GSFL 2023: Royals overwhelm Mt Barker with 62-point thumping in round 11 to move game clear in third spot

Royals made a statement against Mt Barker on Sunday, widening the gap between third and fourth place on the Great Southern Football League ladder with a stunning 62-point win at Retravision Stadium. The Lions, kicking with a strong breeze in the first quarter, held the fourth-placed Bulls scoreless and opened a whopping 50-point quarter-time advantage before going on to win comfortably. Jayson Ford booted six goals in a season-best display, and he had great support from Steven Edwards, Corey Ward and Brandon Elliott going forward while Stephen Beal showed his dominance in the ruck. The Bulls rallied with a six-goal to two final term but the first half too much to overcome as they fell to a 9.10 (64) to 18.18 (126) defeat. Bulls coach Brad Hook praised the opposition’s blistering start but bemoaned a lack of urgency and dare from his troops in the loss. “We’re missing a few guys but we just weren’t switched on at the end of the day,” Hook said. “They came with a lot of intensity in the first quarter and if you give someone a seven-goal to zip first term, we were always going to be chasing tail for the rest of the game. “There were a lot of things we didn’t do that we’ve been doing well for the last 10 weeks, we were slow and stagnant with our ball movement and just didn’t get going. “We have to take some of the positives out of the game though, the way we finished was pleasing. “We kicked six in the last quarter and it’s because we played on when we had the ball.” Chandler Askevold-McDonald, Ford and Ryan Kinnear found the big sticks early and things only got worse for the Bulls from that point forward. Elliott jailed an attempt from the edge of the 50m arc, Nic Ashford clunked a big, contested mark and converted from 40m out, Elliott had his second from a goal-line snap and Ford ensured his side went into the first break well on top with his second. The Bulls, with the wind on their back, had plenty of inside 50s in a much-improved second term but were unable to make the most of their chances. David Parker goaled in the opening minutes but the Bulls finally had their breakthrough when Zach Jackson dribbled through the Bulls first of the afternoon. Ford put through his third and after a flurry of rushed behinds, frustration grew further for the Bulls when Sam Lehmann uncharacteristically missed a chance from 15m out. He made no mistake from 40m out minutes later but Elliott answered back with the last goal of the half and the margin remained at 52 points. That buffer had ballooned to 83 points by three-quarter-time, due in part to the forward craft of Ford once again. The clever forward pocket kicked three of his six goals in a dominant third term, one coming from a sensational piece of skill, tapping the ball along the boundary before intelligently dribbling his shot through. The Bulls finished on a positive note with Adam Large and Camball McMahon each snagging two of their side’s six final quarter goals but it was too little, too late at the final siren. The Lions now move four points and significant percentage clear of the Bulls in third spot with four rounds left to play. For the visitors, Daniel Patching toiled hard through midfield along with Rhys Hogg and Zach Jackson (two goals) while Mitch Jackson, in the absence of David Stone, battled hard with Lions’ ruckman Beal all afternoon.