A horror showing at home against Emerald on Saturday in Outer East Football Netball Premier Division has effectively ended Pakenham’s prospects of playing finals football in 2024.
While still mathematically a chance to sneak into the top six, they simply are undeserving of a place in the competition’s upper echelon, and only has itself to blame.
Saturday’s heavy rainfall washed away the Lions’ fight, resilience and endeavour, embarrassed on its home deck a side likely to be playing in a different division next year in what was a massive occasion for the home side in the context of 2024.
Now just one game clear of the bottom three, they appear more likely to be playing in Division One than they do in September.
Pakenham kicked five goals to two in the opening quarter when conditions suited their desired game style, and it appeared that they would simply take care of a business against a side with considerably less to play for in the remainder of the season.
But when Mother Nature intervened, and the conditions brought everyone back to an even keel, it was Emerald that excelled, winning 15.4 94 to 9.6 60.
All the little things that go a long way in the wet – being lower to the ground, the ‘one percenters’, attacking the footy cleanly – was all on show from the Bombers in spades.
They wanted the football more and hunted in numbers, embracing the slop and appearing to have the time of their lives the heavier the rain fell.
The warning signs were flashing early in the second quarter, with Emerald kicking three goals in the first six minutes to cut the lead Pakenham’s 18-point lead to just four points.
Two goals came from centre bounce clearance wins, and another as a result of a Lions turnover in the back half, a kick not suited for combating the elements.
Pakenham lost Tyrell Bignoux to injury after heavy collision with Jack McGough midway through the term, but an important goal from Cooper Reilly helped to steady the ship late in the quarter and halt the Bombers’ momentum.
Jake Cawsey hit back just before the half time break, the beneficiary of a downfield free kick against Jake Thompson, all the more costly given the kick from Josh Rich that drew the kick went straight to a Lions defender in the Bombers’ forward 50.
Pakenham held a slim lead going into the break, but a three-point margin was a fair indication of how the first half transpired.
As both sides regrouped at the half, the heavens opened to the heaviest degree of the afternoon, causing anxiety to heighten for players and spectators at Toomuc Reserve.
The longer the quarter went, the more frustrations grew, as Pakenham looked out of answers.
Emerald kicked the first five goals of the second half inside 12 minutes, and raced to a 26-point lead before those ducking for cover under the R.L ‘Cracker’ Jackson grandstand had even finished their half time snack.
Goals came as pressure saturated the Lions like a hit chip drowning in gravy, and the Bombers had a ravenous appetite.
Cawsey and Ben Lewis bagged two apiece in the onslaught, while David Johnson fashioned something from nothing at a stoppage, a stretch so good that they could barely believe it.
Pakenham’s first inside 50 of the term, at the 13 minute mark, even brought Bronx cheers from some supporters, such was the unrest in the outer at what was unfolding in the middle.
Brooks’ second goal capped Emerald’s run at five, but an unnecessary free kick against Jordan Stewart forfeited possession on the wing, and Emerald made him pay with immediate effect.
Isaac Seskis went inboard to Adrian Russo, who showed deft touch in the wet to find his brother Nick running inside 50.
Nick found Lewis on his own next to the point post, and while Lewis horribly miscued his attempted check-side, it was Brendan Wilson that wanted the ball the most as it hung in the air, goaling from the resulting mark from point blank range.
Simply everything was going right for the Bombers, who deserved every piece of good fortune that came their way thanks to their effort and commitment to the cause.
Pakenham found some life late in the quarter, but Harvey Siwes’ intercepting in Emerald’s defensive 50 snuffed out a number of attempts to hit back.
As an exasperated Paul Carbis did his best to inspire his players at three-quarter-time amid unrest and irritation, a ripple of laughter emerged from the opposing huddle, rubbing salt into the gaping wound that needed as much attention as the scoreboard.
Rain stopped falling in the final term, but Pakenham failed to make inroads into the 26-point deficit.
Sam Kors missed a straight forward set shot, the third of three behinds to open the quarter, as Emerald appeared to tire.
Speculation that they had fired all their bullets too early began to infiltrate the consciousness, and given there was too long remaining to ice the contest, they searched and searched for the all-important spark.
And as they did so often all afternoon, it was the forwards that provided the magic to put the contest officially to bed.
Lewis made an important contest in the forward 50, and the ground ball spilled to Johnson in a cluster of limbs.
Rather than gather the football and risk being tackled, Johnson tapped the ball backwards through his legs to Cawsey, who snapped towards an open goal and nailed his fourth, as the margin grew to a game-high 29 points.
Matthew Debruin kicked answered back shortly after for Pakenham, but two more for Lewis in a breakout senior performance made it a well-deserved six pack and best on ground honours for the versatile and popular tall.
Lewis was assigned a defensive forward role to negate Pakenham utility Stewart in the first half, but when Stewart was moved to the forward half, it was Lewis that flourished as he played his own game.
As Emerald celebrated its best win since last season’s grand final triumph, Pakenham heads slumped, resigned to the futility of its 2024’s finals prospects.
The Lions had so much to play for, and yet a first-time spectator would have been none-the-wiser as to who had more at stake.
Why there was a lack of motivation, despite Carbis making the consequences abundantly clear, stumped the coach.
“It’s probably something I’d have to ask the players during the week,” he said.
“I think it’s the natural maturity of the group themselves – this group, I reckon, has played off talent a lot in the past and now the league that they’re in, there’s more to it than that.
“You can’t just play on talent, you’ve got to work at it, and the harder you work, the better your results are going to be.
“We did that last week but when it was dry, and it’s easier to do it in dry conditions.
“It’s a winter sport and there’s going to be testing conditions, but we’re at home so we should still win.”
An inability to arrest momentum and a complete failure to adapt to conditions were determined to be the primary causes, underlined by a leadership void.
With Jake Barclay and Jai Rout on the sidelines with injury, the Lions missed two of their most vocal and dynamic leaders, and it showed with a lack of desire and direction on the field.
“When a team gets momentum, it’s hard at the best of times, but when you don’t have that leadership on the ground to either do it by action or voice, it makes it even harder,” Carbis said.
“I think some of them might have been thrown into the leadership group and don’t understand what’s required and it’s not their personality, which doesn’t help, and it doesn’t help on the field, so we’ve got those issues.
“We were probably hands tied a little bit with (selection) because of injuries but at the end of the day, when you step out there you’ve got to play the conditions and I think a lot of blokes just go into their shell.
“(Emerald) went up that extra level when the rain came and we didn’t match it.”
Resigning Emerald coach Sein Clearihan was delighted with his side’s performance, principally their infectious, unselfish nature.
“They all played their role today,” he said.
“We just wanted to concentrate on minute-by-minute and celebrate the good things, and realise that if we work hard together as a group, we’ll be fine.
“It was just the simple things that they were doing today, the sacrifice.
“We’ve got to enjoy what we’re doing at the moment as a group and they enjoyed their footy today.”
Teenager Kye Davies held his own in the ruck, and received great support from his leaders at his feet, in Josh Rich, Ewan Wadsworth and Jake Pedder.
Cawsey finished with four goals, having played a brilliant second-fiddle role to Lewis, the architect of the Lions’ demise.
