GSFL 2024: Bodhi Stubber credited his dominant midfield for his maiden win as coach in strong Anzac Day opener

A dominant nine answered goals from Railways secured Bodhi Stubber his first win as coach with an emphatic 70-point triumph in their traditional Anzac Day blockbuster clash with North Albany on Thursday. Stubber credited his midfield group for the win led by co-captain and inside bull Jayden Scott who was judged best-on-ground and awarded the Anzac Day medal for his 24 disposals, seven tackles and two goals in the Great Southern Football League opener. After a moving pre-game Anzac Day ceremony at Collingwood Park led by Vietnam veteran Ian Jury on Thursday, April 25, the first term was contested with high octane and tenacity from both sides. But the Tigers roared with ferocity and determination after quarter-time, powered by their star-studded midfield that provided ample opportunities for their forwards in the 15.14 (104) to 5.4 (34) victory. On-baller Ryley Valli was unchained, gathering 32 classy possessions at 88 per cent efficiency, Bailey Bennett was prolific all day with 26 touches and four goals, and Kane Shephard was at his brilliant best with 27 possessions and two goals. Ruck Kobi Doust-Pamplin was enormous in the ruck finishing with 34 hit-outs and 10 disposals and stood up in the No.1 ruck role according to Stubber. “They (midfielders) were really good and credit probably goes to Kobi (Doust-Pamplin) a bit in the ruck as well,” Stubber said. “He’s been our second choice ruck for a couple of years now and I gave him the responsibility of being first choice and I thought he gave us really good use in there. “And then they all worked really well together.” The Tigers’ dominance became all too much for their opposing defenders to handle and they took the game by the scruff of its neck in the third, booting five straight goals, marking a stretch of nine unanswered to blow the game apart. “I thought if we kept playing the way we were we would be able to take the game,” Stubber said. “We gave ourselves plenty of opportunities and I was always confident that we would have the fitness and we would be all right. “Once we do settle I do want us to play really quick and pretty frantic. I feel like we’ve got enough young players that we can do that for most of the game.” Having not scored a goal in more than 50 minutes, the Kangas’ frustration started to boil over, with two of their star recruits being shown yellow cards. Luke Mowaljarlai was handed two straight yellow cards, the first for rough conduct and the second for dissent — meaning he was shown a red card — before Barry Roberts was carded for rough conduct. Kangas skipper Nick Barrow competed extremely well in the defensive 50 with a team-high 29 disposals, solely rebounding the Tigers’ constant inside-50s, while Graham Ross (three goals), Travis Conn and Kobi Keen all toiled early, but like most Kangas players, faded late. Kangas coach Brad Bootsma said costly turnovers were his side’s Achilles heel in their first outing of the season. ”I think if you look at the game in isolation, there were just too many skill errors from us, and turnovers probably killed us in the end,” Bootsma said. “Our back six held up well despite being under siege and but it doesn’t help when you lose someone to a red card. “We will deal with the cards in-house. It’s not the way we want to be and we don’t want people being sent off for abusing umpires.”