Down by nine points at quarter-time, Lions co-coach Ben James said it took a team effort to turn the tables.

“It was a really hard-fought win. They came out firing and challenged us early and were about four goals up at one stage in the first quarter,” James said.

“But to the boys’ credit we really answered the challenge and came back strong.

“The pressure around the ball was great and I’d say it was probably our best game of the year so far, we just continued to pressure and kept chipping away.

“Considering we’ve got Nathalia this week this was a really good test — it gets harder each week and we’ve got a massive four or five weeks ahead.”

For the third game in a row Will Farrer kicked six goals for the Lions, while Chase Strawhorn bagged another four.

In his first game back from a knee reconstruction, James said there were plenty of contributors at the weekend, highlighting Dean Staunton and Jackson Weir’s efforts.

“Chase has kicked 100 goals in a season a couple of times, and this year although there are a few options he’s still kicking goals just when we need them.

Meanwhile, there was only one word that adequately summed up Finley’s 21.17 (143) to 1.6 (12) win over Cobram — ruthless.

Tim Robertson kicked four goals for the Cats while Reid Crowe was again their best.