mellington could miss at least three matches.