Lions roar in Drouin drubbing

by Nicholas Duck
A competitive start wasn't enough to save Drouin on Saturday as they were overrun by Moe to the tune of 105 points.
A high-scoring affair at the Ted Summerton Reserve was always going to favour the explosive ladder leaders and while the Hawks certainly got a few licks in, the gap in quality between the two teams was on full display.
Five of Drouin's 11 majors in the 11.6 (72) to 27.15 (177) defeat came in the first quarter, where they were able to at least challenge Moe's defenders to keep their side of the scoreboard ticking over.
The issue was Moe's side was also moving up – and at a much faster rate.
Big forward Riley D'Arcy was in imperious form for the home side, booting seven goals to take his season tally to 55 majors from 13 games.
The ever-dangerous Harry Pepper proved a perfect partner in crime, kicking six of his own to show off Moe's multi-pronged forward line – especially with league leading goalkicker Myles Poholke being kept to two thanks to a wonderful effort from Hawk Zayne Atkins.
Past quarter time and Drouin's scoring rate certainly slowed, allowing the Lions to get away for another big win.
Drouin ruck Denver Lund was best on for the visitors, taking on Lion Chris Prowse and walking away with his head held high.
Seb Amoroso and Lane Ward did what they could against the Moe midfielders and looked pretty good at stages with Amoroso kicking three first quarter goals.
Jack Walsh battled manfully down back, putting his size to use as Ewan Croucher kept Declan Keilty goalless. Campbell Bedford had his own moments at half back in another solid showing.
For the Lions while D'Arcy and Pepper were the dangers up forward, the midfield was controlled by stellar performances from the likes of Nathan Scagliarini, Blake Mullane and Alex Dijkstra.
The trio were unstoppable at times, always ensuring their teammates inside 50 were given a healthy supply.
Luke Cheffers rounded out Moe's top performers on a dominant day.
Drouin managed to get on the board early when a turnover on the wing ended with Amoroso running in the first of the day.
D'Arcy returned serve via a snap and doubled up not long after, the Lions taking control of the game and putting the margin beyond 30 points.
The Hawks had their own patch of form at that stage, kicking three straight when Ward bounced one through and Amoroso snapped the next two.
Despite that, the Lions would reestablish themselves late in the term through – you guessed it – D'Arcy and Pepper.
A downfield free handed Wierzbicki (three goals for the day) Drouin the first of the second term but that was about where the good times ended, the Lions controlling the rest of the day en route to a triple digit win.
You can't say the Hawks aren't afraid to attack – they've managed 13 and 11 goals the two times they've met the Lions – as Jordan Kingi encourages his young charges to play a watchable brand of footy.
Kingi described the result as "disappointing in the end with how we played in patches."
"The scoreboard didn't reflect how close we were in the game I think. We kicked the first goal of every quarter, our first 7-10 minutes of every quarter was good but the next 20 minutes weren't," he said.
"We challenged them in parts, just not long enough."
Until the Hawks' inexperienced squad keeps playing together and develops, they'll have plenty of lessons to learn from these kinds of losses.
Going from playing Sale one week to Moe the next is just about the biggest whiplash you can get in the Gippsland League.
Drouin return home this Saturday to face Bairnsdale in what looms as a winnable game if they can get everything right.