Geelong Advertiser |Grovedale coach Craig McCaughan has lamented his team's final quarter fadeout against Leopold today.
The Tigers were 78 points clear at the final change, only to allow Leopold to kick nine goals to two in the last term to put some respectability on the scoreboard.
McCaughan said the last term tarnished an otherwise great performance from the Tigers, who moved to 3-2, now equal with Leopold in a tight GFL ladder.
"We can't afford to have these lapses, we did it against St Albans," McCaughan said.
Leopold was woeful for three quarters, but the pace of Kevin Bourke, Matt Miller and Brandon Howarth opened up Grovedale in the last quarter. The Lions actually kicked 9.8 for the term, but it was too late.
Coach Steve Clarke admitted his team's mindset was terible early.
"That was probably the worst I've seen this playing group in that regard," Clark said tonight.
"I would never ever question their effort, just their mindset because that's what controls the game. They're a fit, hard group with plenty of ticker, but we just let that go early."
It was a tough day at the office for the Lions, with Jessie Lothian taken to hospital after suffering a heavy knock to his ribs, Bourke copping a whack to the hip and Sam Hughes suffering tightness in the hamstring.
"With a two week break, we will freshen a few of our blokes and we look to get a few back after the bye so it's probably come at the right time."
Next week is the interleague bye for local footy.
RELIEF FOR WOJO
Arguably the biggest result of the day came down at Colac, where Newtown & Chilwell got its season back on track with a stunning four-point win over the reigning premier.
What a relief for coach David Wojcinski, who had his team well clear of the Tigers in the last quarter, only for Colac to come flying home in front of its home crowd.
Newtown took the win 14.15 (99) to 14.11 (95) and any pressure mounting on Wojo after their 0-3 start, which included a shock loss to Geelong West-St Peter's, will be easing as his highly talented Eagles are now 2-3 and back in the mix in a super tight competition.
St Joseph's are the only unbeaten team after thrashing St Mary's, while St Albans continue to be the fairytale story of the season after surviving a massive scare at North Shore.
The Seagulls led deep into the last quarter, only for the Nick Daffy-led St Albans to come storming over the top for an eight point win. That leaves St Albans with a 4-1 record in second spot on the table ahead of the interleague break.
Geelong West-St Peter's survived a first half scare to take their season record to 3-3 with a 72 point win over Lara. Brad Cox-Goodyear, the Tasmanian import with a booming left foot, was a star for the Roosters, who were missing a few key players today.
