Is the Deer Park machine starting to click into full gear?
The four-peat premier has been on a slow burn this season, but Lions coach Marc Bullen saw what closely resembled his side’s best in a 95-point derby annihilation of St Albans at John McLeod Oval on Saturday.
“We played our best footy for the year,” Bullen said.
“Our form has been OK, but we’ve set ourselves for a mini in-season month of tough games and this was the first of one of the challenges. We ticked all the boxes.”
Despite playing only three games in May, this month could be a litmus test for Deer Park.
After a week off for inter-league matches, the Lions will face last year’s runner-up, Hoppers Crossing, in the grand final re-match and then finals contender Werribee Districts.
The Lions have strung together three wins in a row, but went into all those games as unbackable favourites. They can expect greater challenges to come after the break.
“The grand final re-match in a couple of weeks’ time is going to be a big test,” Bullen said. “Our squad is going to get better over time and we’ve got a couple of A-graders coming back, so I’m confident after watching this performance we can really flick the switch.”
Kicking off the month with a win against St Albans was satisfying for Bullen and his team.
“We’ve had a rivalry, certainly in my time,” Bullen said. “Speak with some of the older boys and they tell you about the history between the sides.”
Deer Park burst to a 23-point quarter-time lead over St Albans and was never headed.
The Lions had too much firepower with Kwame McHarg (six goals), James Condos (five) and Scott Greenhough (four) combining for 15 goals.
Ryan Houlihan’s experience in the forward line was important, while youngster Mark Galea capped an impressive game with two goals.
Bullen was full of praise for best-on-ground Jake McKenzie, who starred in the midfield and snapped a patch of poor form.
“He’d be the first to admit that his last couple of weeks haven’t been to the standards that he puts on himself,” Bullen said. “He went into the middle of the ground and set us up with some really good run and carry.”
Elsewhere in division 1, Albion surprised by coming from behind at three-quarter time to beat Altona on the road.
The Cats trailed by 17 points at the last change, but kicked four goals to one in the final term. Toss Finco was outstanding for the Cats with four goals.
Sunshine Kangaroos claimed their biggest scalp of the season, downing Hoppers Crossing by 38 points at Kinder Smith Reserve.
Lachlan Langwell booted four goals for the victorious Roos, who are second on the ladder.
Caroline Springs eventually went down by 41 points, but made it a tough four points for Werribee Districts to earn, while ladder-leader Spotswood was too strong for Wyndhamvale in a 128-point thrashing.
In division 2, Albanvale suffered a 112-point loss to North Footscray.
In division 3, Sunshine Heights was left to ponder what might have been in a 20-point loss to the Wyndham Suns. The Heights turned just 11 of 31 scoring shots into goals.
North Sunshine lost by 59 points to undefeated Parkside.
