Monteath bag of 10 leads Bulls to victory

A 10-goal haul from spearhead Kym Monteath proved the difference as Mt Barker were forced to work hard for their 62-point win over a spirited Albany at Sounness Park on Saturday afternoon.

After a slow start, the Bulls forced a decisive gap between the two clubs in the first half with Monteath’s class in attack leading to a 52-point half-time margin with six of the Bulls’ 10 majors.

But the home side, again missing eight of their best 22, were not allowed to have it all their own way in the second half as the Sharks almost matched the Bulls on the scoreboard.

The Sharks won the inside-50 count 10-8 in the third term and added seven second-half-goals to the Bulls’ nine in an entertaining shootout.

Coach Shane Thompson moved regular full-back Adam Tissott to full-forward in the final term when the margin reached 58 points and captain Sam Lehmann was swung deep into defence as the Sharks added five goals in the last quarter.

Monteath booted three goals in the final term to reach double figures for the second time against the Sharks this season to push 11 goals clear on 52 goals in the race for the Sean Plaisted Medal.

Tyron Miller was allowed to roam free across half-back and was again clinical with his disposal while many of his teammates fumbled throughout the contest.

However, Miller hobbled from the ground with five minutes remaining in the match after appearing to suffer a serious hamstring strain.

The Sharks unearthed under-16 debutants Kieran and Dylan Gowdie, who both kicked their first league goals in the final term while fellow youngster Nick Penny finished with three goals in an impressive display.

While the Bulls currently sit with a better win-loss record than the same point last season with nine wins and three losses, they remain in a three-way fight for a top two finish after being pushed out of second place by North Albany’s big win over Denmark-Walpole on Sunday.