Sunbury Lions’ premiership dream turned into a nightmare in the second half of the Ballarat Football League grand final against Bacchus Marsh.
Hoping to reverse the result of the semi-final between the two, the Lions proved no match for a Cobras side hungry for a first ever BFL premiership.
After an even first quarter, the Cobras kicked the first five goals of the second quarter to get a break on the Lions.
While the Lions kicked the last two of the second quarter, they needed a miracle in the second half.
And there was none.
Both sides were wasteful in front of goal in the third quarter, with a late Cobras’ goal through Cameron Richardson the only major of the term.
Cobras’ early dominance in the last quarter was rewarded with three goals in the first 10 minutes, which sealed their premiership.
The Lions remained without a second half goal, losing the match 13.21 (99)–5.14 (44).
The Lions found themselves on the back foot even before the siren sounded after the late exclusion of ruckman David Kovacevic.
Kovacevic, who was named in the BFL team of the year during the week, had surgery after suffering a finger injury in the Lions’ elimination final win against Darley.
On the field, the Lions were the walking wounded with Jack Landt and Nathan Wood both receiving treatment. They returned to the field, but neither had their normal impact.
Jesse McInneny did a lot of the ruck work early, with late inclusion Trent Stead pinch-hitting.
Adam Short moved from defence to ruck in the third quarter and battled manfully against Daniel Burton.
Burton was named best on ground by the umpires.
“Kova did his finger in the second quarter against Darley, and it was a big effort to keep playing,” Lions’ coach Rick Horwood said.
“It ended up catching up with him. It’s pretty hard when we had him all year – their ruckman got best on ground, so it’s pretty telling.
“I thought we battled hard … I thought we got beaten in the midfield; that’s probably one of the reasons.”
Horwood said while he was hopeful of a second-half comeback, the Lions never recovered after the Cobras kicked three goals in seven minutes to open up the second half.
“I was still hopeful at half-time, but the signs were there.
“They were spreading well, and we just weren’t covering the spread, and the amount of entries going in their inside 50 was just too much pressure for the backs.
“In the end, they were too good on the day, and were better than us all year. We played them three times and they beat us three times.
“You really need everything to go your way on a grand final, but that’s no excuse. They were a better side. We’ll have to learn from it.”
Tim Hill was named the best for the Lions, while Jesse Flannery, Grant Valles, Adam Short and Roger Allen fought hard.
In a good sign for the Lions moving forward, Alik Magin and Kovacevic have recommitted. Magin has been a star for the Lions in his first season, named in the BFL team of the year and finishing runner-up in the Henderson Medal.
“The committee will do the review in a couple of weeks and hopefully the rest will sign on,” Horwood said.
He said he would like to continue coaching next year, and despite the outcome, he is proud of how far the side has come in the past three years.
“They are a really young group and all mates, with an average age of 22. We’ve been building for a few years and it’s a bit of a learning curve.
“We’ve come a long way in three years.”
The Lions’ netballers had a better day, with both the B-grade and C-grade sides winning premierships.
The B-grade team won a third straight premiership, defeating Lake Wendouree 45-35. Tami Hardwick was best on court.
In the C-grade, Sunbury defeated Ballarat 33-30.
Megan Whittard was best on court.
