The Lions and Swans toiled away all game, but it was the latter who left the court laughing.
Avenel won the match 48-42 and now sits sixth on the ladder.
First-year Swans coach Georgia Velt said she was proud of how her team performed given Avenel had some late outs.
“(It was) a hard-fought win,” Velt said.
“Some late injuries for the Swans gave opportunities to some B-grade players to perform in a second game for the day.
“Alyssa Quigg played a stunning A-grade game after a full B-grade game, along with Nic Hoskin and Lou Jones.
“Briodie Robinson was best-on for the day, goaling with excellent accuracy and strength.
“Strong defence from Emma Gourlay and Addison Thornberry solidified the six-goal win.”
The Lions have already tied last season for wins with two for the year.
A top-six battle had Rushworth claim the bragging rights in a tough clash against Tallygaroopna in their round five clash.
It was Redlegs against Tigers in a round five fixture on Saturday afternoon at Tallygaroopna Recreation Reserve.
Both clubs sat inside the top six heading into the match, with the two teams eager to feature in September this year.
Rushworth and Tallygaroopna had only dropped one match each across the opening four games.
Away from home, the Tigers outlasted the Redlegs on the court to claim an 11-goal 20-31 victory.
After not winning a match in 2024, Rushworth has changed its fortunes in 2025 and now sits fourth on the ladder.
Shepparton East has continued its imposing start to the season with a dominant victory over 2024 grand finalist Lancaster.
On the road the Eagles were far too strong against the Wombats as the visitors strolled away with an 18-goal victory.
Reigning premier Girgarre’s undefeated start continued with a 39-goal romping of Stanhope.
Merrigum kept Violet Town at arm’s reach at home.
The Bulldogs won the match by six goals to secure their first victory of the season.
On Sunday, Murchison-Toolamba defeated Longwood at home to the tune of 13 goals.
Nagambie had the bye.
Football
It was a remarkable round of Kyabram District League Football at the weekend, with three contests decided by less than a kick and another by less than two, while one side posted its biggest win of the year to be knocking on the door of the top six.
Of all the remarkable contests, however, it was Undera’s clash with Avenel that perhaps threw up the biggest surprise, as the Lions upset the Swans to clinch a 9.12 (66) to 8.13 (61) win, the first victory the senior side has recorded in two years.
Having been four points in arrears at quarter-time, the Lions, playing on their home deck at Undera Recreation Reserve, made the most of their opportunities in the second term, kicking 3.3 to the Swans’ 1.4 to take a seven-point lead into the main break.
It was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the contest, increasing the margin to 10 points at three-quarter time, before a wayward 1.4 in the last left the door ajar for Avenel, although Undera did enough to hang on for a memorable five-point victory.
Coach Glenn Hart said the win had been a long time coming for his troops, who have put in the hard yards despite limited success in recent times.
“It was a good day, the lads really put together a four-quarter effort,” Hart said.
“It’s been building, but yesterday they were able to put it together for the whole game, and yeah, (I’m) really proud.
“There’s been a lot of hard work that’s gone into it and it’s reward for effort for the lads, it was good.”
It wasn’t without nerves, however, with the slender 10-point margin heading into the last break making it a far from comfortable final term.
“Plenty of nerves, winning is a habit and, if you haven’t done it for a while, it’s hard to break that habit of losing,” Hart said of the last quarter.
“A lot of our more senior players, not that we’ve got a lot of those real mature players, but they stood up for us at the end and a lot of guys just refused to give in, which was a great sign for such a young group.”
With the first win on the board for the year, Hart believes his group now has hope of putting things together on a more consistent basis, however, he knows there is still plenty of effort to be put in.
“I’d like to hope (the belief is building),” he said.
“The belief, I felt, was building, but until you actually get a win, it doesn’t actually ingrain it in their minds that what we are doing is working, but now after a win, it gives them hope.
“Having said that, there’s a lot of work to do and we are still a very young side, so we are going to have our ups and downs.
“Hopefully there’s a lot more ups than downs, but I’ve got to continue to work to teach these lads the type of footy they need to play to consistently win senior football games.”
Elsewhere, a 2024 preliminary final rematch between Shepparton East and Lancaster ended with the exact same result as the penultimate weekend last season – a one-point win to the Eagles, who prevailed 15.5 (5) to 14.10 (94).
Inaccuracy was nearly the story of the day with Stanhope nearly made to pay by Girgarre, kicking 11.18 (84) to the Roos’ 12.9 (81).
The Lions kicked 0.5 in the first term, but roared into the lead with a seven-goal return in the second, a lead they let slip with another poor return of 1.6 after half-time.
They kicked truly when it counted, however, overcoming a four-point deficit at the final change to notch win number three for the year, ending the round inside the top six.
Violet Town held on to claim a 10-point victory over Merrigum, its second of the year, prevailing 15.8 (98) to 13.10 (88), while skipper Liam Francis inspired his Rushworth side to its biggest win this season, named best-on-ground in the 17.20 (122) to 6.9 (45) demolition of Tallygaroopna.
Murchison-Toolamba took on Longwood on Sunday afternoon as the Hoppers looked to continue their perfect start to the defence of their 2024 premiership, landing a big 27.14 (176) to 5.5 (35) win at Murchison Recreation Reserve.
