While the Lions were confident of securing a victory over the undermanned Giants heading into the match, the resultant 241-point margin was certainly unexpected.
“We knew they were going to be a bit undermanned given the numbers they decided to rest at senior level,” Reserves Coach Nathan Clarke said.
“You’re never too sure what will transpire, but to have a win of that magnitude is a real credit to our boys. You can’t win in that fashion unless you’re really up and about.”
“It’s probably easy to look at some of the big statistical numbers accumulated on the day, but there were also a lot of unsung heroes. It was a real team performance.”
Upon reflection, Clarke said his team were able to draw plenty of positives from the record-breaking win.
“Surprisingly, there was plenty to get out of it when we looked at the review,” he said.
“In those sorts of games there is a tendency for selfishness to creep in, but the boys stuck to their task and performed their role.”
“We have also placed a real emphasis lately on how our younger players use their voice. And we saw that in effect on Sunday.”
“Another focus - for both the seniors and reserves - was to clamp down in defence and be very hard to score against. And some of our defensive actions were just outstanding.”
“The only thing that we really identified that we needed to work on was our centre clearance rate. At three quarter time we had one less centre clearance than the Giants, which was understandable because they had a number of their best players in the middle. But it was disappointing in some respects given Huddo’s dominance in the ruck. So we spoke about it as a team at the last break, and went on to win the centre clearances in the final quarter 15-0, which was terrific.”
Clarke listed Ben Hudson as the dominant player of the game, but mentioned a couple of other so-called ‘unsung heroes’ among the team’s best.
“Huddo was rucking against a young and raw talent who probably hasn’t played a hell of a lot of footy, but he was an absolute brute and showed why he’s been able to play so much senior footy,” Clarke said.
“Cal Bartlett also got back to his feisty little self. We set him a task to play on a couple of their really good midfielders including James McDonald.”
“He got back on track with the defensive side of his game and, along with Richie Newell, was one of the unsung heroes. They epitomised the way that we wanted to stick to our roles for the entire match, and allowed us to kick such a big score.”
With the exception of rookies Stephen Wrigley and Sam Michael, the Lions Reserves will be afforded a much-needed rest with the State carnival scheduled in Queensland this week.
Wrigley will line-up for the Queensland/NT side set to face the best from the Eastern Conference, while Michael has been selected in Queensland’s U21 State team.
“It’s a terrific honour for both boys,” Clarke said.
“Wriggles has been pretty desperate to throw the State jumper on and emulate Dayne Zorko’s heroics from last year.”
“As for the rest of the guys, the week off has come at a good time. You can’t underestimate the value of having a mental break.”
“We’re hoping they can come out of it quite fresh, but also know that they’re professionals and are still expected to do what’s required to maintain their fitness and conditioning.”
FINAL SCORE
Lions Reserves 41.28 (274) def UWS Giants 5.3 (33)
LIONS GOALS
Retzlaff 7, Cornelius 7, Sheldon 5, Lisle 4, Harvey 3, Buchanan 2, Newell 2, Starcevich 2, Hudson 2, Dyson 2, Bartlett , Wrigley, Beams , Crisp, Docherty
LIONS BEST
Hudson, Wrigley, Newell, Buchanan, Bartlett
