Sport
19 April, 2023
Lions rue another sluggish start
The Moreton Bay Lions slipped to their second consecutive defeat in the Queensland Football Association (QFA) Div 1 competition, as the Springwood Pumas won by five goals at Lowe Oval last Saturday.
Having begun strongly in their round one victory before starting sluggishly in their round two defeat, the Lions were again very slow out of the blocks last Saturday.
The Pumas came to play right from the very first bounce, and their first-half dominance set up their victory.
The first half was mostly one-way traffic as Springwood controlled the play from the centre square, winning multiple centre clearances to give its forwards every chance to mark cleanly and score goals.
Springwood led 5.2.32 to 1.5.11 at the first break, and then 9.9.63 to 2.7.19 at half-time before Moreton Bay tightened up across the board in the second half and outscored the host team in this period.
A spectacular come-from-behind victory was not out of the question as the Lions trailed 10.11.71 to 7.13.55 with one quarter remaining, but they had simply been too far behind and had little chance of catching up.
The effort from the Lions in the third term may have taken a toll on them, as they kicked just one major in the final term while their opponents landed three.
With his team having lost 13.14.92 to 8.14.62, Moreton Bay coach David ‘Penguin’ Harding saw some positives in the second half but he lamented the poor first-half showing which ultimately ruined their hopes of victory.
Jordan Harding landed two goals for the Lions while Blair Humphreys, Connor Mead, Kerrod Wall, James Packer, Braydan Harding and Daniel Dai kicked one each.
Finn Barnes booted three majors for the Pumas while Greg Friis, Harry Jackson and Marshall Rohan kicked two each. Angus O’Sughrue, Jacob Murphy, Rhys Estall and Quade Burgess landed one goal apiece.
The Lions are looking forward to a huge day at the Burpengary-based Red Rooster Park this Saturday, as it is their first home game since round one.
It remains to be seen if Rhys ‘The General’ Nicholls returns from injury, following a delay.
Moreton Bay will take on local rivals the Hinterland Blues who are winless after three rounds, with the hosts determined to extend Hinterland’s losing sequence.
There is a bit of history between the two clubs, which culminated in 2021 when the Lions beat the Blues in the grand final to take out the QFA Div 2 premiership.
The men’s development team starts its match at noon, before the senior men start at 2pm.
The Lions senior women start their season at 4.45pm as they contest Broadbeach, before the women’s development squad starts its match at 6.30pm.
The Moreton Bay men’s development side enjoyed its first win of the season last Saturday, knocking off Springwood 12.12.84 to 8.6.54 (ironically the same margin as in the senior game which Moreton Bay lost).
The final margin could have been bigger, but the Pumas kicked six goals to three in the final term.
Luke Smith slotted three goals for the victors while Will Merrilees and Ryan Boden kicked two each.
