Leopold is through to next week’s semi final in the GFNL, after its 22-point win over Newtown and Chilwell in the elimination final at West Oval on Sunday.
Leopold coach Garry Hocking said the game could have gone either way and it was a tight contest, with the final score favouring the Lions 15.9 (99) to 10.17 (77).
“It’s always a bit dangerous when you finish the end of the season against a quality opponent like Newtown and then you’ve got them first up in an elimination final,” Hocking said.
“So, we knew a fair bit about them, they knew a fair bit about us from that Round 18 clash, we’ve had tight contests and there’s a bit of rivalry been forming over the past couple of years,” he said.
“They kicked 2.5 in the first quarter, we kicked four straight, so we were in the game, although they probably could have been just a little ahead if they had’ve been a bit more efficient going forward.
“We had a good second quarter and probably controlled the game for a little bit, and then they kicked 1.8 in the last quarter, so they probably shot themselves in the foot a little bit again with inefficiency in their forward 50, so it was nice to come away with a win and we progress.”
Hocking said there was no single stand-out player for the Lions, but their senior players stood up when it counted.
“I firmly believe at this time of the year you don’t need superstars or two or three best players, you need everybody just playing their role, chipping in and contributing,” he said.
“Olly Tate, Mitch Patten, Marcus Thompson, Logan Wagener, Sam Scott, Tevan Nofi, Harris Jennings, guys like that, all played fairly well, but I think it was a fairly even contribution right across the board.”
Leopold now face Colac in the semi final on Sunday, after the Tigers were beaten by the Swans 8.18 (66) to 16.12 (108), with Hocking saying it will be a tough challenge.
“(Sth Barwon) have beaten us twice during the year, but we’ll go back to the game last year, the second final that we played (when the Lions beat the Swans by 70 points), have a little bit of a look at that as things haven’t changed too much,” he said.
“But they finished second (this year) and they’re a really strong side, they’ve got good players everywhere, so it will be another exciting challenge for us.”
The second semi between Leopold and Colac kicks off at West Oval at 2.10pm on Sunday.
