Sunbury produced its highest score in nearly two years as it moved into the Victorian Turf Cricket Association Steve McNamara Shield top four.
The Roar have started to get on a roll and have continued that into the new year across the first two weeks against West Newport.
After bowling the Lions out for 165 the Roar resumed on 1-37 on Saturday.
The Roar chased down the total with five wickets in hand.
It went on to make 237 before being bowled out in the 64th over.
The score is the Roar’s highest total since 10 February in 2024.
The Roar’s Marty Kelders said it was a really good performance with the bat.
“It was a good all-round performance,” he said.
“Ethan Connelly batted really strongly at the top of the order and just missed out on a 50.
“Mass [Indika Massalage] had a chance early but took advantage of it and went on to make a solid 88.
“We’re proud of the effort from the team.”
Kelders said the recent performances come down to the leadership of skipper Jason McGann and the team wanting to play for each other.
“It’s a joy to watch this year,” he said. “We’ve always been a bowling team rather than a batting team.
“We’ve been able to chase runs down all season.”
West Newport went back out for a second innings and finished the day at 2-75.
Kelders said the Lions batted well and late in the match shut up shop to make sure they didn’t lose outright.
“The guys had a bit of a crack but after that decided to have a bit of fun,” he said.
“We gave a few guys who don’t bowl a lot a bit of a go.
“We were able to gain something out of it.”
Jack McGann took both wickets in the second innings.
The win moves the Roar into the top four after eight rounds.
The Roar is in fourth spot, but equal on points with the two teams above it.
Kelders said it’s been a solid performance all season and were hoping to continue it for the rest of the year.
“We’re happy,” he said. “We have four rounds to go and we play two of the top four.
“Our destiny is in our own hands and we’ll give it our best possible shot.
“We are confident that we can do well.”
The Roar’s second XI also had a big win on Saturday but fell short of an outright win as well.
The are back in action on Tuesday night in the final round of the T20 competition.
The Roar faces Oak Park St Francis de Sales with its finals chances already over.
The Saints sit atop the table with three wins so far, while Sunbury sits bottom with one win.
