Tara Murray
Defence was the key word during the break for the Sunbury Lions and it was on show against Sebastopol in the Ballarat Football League on Saturday.
The Lions suffered their first loss of the season heading into the break and used the time to reset for the second part of the season.
The Burras came out strong early on, but were soon shut down with the Lions running away with a comfortable 13.10 (88)-3.11 (29) win.
Lions coach Matt White was pleased with how his side bounced back.
“It was a good, tough game,” he said. “We went there with a focus on defending really well.
“To keep them to 3.10 was really good.
“We needed that week to rest and defend really well as we know that we will always have the ability to score.”
White said there was a little bit of wind, but nothing that made it too hard to score.
He said they were a bit rusty early on before working into the game.
“They got off to a really good start and kicked the first goal,” he said. “Tony Lockyer was doing a good job on Josh Guthrie and was getting off him.
“We sorted that out and we were able to control the game a bit better and moved the ball fairly slickly.”
Jake Sutton was the key forward on the day, kicking five goals for the Lions.
White said they had plenty of contributors on the day.
“We asked Guthrie to do something different, not just be a prevalent ball user,” he said. “He had three goals and played one of his better games for the year.
“Harry Power was the Harry Power of old and kicked one goal and set up a few others, he was up and about.
“Dean Muir is making it hard for selectors and whether we play him at half back or in the middle.
“Boyd Murphy we bought in last week and he looked a little nervous, he looked a lot better.
“We have a lot of guys playing some good footy.”
The Lions win was soured by another hamstring injury to Mitch Lewis.
White said Lachlan Urbon and Cody Bramble both took steps forward on the weekend and will help fill the wing role with Lewis missing.
In a plus, Jake Egan got through in the reserves and would be ready for selection.
The Lions remain second on the ladder with seven wins and one loss for the season.
They are one of three teams with that record.
The Lions face their biggest test this weekend, taking on Melton, which sits atop the table.
White said they are looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “Every time you play one of the top teams, you get up and about.
“I remember playing Melton 20 years ago and there’s still that little rivalry from then.”
