Narooma came into the match on a five-game winning streak, and played a winless Eden team who had struggled to be competitive so far this season.

For the supposed gulf in class between the two sides, the first quarter was tight, as the Lions struggled with their accuracy in front of goal. 

Zac Martin managed the first goal of the match after a run of behinds, before Eden answered shortly afterwards through Liam Wilkinson.

The crowd were restless towards the end of the first quarter, as the Lions had only managed 1.7 before a lucky goal to Simon Mackie on the goal line.

Narooma kicked on in the second quarter, as they kicked five-goals-to-one to build a solid half-time lead.

Mackie bagged two of those with strong contested marks, while Colin Fosternally finished off a slick move from halfback with a goal of his own.

Timothy Wong kicked the Whalers only goal, as the visitors trailed by 35-points at the main break.

The third quarter was another tight affair, with Eden kicking two goals to Narooma’s one to peg the lead back.

However, they couldn’t match it with the Lions, as the home-side started finding space in their forward half to kick away with a 13.21 (99) to 5.5 (35) victory.

Simon Mackie and Jacob Breed both finished with three goals for the victors, while Jeremy Sly bagged two.

Lions’ coach Jason Sauiluma said in spite of the lopsided scoreline, his side wasn’t at their best.

“The boys were a little bit flat today, we had a lot of people out,” he said. “We had a few players carrying injuries that pulled out at the last minute wanting a rest.

“We should have some fellas returning back over the next couple of weeks.”

Despite the injuries, coach Sauiluma said the side had no plans to change their normal game plan.

“We want to try and create as much depth as possible at the club, so we’re keeping the same game plan no matter who’s in,” he said.

“It doesn’t really matter now if we win or lose, because we should be playing finals. Now it’s about getting our structures right, and making sure the game plan is right.”

With the Pambula Panthers coming to town next weekend, Sauiluma said the club’s performance would have to improve to get a result.

“We only beat them by a few goals last time,” he said. “It’s only really been a couple of kicks in it every time we’ve played them, so we’ll be working on our tackles and pressure acts for next week.”

The club wore black arm bands on the day to commemorate Daniel Campbell, a young father who passed away suddenly two weeks ago.