The Lions held on grimly to clinch a five point victory and reclaim top position, while Osborne loss saw them plummet down the ladder from top to fourth position.

Culcairn won the game in the second quarter when they piled on six unanswered goals to romp away to a thirty point half time lead, with Andrew Robertson on fire up forward.

Robertson took it upon himself to completely turn the game around when he kicked four of his game tally of five goals in the second term, with three in five minutes being the standout.

Culcairn ruckman D J Oates played superbly with his athleticism and fitness creating havoc for the Cats, Oates form certainly vindicates his selection in the NSW Country squad.

As expected though Osborne through the changes around after the main break and mounted a spirited comeback with Luke Heyme, Matt Clarke and Adam Gooden instrumental in the midfield.

Trent Hadrill continued to blanket Culcairn star Luke Donan and with Graham Hart and Matt Gleeson getting on top in the forward line they pegged back the Lions lead to just two points at the last break.

Such was Osborne’s dominance they held the Lions scoreless for the third quarter while adding 4-4 themselves with the aid of the prevailing breeze advantage to the Albury end.

Culcairn stood firm in a desperate final quarter and regained its poise to answer many Osborne forward thrusts; both sides added two goals apiece for the quarter.

The loss for Osborne puts them under extreme pressure to claim a top two spot on the ladder, while the Lions can sure up the minor premiership this week by beating the in form Jindera.

TOUGH WORK FOR BROOKERS

Holbrook recorded its ninth straight win at Coreen on Saturday, but not before one hell of a dog fight against a very committed and brave CDHBU outfit that refused to give in.

The game looked to be heading for a percentage booster for Holbrook when they kicked the first six goals of the encounter in very windy and trying conditions with Tom Hickey on fire up forward.

The combine Power however responded superbly to a good old fashioned spray from its coaching staff to gradually fight its way back into the contest and narrow the margin to under three goals at half time,.

The third quarter saw the Power to continue its fight back and with Holbrook controversially having a player sent off, plus a losing battle against the man in orange things became desperate.

CDHBU went into the final break trailing by just one point. The Holbrook side though lifted superbly to dominate the last quarter with eight scoring shots to just one to run home winners by 23 points.

Holbrook coach many Edmunds was inspirational winning a ton of possessions, while Hickey re loaded for another big quarter as Aaron West and Brendan Hankel dominated the clearances.

Best for the home side were Darren Boyd, Jayme Hicks, Scott Francis and Wes Amor. The Brookers again prevailed under pressure and with a long injury list are maintaining a good position on the ladder.