By DAVID NAGEL
INJURIES and losses – they’re growing at a proportionate rate at Pakenham after the Lions went down to Narre Warren by 72-points at Toomuc Reserve.
The Lions were the South East Football Netball League trend-setters up to round five, but have slipped to fifth on the ladder after losing five of their last six.
They need to dig deep to get over the top of SEFNL cellar-dwellers Hampton Park this week, before a round-14 clash with sixth-placed Doveton will decide their finals fate.
“What can we do, we just have to put our heads down and keep working,” Pakenham coach Steve O’Bryan said after the match.
“There’s still a prize there on offer and we’ve shown our best footy is good enough to compete with the best.”
That’s true, but that was before the Lions were hit heavily with the injury stick.
Looking down through the list, key players like Jason Fisher, Damian Holmes, Dom Paynter, and Anthony Young – they’ve all been missing for lengthy chunks of the season and the Lions just don’t have the depth to cover.
Paynter’s return on Saturday, from a serious knee injury, which was expected to really boost the Lions’ drive for a finals berth, rubbed further salt into the wound when he limped off with a hamstring injury in the second quarter.
Narre was just too good, Kain Baskaya marking his return to football with five goals, while George Angelopoulos and Ben Wragg kicked three. Stephen Morey held Kerem Baskaya to just one goal to be the Lions’ best player.
Beaconsfield was wildly inaccurate in its 38-point victory over ROC at Holm Park Reserve.
The Eagles dominated possession, with 25 shots at goal to seven, but kicked 2.6 and 3.7 in the second and third quarters to keep the Kangas in the hunt.
Beau Dowler and Scott Meyer bagged a couple each for the winners, who had Jesse Linkins and Damien Johnston in fine form through the middle of the ground. Dylan Chapman, who is going on holidays, played his last game for the season for the Kangas and finished off in style.
A stunning five-goal burst has propelled Berwick to a 34-point victory over Tooradin at Westernport Oval.
The Wickers, who trailed by a point at half time, looked a different side after the break, kicking 5.2 to 0.3 to open up the contest. Tim Gunn was fantastic up forward, kicking six, while Michael Riseley was dominant in the third quarter across half back.
The Seagulls farewelled a champion of the game, Matthew Wade, who headed to Swan Hill on Monday to pursue his policing career.
