Southern league Division 4: Carrum Patterson Lakes outlasts Lyndhurst

CPL had a hat-trick of wins to celebrate as it continued its bright start to the Southern league season.

Carrum Patterson Lakes player, a returning junior, Jack Thompson takes a kick in the Third match. Pic: CPL

The Carrum Patterson Lakes song was sung not once, twice, but three times last Saturday.

For the first time the Lions are fielding three senior teams.

And for the first time this season they all won on the same day.

Player numbers at the Division 4 club were strong for the 2020 season that never went ahead and they continued ahead of 2021, prompting CPL to add another side.

The Thirds played at Keysborough at 10am and won by 19 points.

Club attention then switched to Marriott Waters Reserves, where the reserves defeated Lyndhurst by 52 points.

And the Lions prevailed in the senior game, outlasting a strong opponent by 12 points, 9.9 (63) to 8.3 (51).

Both senior teams went into the match 2-0 and are expected to be standard-setters in Division 4, along with Cerberus.

“They took it right up to us until halftime and then our fitness really shone through and so did our structures,’’ coach Rohan Bleeker said.

“It was a ‘grit’ win.

“Lyndhurst have made the last two grand finals so they’re obviously no pushover. To get a win over them is super-important and has done plenty for our confidence moving forward.’’

Mackenzie Vraca, Ash Leyden-Kozikas, Andrew Mccormack, Jon McGennisken, Liam Hickman and Tyler Neal (three goals) were named best.

Lions coach Rohan Bleeker.

Carrum Patterson Lakes has had an influx of players since 2019; in Round 1, 17 took the field in a Lions jumper for the first time, Bleeker said.

Bleeker was one of them. A former Dandenong Stingray and Dromana premiership player, he’s arguably the most decorated player in Division 4.

But he insists he’s more interested in team and club accolades rather than his own performances.

“I’m getting what I want, and that’s the challenge of coaching,’’ he said.

“The playing side of things, I’m in a team and I want to bring my teammates into the game. My aim was to come down and take a team out of Division 4. We want to be a Division 3 team and then a Division 2 team and continue to grow. I’m going to try and stick around for a while and when I do eventually move on, hopefully I’ve left the club in a better place than it was.’’

Bleeker brought a handful of players with him from Dromana, including Dane Leyden, now co-captain with goalkicker Alex Wilson. The coach said a number of former Carrum juniors had returned to the club.

“It’s super-exciting at the moment,’’ he said.

“We’re just happy to be playing footy again. The boys are just rapt. The start, 3-0, is exciting because we know all the hard work we’ve done in the last 18 months. We’re starting to see a little bit of a reward. It’s a good feeling. The biggest thing is, it’s a real collective effort. Everyone is buying in.’’

The Lions are playing all their games away until they can move back into an upgraded Roy Dore Reserve.