Stanhope Lions Face Tough Draw in Home and Away SeasonStanhope Lions Face Tough Draw in Home and Away Season Stanhope Lions currently hold sixth place on the ladder, just one win ahead of Tallygaroopna with seven rounds remaining in the home and away season. In the upcoming weeks, the Lions will face top teams Murchison-Toolamba twice, reigning premiers Lancaster, and fifth-placed Nagambie. Coach Lovison acknowledges the challenging schedule, saying, “We probably have the toughest draw of anyone.” Despite the tough competition, Lovison emphasizes the team’s focus on its strengths. Last weekend’s victory against Rushworth showcased the team’s attacking prowess, with ruckman Daniel Flynn, goal kicker Tom Rennie, and Tyson McKenzie contributing multiple goals. Stanhope’s defense was also impressive, with Daniel Maher playing a key role in keeping the tall trio of Flynn, Rennie, and McKenzie in the game. Co-captain Jack Donnell and Jack Young also played strong defensive roles. In other Lions news, the reserves team secured a 136-point victory against Rushworth, thanks to 11 goals from Layne Baker. Baker has scored 26 goals in his five reserve games this season. The under-18 team defeated Longwood by twelve points, with James Hipwell scoring four goals. Merrigum Bulldogs Struggle Against Avenel The Merrigum Bulldogs’ hopes of a comeback were dashed against Avenel on Saturday. Despite Jake Gascoyne scoring five goals, the Bulldogs fell short by 56 points, 16.19 (115) to 9.5 (59). Gascoyne has become the focal point of the Merrigum midfield in the absence of Matt Wild. However, Avenel’s dominance in the first half proved too much to overcome. Merrigum now sits eighth on the ladder with seven rounds remaining. The Bulldogs will face a challenging run-in with matches against teams they are expected to be competitive against.
The Lions sit sixth on the ladder but are just one win ahead of Tallygaroopna with seven rounds of the home and away season remaining.
In those seven weeks they have top team Murchison-Toolamba twice (in rounds 11 and 14), before taking on reigning premiers Lancaster for the second time this season in round 15 and fifth-placed Nagambie for its weekend.
Lovison said this was probably the toughest draw of any team in the top six and he prepared accordingly.
“We probably have the toughest draw of anyone,” he said.
“We will continue on the path we are on. Our goal at the start of the year was to beat a top four team, so we still have a few chances to do just that.
On Saturday, Lovison played its strengths mainly in attack, with the return of ruckman Daniel Flynn, last season’s best goal kicker Tom Rennie and Tyson McKenzie, all multiple goal kickers.
Stanhope burst out of the blocks against Rushworth, scoring six goals to none, giving him a 36-point lead at the first change.
Rushworth responded by kicking the scoring to reduce the margin to 14 points at half-time.
Stanhope’s lead was 15 points at three-quarter time, before seven plays in the final quarter gave him a 61-point win.
Rushworth scored one goal in the final term and Stanhope won 17.16 (118) to 8.9 (57).
Flynn scored five goals, Rennie four and McKenzie three, while Daniel Maher allowed the tall trio to remain the target of attack throughout the four quarters.
Flynn, who had spent three weeks on the sidelines, squeezed into the ruck and McKenzie also spent time on the ball.
Maher was one of his team’s key ball movers, and his second and third tries were praised by his coach.
Lovison teamed up with co-captain Jack Donnell playing halfback and Jack Young was another player with a strong defensive aspect to his game.
Lovison said his team was down in the second quarter when Rushworth was on top in midfield.
Winger Luke Donnell scored two goals, as did Anthony Huismann.
· Stanhope reserves scored 23 goals to win their match by 136 points thanks to 11 goals from Layne Baker.
Baker has now scored 26 goals from his five games in the reserve side, having played the first four games in the senior side.
Baker is at his third KDL club, having played at Rushworth and Girgarre.
Stanhope is fourth on the ladder, but faces top team Murchison-Toolamba twice in the run-up to the finish.
Matthew and Brad Canny supported the striker with five goals between them, and Daniel Brock was another star.
· Stanhope played Longwood in the under-18 competition at Stanhope on Saturday and won by twelve points thanks to four goals from James Hipwell.
Kurtis Seabrook and Zacob Cairns were the other stars for the Lions’ minor team. It now has two wins from eight matches.
Difficult for dogs
Jake Gascoyne’s second set of goals for the season wasn’t enough to impact a Merrigum comeback after the Bulldogs slowly came out of the blocks against Avenel on Saturday.
Gascoyne scored five in the defeat and has now scored 25 goals in nine games.
In Matt Wild’s absence, he has become the focal point of the Merrigum midfield.
Wild scored 18 goals in the first seven rounds but have not played in their past two games.
Damon Zampaglione was the only other multiple goal scorer, with two.
Avenel scored six goals from twelve scoring shots in the opening stages and had scored 20 goals by half-time – with a score of 10.10 and a lead of 44 points.
Merrigum, with Gascoyne leading the way, scored five goals in the second half – to Avenel’s six – and ultimately lost the match by 56 points, 16.19 (115) to 9.5 (59).
Midfielders Brayden Hall, Brad Taylor and Shelby Ludlow-Lambrick were the Bulldogs’ best players, along with captain Zak Parkinson.
Merrigum is eighth on the ladder with seven rounds to go, three games outside the top six.
It has bottom team Undera, seventh-placed Tallygaroopna and sixth-placed Stanhope – all matches in which it expects to be competitive – before taking on third-placed Shepparton East.
To end the season it has a second match against fourth-placed Avenel, and then more winnable matches against Rushworth and Nagambie.
