The Lions squandered an early lead but fought back to win.

Moe has joined Morwell and Maffra in the battle for third spot with three rounds to play.

Troy Makepeace was more than happy with his team's commitment and said the focus was now on third spot, although Moe's percentage is not good.

The Lions hold a .04 per cent advantage over Maffra and are 14.13 behind Morwell.

``We have just got to keep on winning and keep up our end of the bargain,'' he said.

Goal sneak Richard Horton went off with a shoulder injury and may miss a couple of weeks.

Another shoulder victim, Adam Kennedy, was a welcome return to the side after a lengthy break and kicked four goals including three in the first term.

Makepeace said Kennedy's presence was important and provided the midfield with a focal point.

Ashley Payne played a great game at both ends on a day not suited for tall timber.

Makepeace said in defence Payne punched the ball clear out of Traralgon's 50 metre arc and when he went up forward he gave the Moe crumbers something to pounce on.

Traralgon got away to a great start when Tim Aitken had two early shots on goal to kick 1.1 but Makepeace lifted his side and the Lions went to a 19 point lead at the first break.

Whether it was by hand or foot, the Lions coach brought players into the game.

Chris Hancock did a great job for the Lions but when he went off for a rest the Traralgon talls, led by Brenton Wight and Rohan Hore, came into the game.

Lee Hale and Matt Dickason did a lot of the hard in and under work for the Lions in a place that was not for the faint hearted and gave great support to Payne.

Liam Carolan was another Moe player to show a lot of enthusiasm but it was the Moe coach who stood head and shoulders above the rest and was best on ground.

Rohan Hore kept Traralgon in the game and got his side back into the contest as the Maroons turned their first quarter deficit of 19 points into a lead at the last change. But in the end, it was not to be for the Maroons.

Ryan Potter, Michael Cooper, Jarrod Zuehlke and Matt Habel were all in the thick of the action in a very difficult day at the office.

Aitken finished with three goals but he could have kicked more if the ball got down to him.

The experienced Chris Smogavec and Stuart Robertson were given minimal time on the ground for the Lions but the ploy was to keep them fresh until late in the game.

It was a good plan as the pair was in the thick of the action when it counted.

Jason Shields in his 298th game also showed up in the final term and managed four points for the game on a day where behinds were worth almost as much as a goal.

Moe's win was full of character and if the same conditions prevail in the final series the Lions will be in with a chance.

Allan boots five in controversial game

MORWELL got away to a blistering start against Garfield and kicked the first six goals with Ryan Allan dominating up forward.

Allan kicked five for the day but was sent off for 15 minutes late in the third term for what the umpire deemed as possible dangerous play.

The umpiring decision was questionable, as Allan had charged in for the football and pulled out just at the right time to ensure the Garfield player was not driven into the fence.

It came at a critical stage of the match, as play had just commenced after a 10 minute break for Marcus Webb to be stretchered off with an injury to his collarbone.

The Stars were closing in on the Tigers and were two kicks away from levelling the scores.

Webb's shoulder had popped out and he is waiting to see if there is any damage to his ligaments. Morwell also lost Daniel Metcalf with a hamstring injury in the final term.

Without Allan on the ground Lachlan Dowling stood up and kicked two vital goals in the final term that gave the Tigers the much needed breathing space to seal the 30 point win.

The two Michael Duncans defended well, along with Julian Blackford.

Adam Bailey in his 100th senior game played well early and was a good contributor on the day.

Jason Macfarlane, Liam Visser and Robert Michaelides shared the heavy work.

For Garfield Terry Mildren was a stalwart all day and Andy Soumilas and Brent Eastwell were always in the thick of things.

The Ryan Allan episode was not the only thing the umpires got wrong as a boundary umpire from Sale lost his way and could not find the ground. He finally made it to the ground after the first quarter.

The Morwell Recreation Reserve was in tremendous condition and worthy of hosting more than one final.

Sale wins slog

SALE finally overcame Warragul by three points in a low scoring mud slog at Western Park.

It was the lowest combined score between the two sides since Sale beat Warragul at Logan Park Warragul in 1973 kicking 6.8 to 3.7.

With the qualifying and elimination finals listed to play at Warragul and Moe, the league may have to look at other suitable venues as both grounds are in poor condition.

While the Gulls may have lost the four points they look set to finish in second spot as they have the bye this week.

Stuart Anderson, Kane Fraser and Jacob Shingles were named best for the Magpies while Matt Gray, Bryce Monahan and Brendan and Leigh Sheehan were named for the Gulls.

Parrots win third match

LEONGATHA kept its chances of avoiding the wooden spoon alive when it jumped Drouin to lead by five goals at quarter time and eventually got home by 16 points.

To get off the bottom the Parrots would have to beat the top three sides Sale, Morwell and Warragul.

Best players for the Parrots were Thomas Dow, Jack Hughes and Ricky Delphine while Daniel Barrand, Kent Edwards and David Olsen were named best for the Hawks.