South Morang snaps three-game losing streak with win over Heidelberg West

South Morang coach Gary Hall said the Lions were missing almost an entire team on Saturday but still managed to record a critical win.

Mitch Kalpakis in action for South Morang. Picture: Andy Brownbill

South Morang returned to the winners’ circle on Saturday, snapping a three-game losing streak.

In an evenly-fought contest, the Lions claimed a 19-point win over Heidelberg West at Heidelberg Park and jumped back up to third on the NFL Division 3 ladder.

Scores were level at half-time – at 34 apiece – before the visitors pulled ahead late to claim a 14.11 (95) to 11.10 (76) victory.

After winning the first four matches of the season, injury and illness hit the premiership favourite hard and losses to flag rivals Laurimar, Old Eltham Collegians and Kilmore.

South Morang coach Gary Hall said the club was still missing as many as 20 players on Saturday and was proud of his players ability to compete.

Noah Dalmau gets a handball away for South Morang. Picture: Stuart Milligan

“(The win) gives the boys a bit of confidence, the last few weeks have been tough,” he said.

“When you’ve got 20-plus injured or ill out of your playing group, it just snowballs.

“On Thursday night when we were reading the team out we had almost a full team missing and we were lucky to even field a reserves team – that’s how bad the injury list has been.

“It’s a credit to the playing group that they’ve still been competitive.”

South Morang is missing the likes of Liam Failla, Nathan Stefanile, Ty and Kain Hall, Jake Potter, Mitch Dickson, Josh Lancefield and James Hewson from its best 22.

A suspected knee injury to Luke Cullen will likely add to a long list.

The Lions debuted three players on Saturday; Daniel Lansfield (brother of Josh), Madison Bell (brother of Nathan) and Nick Poursanidis.

Big man Aaron Lazaric was best on ground while the Kalpakis brothers – Mitch and Deacon – were rocks in defence and Ben Peterson booted four goals.

Alex Colaidis in action for South Morang. Picture: Andy Brownbill

“That’s been the good thing about it, a few of the boys from the under-19s have come up and got a bit of senior experience,” Hall said.

“They’ve played their roles really well and it just adds more depth for the future.

“Aaron was really good, he’s had some good games against Heidelberg West, he stood up and led by example, which was great.

“We’ve had Mitch playing forward for a lot of the year due to Jake Potter’s injury but last week against the Turtles we sent him back and he just controls the backline and calms everyone, he’s like a wall.

“He must have taken nearly 15 marks and then his younger brother Deacon, they call them the twin towers down there.”

South Morang face Reservoir on Saturday before the Queen’s Birthday break.

Hall was confident the cavalry would arrive for a second half charge at a premiership.

“We always knew we were going to be better in the second half of the year with the injury list,” he said.

“After the Queen’s Birthday we’ve got Kilmore away and we should have Potter, Stefanile, Hewson, Hall, Failla and Dickson all available.

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“Hopefully things start coming together and we’re looking forward to the second half of the season.”

Daniel Walters was Heidelberg West’s best in defeat, while Billy Wright, Alex Williamson and Lachlan Reinke also impressed.

The Hawks tackle Lalor on Saturday as they look to keep their finals hopes alive.

In other NFL Division 3 results, Reservoir (68) defeated Lalor (62) to earn a second win in a season for the first time since 2015, Laurimar (103) was too strong for Kilmore (64) and Old Eltham Collegians (54) survived a scare from Mernda (47).