Lions pile on the points to sink Sharks

Royals responded strongly from last week’s disappointing loss to North Albany with a convincing 123-point victory against Albany at Centennial Stadium on Saturday.

The Lions made 10 changes to their side, including the addition of debutants Rivah Bocian and Josh Griffiths, and dominated from the outset to win 20.18 (138) to 2.3 (15).

The victory ensures the Lions remain in top spot with four rounds remaining and coach James McRae was hopeful his side had recaptured some form.

“I’m rapt with how we went — we’re back to how we wanted to play on the weekend,” he said.

“We brought some new boys in and they stood up and played really well so it was a pleasing effort.”

The Lions kicked 11 goals to none in the first half and then piled on another five in the third quarter to take a 110-point lead into the last break.

The Sharks were able to show some fight in the last quarter with Shaquille Narrier and Stewart Davies kicking their side’s only two goals for the match.

Bocian finished with four goals in an impressive debut for the Lions while Ryan Flick and Taylor Powell also played a leading hand.

Peter Mark had his best game for the Lions since coming into their side as he played through the ruck and kicked two goals up forward.

McRae said his side could still improve and highlighted the importance of finishing the season strongly.

“We’ve still got our best footy in front of us,” he said.

“It’s a big four weeks coming up for us, we’ve got to continue to improve and make sure we’re in a good position come finals.

Sharks coach Scott Sedgwick said his players lacked focus.

“The playing group lost focus for long periods of the game,” he said.

“There were patches where we were competitive but mentally we weren’t switched on and that hurt us.” Defenders Marcus Mellon and Tait McLean played well for the Sharks while Javid Mastan provided good support.