Sport
9 May, 2026
Stawell and Thunder go head to head
In this week's match of the round in the Wimmera Football Netball League, Southern Mallee will host Stawell at Sir Robert Menzies Park.
James Sullivan and Perry Meka have their side absolutely firing already this season.
In fact, they are yet to drop a match, having defeated Ararat (five points), the Eagles (24 points) and the Demons (62 points).
Like a fine wine, it appears the ladder leaders just keep getting better as the rounds go on.
Their opposition this week, the Thunder, can never be discounted though and are sitting in fourth with a couple of wins and a loss in 2026.
They dropped their first match against Nhill, 6.7 (43) to 6.15 (51), but have since found their way, beating Minyip Murtoa 12.14 (86) to 7.11 (53) and Horsham Saints 6.17 (53) to 5.7 (43).
It's no surprise Stawell currently have a number of players considered among the best in the league on Play HQ, including Josh Fowkes, Owen Summers and Sunny Brazier, with Billy Lloyd and Matty Lloyd up there for the Thunder.
Bridges said it was an opportunity for the Thunder this week to behave how they wanted as a team and to test their system against a group that hadn't yet been defeated.
"It's early in the season so we want to continue to adjust as we need and learn through each game," Bridges said.
"We will focus on a few of their key movers and link this to our defensive structure.
"But it's a great opportunity to take another step forward this week."