Sport
30 June, 2026
Lions roar into finals picture with third straight win
The Harcourt Lions added extra ignition to their fiery hot streak by vanquishing Maldon 52-24 to record their third consecutive victory.
After the sharpshooting duo of Jordan Bagley and Jarrenhy Webb provided Harcourt an early lead, Morgan Howorth and Carly Chaplin produced a lockdown defensive performance in the second quarter to give the Lions an insurmountable lead.
Thanks to their round 12 bye, Saturday triumph has the previously 0-8 Lions poised to potentially draw within four points of the top eight.
Maldon returned from their round 10 bye with two key additions, with Theresa Buchanan making her return to Bomber land alongside Claire Hamilton, who’s impressed in her sporadic appearances this season.
While their personnel was unchanged from their gripping victory over Maryborough, the Lions also had some noteworthy team news, starting Howorth, who excelled in Harcourt’s defensive third last season, at goal defence beside Laura Suckling.
Howorth’s position change allowed Ella Rule to start alongside Ursula van Dyk and Zoe Mclean in the midcourt, with the trio controlling the game’s tempo from the opening whistle.
With their midcourters expertly transitioned play into the attacking third, Bagley and Webb amplified Harcourt’s early ascendency with their elite shooting that gave the Lions a healthy eight-goal lead at the opening break.
After starting the game on the bench, Chaplin made her presence felt after taking the goal defence bib at quarter time as she and Howorth, who shifted to goal keeper, caused abundant turnovers.
The Bombers turned to their bench to try and stem the tide, with MCDFNL 17 and under representative Rory Baker subbed into centre and Buchanan moved into goal attack.
However, Harcourt’s relentless defensive pressure and a string of attacking miscues limited Maldon to two goals in the second quarter, allowing the hosts to balloon the margin to 18 goals by half time.
Credit to the visitors, they implemented effective solutions to their glaring first half weaknesses at the main break, resulting in a highly competitive second half.
After being frostbitten by several ice-cold shooting streaks, Buchanan helped thaw Maldon’s offence with the assistance of entry passes from Claire Kelly.
The Bombers also kept Harcourt working hard in possession, but with Mclean and van Dyk delivering gift-wrapped scoring chances to Bagley and Webb, the Lions remained in control.
Following a hard-fought 13-8 third term, the fourth quarter followed in a similar vein, but the final result was never in doubt, as Harcourt clinched a 28-goal win.
Bagley and Webb were the picture of consistency for the Lions, scoring 26 goals in the first and second halves. Bagley top-scored with 30 makes while Webb scored 21.
Howorth ended a superb performance with a goal at the death.
Buchanan completed a noteworthy return for Maldon with a team-high 13 goals alongside co-captain Alannah Furmston, who netted eight and Zammit, who scored three.