GSFL Round 12: Undermanned Tigers skip clear on top, Lions far too strong in derby and Magpies grab second win

Royals thumped Albany by 86 points to win the inaugural Retravision Cup fixture, reclaiming third spot after 12 rounds of the Great Southern Football League competition on Sunday. An enormous seven-goal second quarter helped the Lions leapfrog the Sharks on the GSFL ladder. The heavy 5.11 (41) to 19.13 (127) loss for the Sharks was compounded by injuries to Jaxon Liddelow (neck) and Isaac Baum (hamstring) before Jesse Barrett suffered a broken leg and had to be stretchered from the field in the third term. The Lions jumped out of the gates early as Tyreice Brown booted two majors and Seb Stanton added another to open up an 11-point margin at the first change. Key forward Nic Ashford struck early in the second term with a goal before a roving David Parker emerged twice in quick succession, chipping in with two clever snaps to put his side up by 29 points. Sharks’ Brett Peake stemmed the flow to trim the margin back to 23, however they were left to rue several turnovers at half-forward and then Marlin Bennett was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle on the wing. The Lions finished the opening half full of running as they stretched the margin to 45 points with majors to Cameron Allison, Ryan Lazar, Ashford and David Parker. Goals to Cameron Jones and Sam Christo breathed life into a Sharks side early in the third but Brayden Parker was pushed forward and kicked a steadying goal. Matt Martin was awarded a free kick 45m out, putting through his first major of the game to drag the Sharks back within 37 points but Ryan Lazar returned fire with his second of the afternoon as the Lions led by 44 points at the last change. The Lions dominated the last term and held the Sharks scoreless, registering their seventh win of the season. Midfield star David Parker was brilliant for the winners, gathering a stack of possessions and kicking three goals, judged best-afield by the umpires and receiving the match ball in the special fixture. Tyreice Brown (two goals) was versatile playing across the ground, Ryan Lazar finished with four majors and was well supported by Brayden Parker and Ashford, who each chipped in with three. Ben Altus was outstanding in defence, holding Sharks goalkicker Peake to one major all day, while midfielder Zak Mola and ruckman Stephen Beal were also influential. Sharks defender Kane Pinney battled bravely for the losing side and was well supported by Cameron Jones, Robbie Lee and Kieran Zilm. Defending premiers Railways made a statement as they beat Mt Barker for the first time this season and in the process all but stitched up top spot on the GSFL ladder. The top-of-the-table clash at Tigerland had plenty on the line on Saturday but the undermanned Tigers kicked the first seven goals of the game to set up their 24-point victory. The result pushed the Tigers two games and percentage clear on top with three rounds left in the regular season and they are likely to host the second semi-final. Match-winner Matt Palfrey was on State duties while league regulars Kane Shephard, Ethan Knee, Joel Want, Zak Hortin and Matt France were all missing but the home side kicked with a strong breeze at their back in the opening term and skipped out to a 36-point advantage. The Tigers struck first in the second as Isaac Williams kicked a second major to continue their dominance before youngster Camball McMahon broke the Bulls’ drought 11 minutes into the second. Keegan Berry gave the visitors two in a row but they still trailed by 28 points at the main break. The Bulls fought their way back into the contest in the third, as star Zach Jackson came to life with three goals while Berry kicked a second and at one stage the margin was back to 18 points. Declan Willey kicked a late goal to give the Tigers a 25-point buffer going into the final term but the Bulls had the wind in the final term. The visitors had their opportunities in the fourth, Sam Lehmann got the margin under 20 points but the Tigers defence held firm led by captain Bodhi Stubber, who marked numerous entries. Dylan Schorer sealed the result in the final 90 seconds as the Tigers won 11.9 (75) to 7.9 (51), consolidating top spot. Midfielder Ryan Davies was superb in the Tigers’ 10th win of the season while Clay Michael booted three goals and Williams added two. Jayden Scott was terrific at the stoppages along with Beau Ewen, Craig Frost and Stubber effective in the back half while Kobi Doubst-Pamplin quelled Lehmann’s influence. The Bulls’ bid to beat the Tigers for a third time this year was dented when they lost key midfielder Scott Price to a groin injury while Luke Hammond (calf) and Josh Price (cork) were also casualties and ball winner Joel Gray missed again. Teenagers McMahon, Sebastian Ballard and Josh Davenport were strong contributors while Lee Pavlovich was strong in defence. Denmark-Walpole have held on to record a thrilling three-point victory over North Albany at McLean Park on Saturday. The Magpies kicked five goals in the first term and led by 19 points at half-time but a determined Kangas kicked three third term goals to storm back into contention. However the Magpies persevered in the last term to clinch their second win of the season and snap a four-game losing streak with a spirited 9.8 (62) to 8.11 (59) triumph in the Ben Napier Tribute Match. The game ended in controversy as Kangas’ Sam Moir marked on the lead as the final siren sounded but the mark was not paid by the umpires, sparking celebration for the home side. Goals to Brad Nisbett, Tyler Stone, Carlton Godfrey and two majors from Ryan Gaerth capped a blistering first term for the Magpies. The Magpies’ ascendancy continued in the second term as Stone emerged once again, booting the only major of the term to put his side up by 19. Reliable goal-kicker Graham Ross bobbed up early in the third quarter for the visitors before Jyrin Woods added another minutes after. A timely Taj Williams set shot levelled scores and swung the momentum further towards the Kangas as the Magpies found themselves on the back foot. Two opportunities went begging for Magpies’ target Stone, who sprayed consecutive shots wide for two behinds. However, he converted a set shot 45m out soon after to put the resolute Magpies up by eight. Two rushed behinds and a missed snap from star ball winner Crudeli cut the margin back to five points heading into a dramatic final term. The lead changed again as Williams kicked his third for the afternoon before Ross fluffed a shot wide minutes later. At the other end, Aaron Wheeler broke free from a tackle and hit the chest of Stone 40m out who made no mistake, putting the Magpies up by four points. With the game in the balance, Kadan King-Davies slotted a clutch goal to put his side up by nine points with four minutes left. However, Moir emerged at the other end, putting through a spectacular running goal to trim the margin to three points. Ross had an opportunity to win the game but his shot went out on the full with under three minutes left in the contest. In the dying moments of the game, captain Regan Lloyd drilled a kick to Moir as the siren sounded but the Magpies held on for a famous win. Nisbett was named best afield in the match and was well supported by Gaerth in midfield and Stone (four goals). Barry Roberts was solid off half-back while Jack Marney played well on the in-form Ross to hold him to one goal. For the Kangas, Alec Haskins was outstanding while Crudeli and Woods toiled hard in the defeat.