Sport
30 June, 2026
Lions deliver at the den, dominate Maldon by 104 points
A dominant opening term set the tone for the Harcourt Lions to topple the Maldon Bombers with an outstanding 104-point victory.
Billy Quirk, Geoffrey Jolly and Jordan Gartside made an immediate impact after missing Harcourt’s victory over Maryborough.
Quirk and Gartside were key to keeping the visiting Bombers goalless in the second half while ruckman Jolly ensured Braydon Vaz, Mitchell McKnight and Jack Threlfall got plenty of use of the football throughout the dominant display.
The Bombers’ trip to Harcourt Recreation Reserve was fuelled with added excitement as under 18 standout Aihen Turner made his seniors debut.
That optimism was quickly extinguished by the rampaging Lions, who burst out of their cage with seven unanswered goals to surge ahead in the blink of an eye.
When it was all said and done, Harcourt possessed a commanding 44-point lead at quarter time.
After a subpar opening term, Maldon found an offensive pulse in the second quarter, with Noah Thompson, Harrison Tulloch and Damian Wust all splitting the big sticks.
That offensive flourish didn’t stop the Lions from extending their lead to 65 points at half time after adding six majors in the second term.
While the final result was virtually decided, the Bombers strived for interval improvements throughout the second half.
Led by Callum Buchanan, Coby Bennett and Matthew Gray, Maldon did extremely well to stem the bleeding and limit Harcourt’s supremely talented forward line to six goals in the second and third quarters.
However, the Lions quashed Maldon’s attacking promise they showcased late in the first half, conceding just two behinds after half time to complete back-to-back triple-digit wins over the Bombers.
Harcourt had 10 individual goalkickers on Saturday, with key forward Jed Rodda leading with five goals while Cameron Anderson, Benjamin Leech, Mitchell McKnight, Threlfall and Vaz all added two goals each.
Quirk was named Harcourt’s best player while Joshua Hogg, Rodda, Vaz, Taylar McKnight and Kaleb McBride were also recognised for their individual brilliance.
Buchanan, Bennett, Thompson, Wust, Tadgh Cananzi and Gray were all standout performers in another tough defeat for Maldon, their eighth in a row.