EFL 2018: Doncaster East comes from 41 points down to claim Division 2 win over Park Orchards

DONCASTER East retrieved a 41-point deficit on Saturday to deal Park Orchards’ Division 2 finals hopes a fresh blow as the Lions prepare themselves for another premiership tilt.

DONCASTER East retrieved a 41-point deficit on Saturday to deal Park Orchards’ Division 2 finals hopes a fresh blow as the Lions prepare themselves for another premiership tilt.

Coming off a bye, Doncaster East started as if it was still having a rest as the Sharks jumped out the visitors with the first seven goals of the game at Domeney Reserve.

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But by halftime, in a stunning turnaround, the Lions had established themselves in the contest with a six-point lead at the main break on their way to a 18.21 (129) to 13.6 (84) victory.

After its initial onslaught, Park Orchards could manage just five more goals to leave it game outside the top four with three rounds remaining.

“It looked pretty worrying there for a second but we didn’t really panic at all, we came in at quarter-time and everyone understood where we were at but we were just flat as after the bye,” Doncaster East captain Nick Batsanis said.

There were high fives all around as Doncaster East rallied from seven goals behind on Saturday. Picture: James Ross.

“By the time we got our hands on the footy we were down by 40-odd points and (in the) second quarter we put some bigger bodies in the midfield and I think Park Orchards, sort of intimidated them a bit with their younger boys around the footy.

“Once we got the game on our terms and started playing our brand they couldn’t keep up.”

Ruckman Jarrod Smith was the most influential player on the ground with a best-on-ground showing, Jake Summers delivered his second consecutive bag of five goals, while Simon White, James Appleby and Michael Steven were also strong contributors.

Doncaster East’s Jake Summers kicked five goals on Saturday.

After Lilydale’s slip up against Mooroolbark, Doncaster East sits atop the ladder with Tom Gordon (leg) and James Papaconstantinou (overseas) set to return before finals.

Batsanis said Doncaster East was “not too far away from peaking”, deflecting that there was an expectation the Lions would salute this year after two grand final losses since 2015.

“I don’t think there’s much pressure, I just feel we’re at a stage now where it is almost ours to lose,” he said.

“With the way we play our footy, we know our best footy beats anyone, it’s just about what we do when we’re not playing our best footy and as we saw on Saturday, teams can pile on goals pretty quick.

“We’re all confident enough that we can get the job done against anyone on any day.”

In Division 1, Doncaster enjoyed a 47-point win over North Ringwood.

In Division 3, Templestowe defeated Donvale by 61 points and Warrandyte suffered a 66-point loss against Boronia.