Tara Murray
The Sunbury Lions enter the Ballarat Football League finals on a winning note.
Having dropped their last two matches and with it losing the shot at a double chance, the Lions came home with a hard fought win against Bacchus Marsh on Saturday.
The Lions had 10 scoring shots to one in the first quarter to lead by 39 points at half time.
They still led by 24 points at the main break.
After halt time the Cobras started to find their groove.
Five goals to three reduced the margin to 15 points at the last break.
The Cobras continued to come hard in the final quarter, but the Lions were able to do enough to come away with a 15.10 (100)-13.9 (87) win.
Lions coach Matt White said while the Cobras had nothing to play for, they fought really hard and made them earn the win.
“It would have been nice to rest a few blokes, but you want a good game of football before going into finals.
“We got off to a ripping start, there was a bit of a breeze going towards that end. I wouldn’t say we put the cue in the rake in the second half, but they made it a lot harder to move the ball.”
Mitch McLean kicked four goals for the Lions, while four players finished with two each.
Harry Power, McLean and Fraser Ampulski were named the Lions best.
White said Ampulski played a really strong game while Blake Watson contributed in his first game in a number of weeks.
Ben Cameron and McLean were others that impressed White.
The win ensures the Lions finish in fifth spot. They will face Ballarat in an elimination final.
The Lions will lose Jake Egan, who has done another hamstring, but are set to get Mitchell Lewis and Jack Newitt back from injury.
White said they also rested a couple of guys on Saturday, so there could be four or five players pushing for selection.
While the Lions win-loss record hasn’t been great in the back half of the season, White said they had been focused on the way they were playing more than results.
“My focus was to get into a position to have a real title at finals,” he said. “We’ve played some good football to get us where we are.
“Darley and East Point put us to the sword and stunned us but we take more knowledge into next week.”
In the A-grade netball, Sunbury locked in top spot with a big win against Bacchus Marsh.
In the battle between top and bottom, the Lions won 78-31.
Rebecca Hicks shot 55 goals for the Lions as they tried a few different things.
The Lions, who lost just one game for the season, will face North Ballarat in a qualifying final.
