Hosting Longwood at Undera Recreation Reserve, the Lions made a hot start to the contest and controlled the game in dominant fashion for the first three quarters, however, were forced to weather a blistering Redlegs fightback in the final term, doing just enough to emerge with a 14.8 (92) to 13.13 (91) victory.
While the Lions have been building nicely in 2026 and look to be on the up, the quarter time scoreline was still somewhat of a surprise, as Undera booted a mammoth 7.2 (44) to the Redlegs’ 1.1 (7) in the first term, leaping out to a commanding 37-point lead entering the huddle.
It soon became clear that there was a favoured scoring end, though, as Longwood began to fire the goals home with regularity in the second term.
A four-goal-to-one second quarter ensured the Redlegs dragged themselves back to within 14 points by the half, but five more scoring shots went begging, as Undera maintained the lead and looked well and truly up to the task, soon making the visitors pay for their inaccuracy.
Emerging from the rooms and kicking towards the goals that had seen 11 of the 13 first half majors scored, the Lions put together a spellbinding term, and one that looked like it had sealed the victory for them.
A return of 5.4 while restricting Longwood to 1.4 at the same time, the home side pushed the margin back to 38 points at the final change to retain a commanding grip on the game, the scoreboard reading 13.6 (84) to 6.10 (46) as the two sides heard from their respective coaches for the final time.
While not impossible, a minimum of six goals looked a bridge too far for the Redlegs if they were to pinch victory, given they had only kicked six for the entire contest to that point.
They managed to go one better than that in the final term, though, with a scintillating seven-goal quarter to roar right back into contention as the seconds ticked down, however they fell just short of what would have been a remarkable victory, as Undera managed 1.2 of its own to hold the Redlegs at bay by a point.
Riley Moon was named the Lions’ best in the victory, their fourth of the campaign, booting three goals in the process, while Beau Jackson and Matthew Perazzola weren’t far behind, while Jye Fitzsimmons was also influential, booting a game-high four majors in the win.
Longwood coach Jordan Formosa was his side’s best in the narrow defeat, while William Pointer and Zac Tranter booted two goals apiece.
In Saturday’s other contests, Lancaster crossed the 200-point threshold in a mammoth win over Girgarre, with Morrie Serra booting a perfect 10 in the Wombats’ 31.23 (209) to 2.2 (14) victory, helping them bounce back from their first defeat of the season last week.
Shepparton East also had a big win, accounting for Tallygaroopna on the road with a 17.10 (112) to 8.6 (54) triumph, while Stanhope claimed a solid 15.14 (104) to 13.6 (84) victory over Rushworth to put a game between themselves in sixth and Longwood in seventh.
On Sunday, Nagambie continued its charge atop the ladder and celebrated stawlwart Mark Nolan’s 250th club game with a scarcely believable 47.18 (300) to 0.1 (1) win over Violet Town, led by a ridiculous 23 goals to Tom Barnes in his 50th outing for the Lakers.
The unbelievable haul takes Barnes’ season tally to 81 for the season, putting him well within reach of the magical ton and extending his lead in the league goalkickers race to 27.
Murchison-Toolamba also scored a huge win over Merrigum on Sunday, prevailing 21.18 (144) to 3.5 (23), keeping the Bulldogs winless for yet another week.
10°C