NATHAN Aldridge and his Shoalhaven men's football team have etched their names in the record books once again.
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One year after breaking through for their first-ever Southern NSW Branch Championship, Aldridge's side has defended their crown at the weekend's carnival, held at Merimbula's Berrambool Sporting Complex.
The side, captained by David Hampton, opened their account with a resounding 4-nil win against Eurobodalla, with Fraser Macqueen (two), Brendan Kellett and Daniel Frew scoring.
"We started off a bit slow in the first half of game one but found our feet in the second half, scoring four goals," Aldridge said.
"This was our plan heading into the tournament - play an attacking style of football and outscore our opponents."
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They backed this up with another 4-nil win later that day against Tablelands, thanks to goals from Kellett (two), Macqueen and Mitch Blundell.
But Aldridge's side didn't have it all their own way, being challenged on Sunday morning against Eurobodalla.
"Our attacking mentality worked well all tournament, with us scoring a combined 12 goals," Aldridge said.
"What was also pleasing was to only concede two goals all weekend.
"These were conceded in the game against Eurobodalla, in our 2-all draw on Sunday, which was by far our hardest match."
In the draw, Kellett scored a brace for Shoalhaven.
The branch title was secured in their fourth match, where goals from Huskisson-Vincentia pair Brendan Hiriart and Lewis Archibald sealed a 2-nil win over Tablelands.
"All the players did what I asked of them, both on and off the field," Aldridge said,
"In particular, Rhys Mooy was a force in the middle of the park, while Dale Russell and Brad Bailey were strong all weekend in the heart of our defence.
"Fraser Macqueen was a constant threat upfront and worked really well with Brendan Kellett."
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Making the win more satisfying for Aldridge is this tournament marked his return to the sidelines as a head coach, after stepping away from the sport earlier in the year to focus on his health.
"It's great to bring a team together and get them to gel the way we did," he said.
"For them to buy into what this weekend is about and then go out and be as successful as they were, is very pleasing for me.
"I'm just happy to be part of the success this team has achieved while also being able to create new friendships along the way."