Lions tame Tigers in scrappy win
It wasn't a week for the scorers as the Gippsland League completed its first full round, with wet weather playing a role in most of the matches.
Here's what you might have missed around the grounds.
Moe vs Morwell
A scrappy defensive effort has seen Moe take the points over local rivals Morwell.
In what was a low-scoring, highly contested affair both sides struggled to take their chances at times.
In the end, however, the Lions reigned supreme with a 7.14 (56) to 7.5 (47) win.
The win was largely built off the back of Herculean efforts from tough-as-nails midfielders Riley Baldi and Ben Daniher, while twin towers Chris and Ben Prowse were equally as impressive around the ground.
Missing a plethora of names from last season and boasting some more youthful talent, the Lions still looked the more likely of the two sides through what was a war of attrition at times.
Trailing by 22 points at the final break, the Tigers came hard in the final term, dominating territory for most of the quarter as earlier injuries to Lions Ben Maslen and Luke Mulqueen had the home side tiring.
And while they managed three goals for the term, they simply couldn't find a consistent way through the brick wall of Moe coach Declan Keilty.
The Tigers were well-served by the likes of Zachary Anderson, Tom Gray and Tyler Hillier.
When the game was there to be won, however, they just couldn't take their chances.
With the Lions due to get some troops back next week, including star goalkicker Harry Pepper, they'll take these four points and move on.
Morwell's match against Bairnsdale next week now looks all the more interesting – both sides have finals aspirations, and it'll be a good early barometer for both teams.
Leongatha vs Traralgon
If bad kicking is bad football then Leongatha were spared a few blushes on Saturday as a hardly believable first half goalkicking performance couldn't stop the reigning premiers from claiming a tense win over Traralgon.
The Parrots failed to kick a goal in the first two quarters of their premiership defence, the scoreboard reading 0.10 to Traralgon's 3.4 as the teams went into the rooms.
As the rain teemed down, the home fans sitting in their cars at Parrot Park must have felt a sense of relief by the time they finally got to honk their horns when Cameron Olden marked and goaled eight minutes into the third term.
Leongatha had more than matched what the Maroons were throwing at them to that point, but without that scoreboard reward there was an upset brewing.
As it turned out, Olden's major released the pressure, the Parrots piling on four more goals for the term to take a six-point lead into the final term.
Olden then kicked his second to open the fourth, before Maroon Luis D'Angelo matched it.
It was Traralgon's turn to miss out – the Maroons kicked three behinds after that goal to squander what could have been chances to steal the game.
For a side tipped by some to slide, it's been a promising start to the year for Traralgon and a win here would have really stamped their authority.
Instead, the competition's most feared side did what they know how to do better than anyone else – win.
Leongatha's best for the day were Jake van der Pligt, Olden, Sam Forrester and Jack Hume.
Traralgon were best served by Tye Hourigan, Max Jacobsen and Tom Hamilton.
Sale vs Maffra
The famed 'Battle of the Birds' saw Sale run away with a relatively comfortable victory over rivals Maffra on Saturday.
Breaking away from the weekend's trend of low-scoring games, the Magpies made their move with a powerful second quarter statement, kicking eight goals to blow the game wide open and run away 16.15 (111) to 12.7 (79) winners.
Though Maffra put up plenty of fight and even won the third term, the 35-point half time deficit was always going to be tough to overcome.
Bodhi Walker top-scored for the Magpies with four goals, while Thomas Campbell and, unexpectedly, Will Leslie booted three each. Not bad for a bloke who's kicked four goals total across the past two seasons.
The expected names led from the front for Sale, namely big man Jack Leslie and star Shannen Lange.
There was enough to like from the rebuilding Eagles. The first and third terms would have been especially pleasing, but as is the case with many young sides their lapses were severe enough for an experienced side like Sale to take advantage of.
Jett Killoran, James Read and Kade Renooy were their best.