A warmer day than most at the weekend saw many swap long sleeves in favour of shirts to watch South Morang take on Northcote Park at Mill Park Lakes Recreation Reserve.
The first quarter opened with a series of behinds traded between the two teams in what appeared likely to be a slow moving game.
But just before the siren sounded, three goals from the Lions saw the score jump from 5-4 to 23-4, pushing the game onwards.
Now faced with the challenge to get out of single digits on the scoreboard and rise to the occasion – and the Lions – the Cougars came in hot, kicking two goals early into the second quarter.
With the score now 24-16, but still in favour of the Lions, the Cougars fought their opposition strongly, determined to keep the play at their end of the field.
Another goal from the Cougars saw the scoreboard almost even 25-23, but the result was too close of a threat for the Lions, who came in strong to kick a behind and a goal to end the quarter 32-23.
Not willing to let the scores get too close again, the Lions dominated the play in the third quarter with several behinds and six goals, setting the team 35 points ahead of the Cougars by the time the siren sounded, 73-38.
But the game was not over yet, and both the Lions and the Cougars knew it.
Trading goal for goal, both teams fought fiercely – the Lions determined to keep the Cougars at bay, and the Cougars determined to emerge victorious.
When the goals stopped coming, the teams started trading behinds, but it wasn’t enough for the Cougars to overcome the Lions, and at the final siren, the scoreboard showed 105-66.
Best players for the Lions were Kain Hall, Tye Hall, Mitchell Kalpakis, Michael Burns, Paul Sidhu, and Tyrone Leonardis, with Jordan Perry, Banjamin Augustus, Michael Amad, Alastair Punshon, Samuel Amad, and Ben Reddick as the Cougar’s best.
This weekend will see Thomastown V St Mary’s, Northcote Park V Whittlesea, Laurimar V Watsonia, and South Morang V Diamond Creek in the last round before the finals start.
