Lalor moved two games clear of relegation following a 14-point victory over Panton Hill in Round 15 of A Plus Labour Division 2.
Captain Shannon Smith booted five goals, while Scott Morrison dominated the ruck battle and was pivotal in holding off many Redbacks attacks in the final term in the 13.11 (89) to 11.9 (75) victory at Lalor Reserve.
Daniel Freeman was best for Panton Hill in defeat, while Alex Tsardakis was elusive up forward, booting three goals.
Kicking with a strong breeze in the opening term, Lalor slammed on six goals to one to open up a 36-point lead. In a crucial match for both sides, the Bloods took just 15 seconds to kick the first goal of the game through Tom Bonson.
Needing to take advantage of the wind, the Bloods played on at all cost and outbodied their opponents at stoppages to stamp their superiority.
Spencer Christopher starred in the opening term, kicking a goal and assisting in two others.
Christopher’s goal came from a brilliant counter-attack from half back, which saw Blake Polidano take three bounces, before handpassing to Jhye Baddeley-Kelly, who then found Christopher inside 50.
Trailing by six goals at quarter time, Panton Hill looked to reduce the margin in the second term with the aid if the wind. But the Redbacks didn’t find it as easy as the Bloods did in the opening term to get the ball into attack.
Lalor set up to make the game as congested as possible and this resulted in a large amount of stoppages.
The Redbacks were able to hit the scoreboard, courtesy of Damian Noorman, Mitch Anderson and Tsardakis. But they also wasted opportunities, kicking six behinds and only reducing the margin by two goals at the main break.
The third term began in almost identical fashion to the first, with Shane Jacobs kicking a goal in under a minute.
Matthew Hunt hit back with a goal for the Redbacks, before Kaine Digney converted for the Bloods to conclude a frantic opening three minutes.
Lalor dominated the remainder of the quarter and was led superbly by captain Smith, who kicked two goals in the term to increase his tally to five for the game.
Leading by 46 points at the last change, Lalor looked to have sealed the game, but Panton Hill wasn’t going to give up without a fight. The Redbacks kicked two goals at the start of the final quarter to raise hopes of a comeback.
Lalor had difficulty clearing the ball out of defence and the continued pressure on their back line forced Bloods coach Jarrod King to flood their defence.
Morrison was positioned in the Panton Hill goal square. Whenever the Redbacks kicked long into attack, Morrison was there to mark or the punch the ball over the line.
Despite Morrison’s best efforts, the Redbacks were still able to kick three goals through Daniel Haynes, Samuel Parks and Tsardakis.
But just as the visitors appeared to be on the cusp of an extraordinary comeback, the siren sounded to give the Bloods their third win over the Redbacks for the season.
The result improved Lalor’s record to 3-12, while Panton Hill fell to 1-14 and must win its final three matches to avoid relegation.
Final score: Lalor 13.11 (89) def Panton Hill 11.9 (75)
