It was a day of high drama at the Whorouly Recreation Reserve on Saturday, where the senior match between the Lions and Bright came down to a kick after the siren.
After a scintillating opening half from Whorouly, Bright roared back into contention, leading in the final term before the Lions would come home with a wet sail, 13.5 (83) to Bright’s 11.12 (78).
In a clash where many thought Bright would dictate terms from the outset, it was Whorouly who would dominate play.
A seven goal to two first quarter laid the groundwork for a strong performance in the second, with the Lions ahead by 46 points at the major break.
However, as the good teams do, they find a way back into the contest, and Bright is undoubtedly a great team.
The Mountain Men upped their pressure across the ground and hunted the ball, while a spare in defence nullified much of what Whorouly could do inside their forward 50.
Bright kept the Lions scoreless through the third while booting five goals themselves, the margin just two goals at the final change of end.
With their tails up and smelling blood in the water, Bright charged into the final term, and managed to hit the front with 10 minutes to go.
The game rose in intensity, but a goal from Lion Russ Eden wrested back the lead.
With just seconds remaining in the game, Bright’s Cooper Thomason took a mark on the edge of the 50, needing a goal after the siren to win the game, with every Lion rushing to the goal line.
Thomason went back and launched it, but it was touched by the man on the mark, and would fall short of the goal, with Whorouly holding on in an all-time classic.
Lions coach Michael Newton said while his side was still coming up short of a consistent four-quarter effort, he praised their intensity and determination.
“We got off to a good start, we have been starting games well the last few weeks,” he said.
“The boys are starting to get that belief within the group and within themselves as well, to know they can match it with the good sides.
“All over, everyone was competing very hard, and our intensity was probably a fair bit up on where Bright’s was, and it just showed we wanted it a bit more and wanted to make it happen a bit more than what they did in the first half.
"They got their game going in the third quarter and we took a while to arrest momentum.
“It was just a couple of structural things, they changed a couple of things they were doing and we reacted a little bit slow.
“Our boys need to continue to work on a four-quarter effort, you can’t get comfortable in games – in that third quarter there were probably a couple of guys who got a bit comfortable.
"We’ve got to continue to work on that four-quarter effort, because you can’t beat good sides in two quarters and think the game’s done.”
Newton himself was prolific up forward, winning the game within the game against Thomason, kicking seven goals to five.
Defenders Sam Piazza and Cam Wood gave it their all for the full game, and for Bright, Joe Gray, Rod Arguello, and Reuben and Kieran Jamieson were impactful.
“We give Cam the big jobs every week, he’s a competitor, very hard to play on,” Newton said.
“Sam’s growing his game, coming from an interesting start with a few injuries, but he’s starting to build some momentum and find some confidence in his game at the right time.”
The result sees Bright slip to second overall, needing a win over 10th-placed King Valley in their final home and away match to lock in the double chance, while the Lions could finish anywhere from fourth to sixth, depending on how round 20 plays out.
Bright were too strong in the earlier reserves hit-out with the Lions, the Mountain Men saluting 12.8 (80) to 6.5 (41), with Bright stalwart Brad Nightingale named in the best in his 350th club game.
In other senior O&K matches, Greta handled Bonnie Doon 11.14 (80) to 4.12 (36), North Wangaratta picked up a 104-point win over King Valley, the Bats were 99-points too good for Benalla All Blacks, and Moyhu recorded their fifth win of the season with a 10.9 (69) to 4.11 (35) win over Tarrawingee.