Lions roar to victory

Pakenham picked up their first ever win in South Eastern Women's over the weekend. Picture: RUSSELL BENNETT

By Nick Creely

It took months of hard work, dedication and a love for the jumper to culminate in a long awaited win for Pakenham’s inaugural South Eastern Women’s side over the weekend.
Fresh to the competition, the Lions have finally got their first ever win, climbing off the bottom of the table and exceeding all expectations in a year of growth as they continue to make their mark in women’s football.
On a blustery day with bouts of torrential rain on Saturday, the Lions ventured down to Red Hill, winning by 14-points in a landmark day for the club, 6.10 (46) to 3.14 (32).
Lions coach Warren Cawcutt couldn’t hide his excitement as his side finally got some reward for effort in a hard-fought contest.
“We had to work hard, it was a wet, windy day, which was never going to be high scoring – we had to work for the win, we were brilliantly led by our captain and vice-captain,” he said.
“Mimi Henderson, who is our vice-captain, went into the game knowing she did her A/C joint, but she wanted to play with one arm – she did a fantastic job holding up our backline.
“Rachel Betteridge, our captain at centre half forward, took marks, kicked goals and led from the front.
“But it was a team effort – I know that cliché gets thrown around a little bit, but it was a genuine team effort.”
The Lions led at every change to control the contest, with Betteridge slotting three and Holly Dennison, Roslyn Cook and Chloe Nagel each hitting the scoreboard.
Cawcutt was full of praise for the “dedication” put in by everyone involved with getting the side up and running.
“The girls are the ones out there doing the hard work, I’m pretty much just telling them what to do – the guys behind the scenes, Nicky Muley, Amanda Sidebottom, they’re the ones that got the side set-up, and everything like that,” he said.
“Just to see the girls since I took over as coach and how hard they’ve worked, and how much they want to learn, I’m really happy they got a win for themselves.”
While the Lions have only recently started to learn more about the game, Cawcutt said the sky is now the limit as they eye off more wins before the end of the season.
“I’m not surprised (with getting a win), based on the fact of their dedication, and their willingness to train and be there – I’m not surprised with their progression,” he said.
“The more you handle the footy at training, the better you’ll become – only two weeks ago, we learnt about set plays, so I knew they’d get better.
“There are only about five games to go, so we’d like to win another one or two of those – Officer this week seems like it could be a good match for us.”