By Brad Kingsbury
PAKENHAM was like the ‘rabbit in the headlight’ against a switched on and ruthless Doveton on Saturday – stunned, terrified and then killed off quickly and efficiently.
The match of the year at the Toomuc Reserve turned into the fizzer of the year with the Doves exposing weaknesses in almost every area of the Lions’ game to ease down and win by 39 points, after leading by a massive 87 points at three-quarter time.
It was Pakenham’s first home-and-away loss since 2007 and its first loss on its home deck since 2006.
A last-quarter surge that produced eight unanswered goals saved some face for Pakenham supporters and flattered the final scoreline, however coach Michael Holland made no excuses for the pathetic effort after the game.
“We failed to listen to instructions and we get away with it against mediocre sides, but (on Saturday) we got shown up in all aspects of the game by quality opposition,” he said.
“I got beaten in the coaches box, I won’t shy away from that. Their match-ups worked and ours didn’t, so that’s something else I will have to look at.
“It’s not the end of the world, but we’ve got to learn from this as individuals and as a group.”
It was the Lions lack of attack on the ball and physical presence that annoyed Holland most and it was evident from the opening bounce onwards.
Pakenham was dominated at the stoppages with Doveton ruckman Russell Gabriel proving too mobile for Jeremy Everett and Daniel Charles, Michael Henry and Aaron Henwood consistently pushing their opponents aside to feed the ball out to running set-up experts like Ryan Hendy and Shannon Henwood.
After the Doves booted a goal in the opening minute of play, there was a 15-minute settling-in period before the floodgates opened and the Doves piled five more majors to keep the Lions goalless and trailing by 30 points at the first change.
It was a shell-shocked group of Pakenham players that gathered at the first huddle and Holland admitted afterwards that they were intimidated in all areas.
“It was always going to be a challenge mentally and physically and we didn’t stand up to it from the start. There was no pride in wearing the jumper and that was the most disappointing thing,” he said.
Holland’s words were of little consequence to his charges and, if anything, the Doves upped their work rate another notch in the second term.
Doveton outran the usually swift home side and the Lions were further exposed when interleague defender Beau Wheeler left the field with a leg spasm and did not return.
The Pakenham attack was impotent with Daniel Fry, Glen Wouters, Jake Matthews and Clint Walker lumbering behind their Doveton opponents and allowing the ball to be cleared by the slick Doveton defence led by Ricky Hayes, Peter Greenstreet and emerging young big man Daniel Zajac.
At the other end Nathan Brown had a great battle with Danny Casset, while Lion defenders Tom O’Loughlin and Josh Winter battled hard to repel persistent waves of attack from the rampant Doves.
With a margin of 46 points at half-time, the game was well within the Doves’ keeping, but there was no hint of protecting the advantage and the crowd was treated to a show of all-out attack in the third term.
This was highlighted by a trademark Casset ‘speccy’ and goal together with a quarter of complete dominance from Gabriel as a big-marking, mobile, modern day ruckman.
A triple-figure belting loomed as a genuine possibility with the difference at three-quarter almost 15 goals.
However the Lions made a late bid for some respectability with an eight-goal-to-none final term, thanks largely to the efforts of Matt Wouters in attack, John Atwell and Luke Walker who finally broke free late in the game.
Holland was bitterly disappointed, but maintained his habit of allowing supporters into the rooms to hear his post-match address that was measured, but also direct.
“It was a big game and the pressure went against us. They backed themselves and we didn’t,” he said.
“We’ve all been front runners. Doveton walked in and said: ‘Gee these blokes are soft as butter …’ and they were right.
“I thought we had been struggling for the best part of a month. In attitude, blokes were thinking they’re better than they are. They read their own press and believe it, but they got a reality check and it puts us into perspective.”
Holland said being second to the ball was like a disease sweeping through his side, but gave the Doves credit for their commitment.
“Our ball use and decision making was terrible and there was a lot of self-induced pressure. Our talk is not at the level that is required and I think that’s a really bad trait,” he said.
“I have to give Doveton credit. They played very well. They moved the ball well, stuck to team plans and instructions and at times they made us look second rate.”
While the Lions missed injured star Dan O’Loughlin badly, the Doves also were without assistant coach Clint Wilson and defender Daryl Thomas, making the win even sweeter.
Wilson lamented the last quarter lapse, but was a satisfied leader after the game.
“We played to instructions for most of the day, but I would have liked to finish it off a bit stronger,” he said.
“The biggest thing was our pressure. If you apply pressure like that it doesn’t matter who you’re playing against, you’re going to play good footy yourself.
“I think we got the match-ups right too, (but) it’s a long year and we did give a few blokes a breather in the last quarter when the game was well over.
“On-field discipline is a big thing for us this year. Everyone is pushing the message and we’ve been strong on that from the start. Now we have to keep going and that’s the challenge.”
