The top of the table clash delivered on the hype, with Whorouly defending their home ground against local rivals Bright by 14 points, 11.4 (70) to 8.8 (56) on Saturday.

With the minor premiership in many ways on the line, the two proud sides fought tooth and nail for the full four quarters in one of the best matches of the season.

It was a physical clash, with the Lions taking a narrow 11-point lead into the half-time break, but Bright refused to step back from the challenge.

In the end it was Whorouly’s cleanliness inside forward 50 and resolute defensive structure which saw them home.

Whorouly’s Max Scott was phenomenal in the air across half back, while ruckman Ed Bramich gave the midfield unit first use all day.

Coach Michael Newton took his season tally to 85 goals with a bag of five, while midfielders Marcus de Leur and Josh Newton worked hard all day.

For Bright, defender Alexander Dalbosco was named best on, with Jack Larkin, and Reuben and Kieren Jamieson were influential.

Newton said his side performed extremely well against the dangerous Mountain Men.

“We went in trying to make sure that we secured that double chance, it was a really hard-fought contest for the whole duration of quarters and to walk away with the win is massive,” he said.
“I think we dominated the ruck, Ed [Bramich] dominated the ruck, Maxy Scott dominated the half back line, we controlled areas of the game where the contest was won.
“I thought our mids were probably the better mids on the day.

“Our next step is to be able to create more from those clearance wins and all the hard ball gets we get, and use them just a little bit better.

“So, they were hard at it, but I think we were harder.”

Whorouly sits even on points with Bright, but with the Mountain Men having the bye in round 20 and the Lions facing the winless Benalla All Blacks, it would take an upset of epic proportions to deny Whorouly the minor premiership and ticket to the second week of finals.

In other matches, Moyhu moved into the top three with a monster 11-goal win over fellow contenders North Wangaratta, 14.9 (93) to 3.9 (27).

The Hoppers had most of the ball in the early stages of the match but failed to make the most of their chances, leading 3.6 to 1.1 at quarter time.

Moyhu put their kicking boots on after the break, slotting four goals to one to essentially put the game to bed with a 34-point lead.

The Hawks only managed a single goal in the second half as Moyhu kicked away, leapfrogging North Wangaratta to sit in the top three and all but secure the double chance in finals.

Nathan Gamble and Paddy McNamara were impressive for the Hoppers, and Bailey Zimmermann kicked four goals, while Aaron Cheong, Eden White and Tyler Schulze were named in the best for the Hawks.

Elsewhere, Greta survived a scare at Tarrawingee with the Blues holding on to win 15.8 (98) to 13.3 (81).

In a seesawing contest, the Blues led early but a six goal to two second term by Tarrawingee saw the bulldogs lead at the major break.

Greta responded through the third and were able to steady and held firm to take the win by 17 points.

Cody Crawford and Josh Bell were huge for the Blues, with Brenton Newbold kicking a bag of five goals, while Jarrod Everitt, Jock Pascoe and Lukas Allan were strong for Tarrawingee.

Goorambat recorded their fifth win of the season with an extraordinary 12.12 (84) to 8.14 (62) win over Bonnie Doon, ending the Bombers’ slim chances of making the finals.

After trailing by a point at half-time, the Bats produced an eight goal to three second half, aided in many ways by the Bombers inaccuracy in front of goal.

King Valley produced an incredible fourth quarter to run over the top of Milawa, taking the win 12.5 (77) to 10.9 (69).

The Roos were behind on the scoreboard for much of the game, but managed to keep Milawa scoreless in the fourth term while kicking four of their own in the eight-point win.