The Standard | OLD Collegians coach Daryl Beechey believes third spot is still within reach for his side as the countdown to Warrnambool and District league finals begins.
The Warriors moved two games clear inside the top five thanks to a comfortable victory against South Rovers at Walter Oval on Saturday.
Matt Petherick kicked five goals while Chris Chambers (four) and James Ryan (three) also hit the scoreboard in the 18.8 (116) to 8.11 (59) win.
They had a sublime 17.3 on the board when Josh Stapleton goaled on the run early in the last term. But late inaccuracy prevented an even bigger margin.
Beechey was adamant a double chance in finals was still a possibility for Old Collegians, seeking to improve on their 2014 semi-final appearance.
The Warriors are a game and 66 percentage points behind third-ranked Allansford. They effectively need two more wins than the Cats in the run home.
“It was one we had to win to keep in contention with the top three, otherwise they’d get a bit out of reach,” Beechey said.
“Hopefully if we can get over the likes of Dennington next week, you’d say top five is pretty safe and you look to a top three spot.”
The forward-looking Beechey post-match was in stark contrast to his demeanour after South Rovers rushed to a 3.2-0.1 lead after 13 minutes.
Mark Murphy kicked the opening two majors, the first from a 50-metre penalty, before Julian Claridge broke from the congestion to convert from long range.
But the tide soon turned. The Warriors fired back with five of their own — including three to the damaging Nathan Forth — to lead by 12 at the first break.
The sides exchanged goals for the first 20 minutes of the second term and for a while the match of the day was living up to its billing.
Three times South Rovers closed within five points. Three times Old Collegians replied to give themselves breathing space.
The third response — a Chris Chambers snap from the goal square — helped break the match open.
A superb Petherick banana on 23 minutes and a set shot from Ryan soon after blew the margin out to 20 points at half-time.
That was as close as the Lions got for the rest of the match. A 6.1-1.2 third term exposed the gap between them and their finals-bound rivals.
At times, the Warriors moved the ball from defence to attack without so much as an opponent touching it. Football seemed so easy.
Best-afield Petherick added two more majors, Colby Rix, Josh Dwyer Eli Barker were on top in the middle and Paul Campbell served as a general down back.
They were just a few contributors. Beechey was also rapt with Daniel Weel and his booming left foot, Jacob Lacy and Justin Lynch, among others.
“We strung passages together and if we can do that consistently throughout a whole game, we’ll go all right as the season progresses and we head towards finals,” Beechey said.
“But there are still little lapses we need to tidy up and skill errors that let us down at times.”
The Lions were hardly disgraced, just well beaten.
Their inferior percentage compared with the sides around them means finals remain a distant ambition.
Captain Julian Claridge led the way off half-back and Bernie Cooper toiled well in the middle but game-changers were hard to come by.
Murphy had an entertaining battle with Beechey and kicked four goals, although honours were even at the siren. Reece Cracknell worked hard for his three goals.
“Our first 10 or 15 minutes of both the first and second quarters were quite good, but we just panicked,” Lions coach Nathan Isles said.
“Once momentum swung their way we struggled to pull it back.
“I think that’s just a bit of on-field leadership and experience. The leaders tried, but it’s hard when the experience isn’t there to help it along.”
