SFNL: How Murrumbeena mowed down a 47-point deficit to win

Murrumbeena mowed down a 47-point lead during the third quarter to tighten its grip on top spot. Captain Jordan Pollard explains how the Lions pulled off the miracle win.

Murrumbeena players celebrate their win. Picture: Valeriu Campan

The occasion demanded a hero – and 22 stood tall.

Murrumbeena gave Caulfield Bears a 41-0 jump in the first quarter and was down by a margin as big as 47 points during the third quarter on Saturday.

But the ladder-leading Lions eventually found their groove and stormed home to pinch a 13.11 (89) to 13.9 (87) victory.

Murrumbeena captain Jordan Pollard listed players from every line when asked if there was a specific moment or player who lifted the side.

“I wouldn’t say there was heaps of standouts, we needed a team effort,” Pollard said.

“I don’t think there was one incident either, I felt like we didn’t play that badly to start with, they (Caulfield) were just on.

“We had a few handling errors and to Caulfield’s credit they were really clean and made the most of their opportunities.

“We stuck to our guns, we’d peg a couple back, they’d get one and then we’d get another couple and before we knew it the margin was close enough that we thought ‘we’re a real shot here’.”

Dareo Rogers takes a kick. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Pollard himself gathered 36 disposals, 16 clearances and kicked a goal in the wet.

Harrison Lagastes, Henry Woodward, Aaron Bodin, James Shirley, Ollie Bawden, Ben Bawden, Dareo Rogers, Jordan Cusin and a brigade of other young guns were also terrific.

The Lions have just one blemish this season and have used 41 players, including eight under the age of 21.

It was the reliance on that depth as well as two other factors that led Pollard to believe the Lions were never out of it.

“I think we always had the belief that we could come back,” he said.

“We’d kick a couple and they’d keep pegging us back, so I knew we’d be cutting it fine to get the margin back but we felt we had the belief to get the job done.

“We’re coached really well and it’s something we practice, we very often do match simulation in different environments.

“As a team I feel like we know what we need to do and I feel like we have some really good forwards as well to have the power to score quickly.

“Those two factors are the main things that played into that belief – hopefully we don’t get in that situation we definitely know we can do it again.”

Harrison Lagastes is tipped for a big back half of the year by skipper Pollard. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Murrumbeena would have fallen to second if it had of lost to the Bears but it remains a win clear atop of the ladder.

Pollard hopes the come-from-behind win can ignite the Lions to play the footy he knows they are capable of but haven’t produced this season.

“Hopefully it can springboard our season and we can start hitting our straps because I don’t think we’ve hit and played our best footy yet,” he said.

“Hopefully it sparks that in us, I definitely feel like we’ve got another couple of levels we can go to as a team.”

Parker Fox, Clayton Hodgson, Mathew Mclardy, Brendan Wright, Corey Barter and Jake McLardy were the Bears’ best.

It’s successive bouts of heartbreak for Caulfield, which has lost its past two matches by a combined six points.