Lions kings after 59 years

by Nicholas Duck

It's over. Get a hearse for the curse, it's out with the drought. For the first time since 1967 the Moe Lions are Gippsland League premiers.

Moe prevailed in an absolute classic grand final against Leongatha on Saturday that, as many fans expected, went right down to the wire.

A packed out Traralgon Recreation Reserve bore witness as the Lions went from down and out to club immortals by booting the final three goals of the day and claiming the cup 14.7 (91) to 11.17 (83).
Momentum swung wildly as the teams traded blows, until eventually going into three quarter time dead even.
For their part Moe seemed up against the wall for much of the final term with the Parrots pushing for yet another premiership party. But when the game demanded someone take their chances it was the Lions who stepped up to the plate, duly punishing their opponents for a myriad of misses via late goals to Harry Sim, Riley D'Arcy and Harry Pepper.
It's been a long time coming for the club, both in terms of the decades waiting and the season in general.
Having made headlines in the off-season for the crazy amount of quality names they brought in, it was clear the Lions were in a win now period and anything less would be an abject failure. And though they threatened to drop the ball a few times on the big day their recruiting spree has paid off handsomely.
The biggest of those names, ex-Melbourne and Western Bulldogs mid James Harmes, was awarded the Stan Aitken Medal for best on ground as judged by the Gippsland Live team after racking up plenty of possessions.
Defenders Scott van Dyk and Aaron Paxton were immense in saving several goals while big man Riley D'Arcy stood tall in the ruck when Chris Prowse went down injured.
Midfield maestro Nathan Scagliarini and former coach Declan Keilty also were at the forefront when Moe history beckoned.
Doing everything he could in the losing cause was Leongatha hometown hero Dyson Heppell, who won the AFL Victoria Medal from the umpires.
Fellow veterans Tom Marriott and Cade Maskell gave their all in another grand final along with Jack Sheridan, Tim Sauvarin and Aaron Heppell.
Things were made harder for the Parrots when Luke Bowman was a late out thanks to a hamstring concern and the fact they were kicking against the breeze in the opening quarter. Having conceded the first of the day, Fraser Phillips put paid to those concerns, kicking three consecutive goals to open the Parrots' account, just like he had the week before against Warragul.
The Lions steadied thanks to Alex Dijkstra and a rare foray forward by van Dyk before quarter time.
Between a host of quality majors to open the second term Chris Prowse limped to the bench, leaving the Lions short in the ruck.
Maskell showed he's been ageing like a fine wine, receiving a handball and slotting it from the 50 on his lovely left foot, but Moe established an advantage at half time as Myles Poholke booted two for the term.
They pressed on in the infamous premiership quarter, first through a free kick to Blake Mullane and then great body work by Pepper, racing out to a 21-point lead to leave Leongatha teetering.
Success and grit are part of the Parrot DNA, however, and the move to put both Heppells at the coalface worked to their favour.
Nick Argento and Tallin Brill both capitalised on their work, before the brothers did the dirty work themselves – Aaron releasing the ball to Dyson, who put through their third straight and send the teams into the final break dead even.
Thousands watched on as players looked spent from both sides but refused to give in, throwing themselves into every contest with reckless abandon.
Leongatha looked in control around the ground but couldn't translate that to scoreboard ascendancy, wasting enough chances to leave the door ajar.
It wasn't until Kim Drew drilled a brilliant set shot from the paint of 50 that they could start thinking about the cup – but Moe's stars knew their moment had come.
Harry Sim stepped through traffic to snap a beauty not long before D'Arcy came out on a strong lead, giving them the lead back as the clock ticked over 20.
Thomas Blackshaw helped them maintain that advantage via some defensive heroics, diving sideways to save what would have been a surefire Parrots goal.
With mere minutes remaining the Lions drove it long, the ball spilling out the back of the contest into Pepper's waiting arms, the Moe danger man throwing it on the boot and bouncing it through to send the thousands-strong army of supporters into hysterics.
The siren sounded not long after, bringing said fans onto the ground and mobbing their premiership heroes who had brought their 59-year heartache to an end.