Lions reignite finals hopes
THE plan was perfect and so was the execution.
The Lions went to Melbourne looking for revenge for their grand final loss to the Bulldogs and redemption for a poor fortnight. They returned home with their finals hopes reignited after a stunning 32 point victory.
The win puts the Lions back on top of B conference.
While everything clicked for the Lions in the 7.7 (49) to 2.5 (17) win, it all started with their pressure. They hunted the Bulldogs with an intensity missing weeks.
Coach Craig Starcevich drilled his girls all week that if they could put the blowtorch on the defending premiers, the offence would flow from there and the fact they laid 20 more forward-half tackles than their opposition showed they listened.
“I’m really pleased, the things we spoke about in terms of how we nullify the opposition and then how we beat them once we get hold of the footy ourselves, most of what we discussed during the week came to fruition,’’ he said. the previous two
Starcevich admitted the side carried a grudge to Whitten Oval.
“They were very determined to rectify the past couple of weeks ... so we were itching to right the wrongs.’’
Starcevich praised teenagers McKenzie Dowrick and debutant Jessy Keeffe’s performances in what was a strong team effort.
The defence, missing captain Leah Kaslar (calf injury) kept Queenslander and star Bulldog Katie Brennan goalless and denied the hosts a goal until the seventh minute of the third term.