Despite controlling the game early and maintaining a strong lead for most of the game, the team faltered in the closing stages, allowing Stanhope to overrun them with a surge of energy and pressure.
Key mistakes and a drop in intensity in the last quarter cost the Towners dearly, undoing all the hard work from earlier in the game.
It was a tough and disappointing result, reflecting a lack of composure when it mattered most, and one the team will need to learn from as they look to improve in future matches.
Awards went to Kolby Wild and Maddie Gottschling.
In B-grade, Violet Town managed to pull away in the second half to record a big 55-31 victory, with Megan Bamford and Makaila Gilbee the best in what was a huge team effort.
The C-grade side fell 36-52, with Ella Bast and Bianca Robins among the best, while the C-reserve team went down 27-37 after a competitive first quarter, with awards going to Kayla Jones and Lauren Manley.
It was a valiant effort by the under-17 Towners, who fell just short in a 37-41 loss to the ladder leading Stanhope, with the whole team receiving plaudits, while the under-15 side fell 9-57, the under-13s lost 9-16, and the under-11s claimed a big 18-2 victory, with Emmie and Lilli earning awards.
Football
Violet Town suffered a big defeat in the senior football at the weekend, dismantled by a visiting Stanhope to suffer a 118-point defeat at Violet Town Recreation Reserve.
Already facing a 42-point deficit at half-time, trailing 3.1 (19) to 8.13 (61), Violet Town was held goalless in the second half as the Lions piled on 11 unanswered majors, storming to a 19.25 (139) to 3.3 (21) victory.
Caden Robinson (two goals) and Harvey Bell (one goal) contributed the only majors of the day for the Towners, with Robinson named in the best alongside Mitchell Saunders, Ben Harrison, Nathan Abley, James Herring and Nathan Butler on what was a tough afternoon for the home side.
It isn’t all bad news, however, with the Towners managing to cling on to sixth place despite the result, heading into the bye at 4-4 for the year and with the opportunity to reset before a round nine Sunday afternoon meeting with Shepparton East.
The reserves side faced a similar fate on Saturday, going down 1.2 (8) to 28.11 (179), while it was a much more positive result for the juniors, as the under-18s claimed a 9.13 (67) to 8.6 (54) win over Longwood, and the under-15s beat Stanhope 19.9 (123) to 3.2 (20).
Under-12 Football
Violet Town 5.9 (39) defeated Mooroopna 4.4 (28)
What a cracking game for the little Towners who were able to share the ground with the rest of the club for a home game against Mooroopna.
These kids have come a long way since the start of the season and scored their second consecutive win on Saturday.
If they didn’t have the ball, they tackled relentlessly and when they did have the ball, they protected their players and combined well for some clean kicks into the forward line.
When the ball was loose, they hustled, scrapped and put their bodies on the line to get control- it was an exciting game to watch.
They did start to tire in the final quarter and the game got close, but the Towners held on to clinch the win.
Awards went to Harley Goodson, Isla North, Luke Conway, Liam Antonis, Billy Ross and Basil Piper.
