Newtown & Chilwell left to rue wasted opportunities up forward as Leopold won the elimination final by 22 points

Leopold has now won 12 of its past 14 matches after downing Newtown & Chilwell as the wayward Eagles kicked 1.8 in the final term.

A third quarter mini barrage was enough to put sufficient distance between Leopold and a wayward Newtown & Chilwell in an elimination final as the Lions got home by 22 points.

Leopold, through their premier midfielders Logan Wagener and Marcus Thompson, and mercurial forward Mitch Patten (four goals), put the Towners on their heels with an early assault after half time at West Oval Reserve.

The Eagles would respond with four consecutive majors of their own but they couldn’t sustain the rare forward connection, losing the match 15.9 (99) to 10.17 (77) despite having three more shots on goal.

A Lachlan Bond miss from 20m out, dead in front, late in the final quarter perfectly summed up their day as Newtown produced a wayward 1.8 in the final term as the Lions applied finals heat.

Leopold defender Tevan Nofi flew high for Leopold. Picture: David Smith.

Garry Hocking’s men will now look to score its first win of the season against Colac in a semi-final next weekend, having won 12 of their past 14 outings in the GFL.

Earlier, a week after they got the better of the Towners in round 18 by 32 points, the Lions continued their strong form, kicking 4.0 in the opening term.

Newtown might have drew first blood through a great running goal to Braden Hocking, but they would have rued wasting their aerial dominance with Liam Nash, Matthew Boag and Cameron Wilkinson clutching big marks in their forward half.

The Eagles also got some great run and delivery off half back from Matty Lloyd, but didn’t enjoy the quarter time lead they perhaps should have held.

Logan Wagener was influential in the midfield while kicking a third term goal for the Lions. Picture: David Smith.

For the Lions, Oliver Tate was industrious with two goals but the quarter highlight came from a brilliant solo effort from Patten — pushing aside two would-be tacklers to get boot to ball in the pocket.

Lloyd’s fine afternoon continued with a goal on the run, despite being crunched at the point of connection, to give Newtown the perfect start to the second quarter.

However, Leopold’s hard defensive press caused the Towners to turn the leather over on occasion, with William Sheahan’s snap squaring the ledger.

Matty Lloyd gave Newtown & Chilwell plenty of drive from half back.

Luke Justin was also rewarded for a holding the ball decision inside 50, slotting it from outside the arc, while Patten bobbed up with a rainmaker just before the main break.

His influence continued in the third with a stunning set shot from the pocket — his run up starting from the adjacent running track, to put the Lions 22 points clear.

With further majors to Thompson, Wagener and a Patten dribbler from the pocket, the Lions looked home.

Oliver Tate was one of Leopold’s best against the Eagles. Picture: David Smith.

Then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the match script was flipped as the Eagles strung together consecutive six-pointers to slash the margin to just 16, as Lloyd produced another moment of brilliance.

But it was the last of Newtown’s forward line potency, as Kye Reynoldson iced the match with a terrific goal on the run by the grandstand.

Post-match, Tate said the Lions were building some nice momentum, but bigger fish awaited in September.

“This year we’ve struggled against Colac and St Mary’s,” Tate said.

“They've been the benchmark the last couple of years. It’s the best time to get them, in finals.”

He said the Lions applied plenty of defensive pressure and “chaos and havoc” on the Eagles when they got the ball inside 50, with Harris Jennings a leading light down back.

“They didn’t miss many sitters,” he said

“They didn’t have a lot of free ball ... to be able to create decent opportunities.

“We expected them to come back at us (in the third quarter).

“There were a couple of moments we would like back, but we’ll go to work and tidy that up during the week.”

Originally published as Newtown & Chilwell left to rue wasted opportunities up forward as Leopold won the elimination final by 22 points