IT was labeled a clash of boys against men when the two sides first met this season but round two of the Bright-Whorouly rivalry couldn't have been more different.
On a day that smelt of finals at the Lions' den, Bright's young charges didn't shy away from a fierce contest.
With a fair chunk of his side having played only a handful of senior games and three Alpine Eagles pulling on the jumper, coach Ryan Kent was pleased with the turnaround from the 129-point drubbing in the season opener.
"It was a progression obviously from round one when we played them," Kent said.
"They are big side and for our guys to know that and play our own brand of footy and match it with them for probably three quarters of footy was great.
"There were stages there when we lapsed concentration and probably felt the bigger bodies start to get to us, and they got on top and kicked five quick ones in the last quarter that blew that score line out, but I was pretty happy with it and thought it was a tightly fought contest for the most part."
The final margin read 59 points, but most at the ground wouldn't have seen it as a reflection of the performance shown by the Mountain Men.
Led by skipper Steve Nightingale and Kent, Bright came out of the blocks in strong fashion.
The first quarter saw some hard hits and spot fires spark around the ground as tempers flared.
In the final stages of the opening stanza the Lions kicked their only two goals of the term to take a seven point lead into the first change.
Each quarter from then on the home side extended the margin, but the likes of Nick Howden, Tom McDonagh, Sean McGregor and Chris Healy refused to lie down.
Meanwhile, this weekend Bright is taking a look back at the senior and reserve premiership sides of 1992, as the Mountain Men face potential premier Milawa at Pioneer Park.
Kent was confident his side could compete with the Demons and maybe cause an upset against the ladder leaders.
"We've earmarked this weekend as an opportunity," he said.
"I think we always match up really well against Milawa and like Tarra they're not the hardest side and if we can get under the skin of some of their players anything can happen.
"There's going to be a bit of feeling around the club with plenty of the old players, so I think that will give some added incentive for some of the players to step up."
By - ALEX BAIRD.
NICK OF TIME: Bright's Nick Howden marks in front of Lion Wayne Millis at Whorouly on Saturday.
PHOTO: Gill Jones
Last Modified on 25/07/2012 17:52