Lions Tamed but No Spoils

Melbourne took to the road with a growing self belief, their recent performances had seen narrow losses but deserving efforts for those involved. Rugby Lions is always a tough away fixture and with a heavy pitch and a big Lions pack Melbourne were aware of what was ahead of them.

With no second rows available, Melbourne brought Matt Suddaby and Kelvin Browne into the row, the backline saw one change with George Dickinson nursing a knock and Lewis Hamilton promoted to the starting lineup following impressive performances over recent weeks. The bench welcomed Mark Coyne, James Squires and James Burrough back following absence from recent match day squads.

Lions won the toss and chose to utilise the stiff wind and high sun to their advantage taking the clubhouse end of the pitch . Melbourne had the kick-off.

It was the visitors who started strongly, earlier pressure and great carriers set the green & gold up for some fantastic play, with the evasive running of Hancock on show from the start. An impressive defensive line helped to pin back the Lions and put them under pressure when on the ball.

Melbourne dominated the first period of play but a knock on from a lineout saw good territory and possession come to nothing as Lions cleared their lines with the big boot of their stand-off. Winning a penalty the Lions kicked for the corner and a strong run was met by weak tackling resulting in the first score of the day to the home side and an injury to hooker Goddard saw him replaced early on by Burroughs.

Melbourne's pack came under some pressure following this score with the lightweight forwards unable to get good footing and purchase come set piece time. A tactical switch saw Tony Day move to the row with Squires come into tight head prop. This reversed Melbourne's fortunes and they began to gain ascendency at the scrum, but ironically it was from a sweet backrow move that Lions got a second try as there eight picked and ran a hard line wide to feed the wing who cut back and offloaded to the Lions Centre for a neat score. Melbourne had turned the ball over twice in the period leading up to this score but were unable to hold out on this occasion.

Despite the scores Melbourne were never outplayed or out of the game and edged away when opportunity came, Sam Hancock slotting a couple of early penalties. The fullback was on blistering form especially with his counter attacks, at numerous times, as the lions were unable to find touch when clearing their lines.

The second half saw Mark Coyne enter the fray and the loose head made an immediate impact as he helped to disintegrate the Lions scrum. The green and gold were spurred on and they began to turn the screw and pressure the lions who couldn't get out of their half.

A series of driving runs culminated in Tony Day crossing the try line only for the referee to run into the post and miss the score, giving a held up decision after regaining his feet. This disappointment was short lived though as possession and territory told, Oliver Page taking a quick tap and driving through Lions scramble defence to score and Hancock converting.

Soon after, for the third time that day Melbourne crossed the white line with a low and hard carry being once again adjudged to have been held up. From the resulting clearance a few minutes later Andy Martin, playing on the wing following an earlier switch due to injury, gathered a high ball under hard pressure. Quick thinking saw him identify space and break the line, the back rower showing a clean pair of heels to the covering defence and beat the last man to score in the 79th minute of normal time. The score was converted.

It was all Melbourne and the Lions were not roaring but sure enough with 7 minutes of added time and two penalty decisions in quick succession Lions kicked to the corner. Attempting to maul the ball the lions were held up but a second speculative penalty was awarded and Lions kicked again for the corner. Despite dogged defence and the maul being stalled the Lions found a way over the line and over the mass of green and gold bodies, the referee was quick to award the try which was unconverted. Melbourne were desperate unfortunate and had a firm grasp of the game for long periods. Despite the loss, many positives were witnessed and we continue to build.

Final score Lions 22 - 20 Melbourne.

Trys - Andy Martin and Oliver Page
10 points Sam Hancock
MOTM Sam Hancock