Melton returned to form and sealed a top-two finish in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association north-west competition.
Coming off a rare loss, the Lions bounced back against bottom side Coburg in a one-dayer on Saturday.
The Lions came away with the win with ease and bowled Coburg out for 114 after Coburg was 9-79.
Playing coach Nathan Geisler took 3-7 and Brad Jones also took three wickets.
The Lions then made the required runs in the 33rd over, finishing at 4-115.
Geisler said they were focused on winning to seal the top-two spot and a home final.
“It was good to get the win,” he said.
“It was an important game and we wanted that top-two spot and a home final.
“We got early wickets and held our catches.”
Having kept Coburg to a low score, Geisler said the focus was on giving the players as much time as possible in the middle ahead of finals.
Nathan Taylor top-scored with 48 not out in a return to form.
“They had to bowl us out to get the win, so we said it didn’t matter in what over we got the runs,” he said.
“Nathan got to spend some good time in the middle and it’s good for him heading into finals.”
It was a double celebration for the Lions as David Kirk played in his 200th first XI match, having made his first XI debut for the Lions in 1999.
The win sealed second spot and a return to finals for the first time since 2014-15. Geisler said it had been a bit of an indifferent second half to the season after previously being on top of the ladder at Christmas.
“We lost one game and won two games and had one washed out,” he said.
The Lions face Yarraville this weekend in a two-day clash in the opening round of the finals.
The Lions won the only game between the two sides this season, and Geisler said the Eagles could quite easily have beaten them.
Geisler said they were focusing on preparing like they would for any other game and not putting pressure on the group.
“They have a few high quality batters at the higher end, which we have to get out,” he said.
“We need to dismiss [Matt] Love, [Matthew] Harrison and [Joe] Billings early on.
“And then if we bat first, we need to bat our overs and put a score on the board.”
In Victorian Women’s Premier second XI the Lions lost to Carlton-Brunswick.
The Lions made 6-163 from their 45 overs.
Carlton Brunswick chased down the runs in the second last over, finishing 7-165.
The Lions sit fourth heading into their final round match with fifth-placed Coburg.
