GSFL 2023: Royals stun Mt Barker, Peake returns for Albany and Railways kick 15 straight goals in drubbing

Royals made a statement against Mt Barker, widening the gap between third and fourth place on the Great Southern Football League ladder with a stunning 62-point win at Retravision Stadium on Sunday. 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 the lively Steven Edwards, Corey Ward and Brandon Elliott going forward while Stephen Beal showed his dominance in the ruck. The Bulls put together a six-goal to two final term but the first-half barrier proved too much to overcome as they fell to a 9.10 (64) to 18.18 (126) defeat in round 11. Chandler Askevold-McDonald, Ford and Ryan Kinnear found the big sticks early and things would only get 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, in part because of the forward craft of Ford once again. The lively 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 Stephen Beal all afternoon. A run of 15 straight goals guided Railways to a comprehensive 85-point win against North Albany at Tigerland on Saturday afternoon. Kleemann medallist Joel Want feasted on the regular supply in the forward half, kicking a season-high eight goals as the Tigers stormed to a 10th win of the season. The reigning premiers recorded a percentage-boosting victory to maintain their place at the top of the GSFL ladder with four rounds left in the regular season. There were few highlights for the Kangas, Drew Willcocks booted their first major late in the first before the Tigers dominated the second and third terms to skip well clear. The result was all but secured at three-quarter-time with the Tigers holding a 60-point advantage and the home side kicked the first five goals of the final stanza. A run of 15 consecutive goals was finally ended 22 minutes into the fourth when Kangas’ Jackson Davidson ran into an open goal but the Tigers ran out emphatic winners, 16.7 (103) to 2.7 (19). Want finished with 8.2 in a clinical display up front, moving within one goal of Brett Peake in the race for the Sean Plaisted trophy as the competition’s leading goalkicker. In a sloppy opening term from both sides it took 17 minutes for the first goal to be scored as veteran Haydn Sproxton broke the drought. Willcocks scrambled through an immediate reply on the goal line but consecutive majors from Want pushed the Tigers ahead by 14 points. Kangas co-captain Nick Barrow was placed on report after an incident with Tigers’ Ray Daniels nearing quarter-time. Jack Steel and Want extended the Tigers buffer before hardworking skipper Bodhi Stubber ran hard forward to slot a class goal on the run and send the home side into half time well in control. The Tigers kicked the only five goals of the third period, two more for Want and two from the boot of Kane Shephard. Five straight goals in the fourth term sealed the Tigers seventh win on the trot. Want bagged three goals in the last to finish with eight and move to 38 for the year while Steel and Shephard were great support acts with three each. Bodhi Stubber was outstanding at centre half-back, taking countless intercept marks and setting up his side going forward, and fellow defenders Mitch Green and Craig Frost were also influential. Key midfielder Jayden Scott was again prolific, Dylan Schorer was busy throughout and Logan Stubber worked his way into the game after a quiet first term. Kangas defender Regan Lloyd blanketed Tigers key forward Zak Hortin while Drew Willcoks was strong in the ruck for the visitors. Jyrin Woods won plenty of clearances and drove his team forward with great effect, fellow ball winner Nick Barrow was also a strong contributor and developing youngster Lucas Ravenhill was impressive playing mainly as a ruckman. The only sour point for the Tigers was the loss of Sproxton to a hamstring injury while Green failed to finish the match. Albany returned from the general bye in emphatic fashion with a 78-point win against Denmark-Walpole at McLean Park on Saturday. The Magpies crept out to an unlikely quarter-time lead but were well beaten from that point on, outscored 13 goals to 1 over the remaining three quarters. Sharks’ talisman Brett Peake returned from a serious ankle injury to give his side a considerable boost and the visitors also handed debuts to three young players. Max Grimes, Charlie Anning and Cooper Sandy all featured for the Sharks league side for the first time in the 15.11 (101) to 3.5 (23) result. Bryce Blaszkow snapped two majors in the first term but goals to Bradley Cochrane and Evan Delbene ensured the Magpies went into the first break two points ahead. Early in the second quarter, Peake jailed his first goal of the afternoon and set up Zac Pearson in the goal square for another simple conversion. Robbie Lee found plenty of success on the wing and he slammed through a goal on the run before key forward Tobyn Lowry also got in on the action to help open a 27-point lead at half-time. The Magpies, despite battling hard against the odds, were beginning to lose the midfield battle, and the Sharks piled on goals through Lee, Aidan Clark and Lowry before Daniel Rowling stemmed the flow for the home side. However, that would be their last major score as the Sharks skipped further ahead in the final term with Connor McCandless kicking three of the last six majors. Peake put the icing on the cake in the dying stages to finish with three goals and the Sharks coasted to their 10th win of 2023. Lee and Blaszkow were outstanding along with Peake who returned to the side without losing a step, while Cameron Jones controlled the tempo from half back and David Arthur showed plenty of poise in the second half. For the Magpies, Reagan Hutchinson was brave breaking lines in defence, Tyrone Kennedy and Tyler Stone provided great targets through the middle of the ground and Noah Madaffari also had his moments.