Tara Murray
The Sunbury Lions winning start to the Ballarat Football League season has come to an end.
The Lions were hoping to make it through to the bye undefeated, but faced their biggest challenge so far on Saturday against East Point.
The Kangaroos on their home deck made the most of their opportunities in the second half to come away with the 16.6 (102)-12.10 (82) win.
Lions coach Matt White said they were tested by a great side.
“They beat us on the inside,” he said. “They then kicked 10.2 in the second half.
“Kicking that accurately is hard to stop.”
White said having had some tough contests in the middle of the ground the last four weeks, that he thinks it took a bit of a toll this week.
He said while it was disappointing to lose, he said there were plenty of things they would take out of the game.
“We stuck at it,” he said. “We kicked a couple of goals late which made the margin look a bit better.
“We didn’t roll over. We had Blake Watson off injured and sent him straight for scans. We were a couple more down in the last quarter, but we battled through to the end.”
Mitch Mclean kicked four goals for the Lions, while Jake Sutton was the other multiple goal kicker with three.
White said Dean Muir, who moved into the middle of the ground from half back, was one of the standouts that impressed him.
He said ruck Fraser Ampulski was good as was Sean Reilly, who had an impact down back.”
White said having a result like this would give them an opportunity to really review the game, something that can’t always be done properly after a 100-plus point win.
The Lions slipped to second with the loss and are percentage behind Melton.
There are no matches this weekend due to the King’s Birthday holiday, something that comes at the perfect time for the Lions according to White.
White said they were waiting on more scans for Watson’s knee, while Riley Miller had a tight hamstring.
“We should get a few back after the bye,” he said. “[Mitch] Lewis will be back and we’re waiting on some more information on Jake Egan and his hamstring.
“We’ve got some injured guys but we are bringing some guys back in.”
White said at the start of the season they would have taken the start they’ve had.
They have a couple of big tests after the bye in Sebastopol and Melton.
White said they are taking it one week at a time and not looking any further than those two matches.
