Multiple goals to Ayden Bosse, Jack Hancocks and Nathan Krepp were the catalyst for Rovers to reverse a 24-point quarter time deficit for a victory which leveled their win-loss ledger against Timboon.

Rovers mentor Adam Matheson said manic pressure in the club’s forward 50 also played a part in the Lions’ rebound from a 133-point round one trouncing from Kolora-Noorat.

He said the young side was beginning to “trust” in one another following the 15-point triumph.

Matheson also lauded the efforts of the youth – many of which had graduated from the club’s ever-successful under 17.5 program – and backed them to improve with more senior football.

“(Nathan Murphy) was brilliant in the first half when we were getting beaten, but then some of the younger guys picked up some of the slack,” he said.

“Players like Declan Attrill, Caleb Bidmade – I thought Jack Hancocks game was fantastic.

“Jake Morton had to battle Barney Hickey in the ruck, and while Hickey was a dominant player all day, Jake never stopped trying.

“That’s all you can ask as a coach. He’s an 18-year-old kid who hasn’t played a lot of footy. He battled really hard.”

The first-year South Rovers coach said pressure around the ground was an important part of the club’s gameplan, particularly when attacking.

“In the Kolora game, we probably found there wasn’t enough pressure up the ground. They just got through our defence too easily,” Matheson said.

“Over the last fortnight, we’ve had a real focus on forward-line pressure.

“Although we didn’t have as many tackles in our forward-line as we would have liked, there was always plenty of pressure there.

“If it wasn’t a tackle, it was a dropped ball.”

Frustrated Timboon coach Mick Hunt was disappointed with Demons’ inability to “take the game on” in the second half of play.

“We went out there to attack the ball and had the game on our terms, but then we thought ‘we better not let them kick a goal’,” he said.

“We started to play secondary football, which is not what we want to do.

“We went from controlling the game to not taking our chances. We stopped taking the game on.”