Lions’ roaring victory
LEOPOLD has confirmed itself as a genuine premiership contender after a shock 58point victory over the previously undefeated St Joseph’s.
The stunning upset propels Leopold to the top of the ladder and leaves victorious coach Guy Morphet with the belief his side could go all the way in 2018.
“We’re starting to get an inner belief that we are good enough,” Morphet said.
“I said to the guys before the game, these are the games you want to be involved in.
“One versus two, it’s a challenge, and you want to be a part of it and it should give the group belief that we’re good enough to take on any side in the competition.
“We’ll build off this and take a lot of confidence. We’ll enjoy it but keep a lid on it. But now our focus is on the next nine rounds and I hope we can be a contender.”
Leopold was utterly dominant in front of a large home crowd celebrating the opening of new clubrooms at Memorial Park, trading goals with the reigning premiers in the first term before a stunning sevenminute patch in the second term broke the game open.
Small forward Brandon Howarth (four goals) kicked the first three goals of the quarter inside the six-minute mark, before the returning Sam Boyd (one goal) also got on the scoresheet to turn a two-point quarter-time buffer — which was 3.3 (21) to 3.1 (19) — into a healthy lead in the blink of an eye.
The game was over as a contest from there, with St Joseph’s forced into uncustomary mistakes and Leopold dominating the remaining three quarters to send a message to the rest of the GFL.
“It was a performance where we didn’t have one passenger,” Morphet said.
“I told the guys before the game we wanted guys to follow instructions, play their role and win the contested ball and for four quarters we had 22 blokes who followed that to a tee.
“Internally we’ve known our potential for about a month, but getting a result like that today certainly confirms where we’re at.”
Ruckman Trent West was the dominant player on the ground, giving the Lions’ midfield brigade of Jai and Marcus Thompson, Sam Scott and Matt Miller first use all day, while forward Lucas Boyd (five goals) was unbeatable down forward.
“Today is certainly one where we can look back and say to the group ‘Remember this one’,” Morphet said.
“Wins like that give guys confidence in where we’re heading.”