Railways overcome sluggish start to win grand final replay against Royals as Palfrey stars with six goals

A commanding six-goal performance by Railways star Matt Palfrey helped his side overcome a slow start to win the grand final replay by 32 points against Royals at Retravision Stadium on Saturday. Palfrey was the most dominant figure on the ground as his six goals, 25 disposals and seven marks ensured the Tigers handed the Lions their first loss of the 2022 Great Southern Football League season. A terrific second half was set up after the two sides traded blows in the first two quarters, the Lions getting the early jump before the Tigers surged to the front with a four-goal second term. However, just as he was in last year’s decider when he won the Alan Barnett Medal, Palfrey was superb as he booted 6.3 to lead the Tigers to their second win of the season. The former Claremont forward kicked three goals in a dominant second term as the Tigers went into half-time ahead by a single point. He added two more in the third as the visitors skipped out to a 21-point advantage and they went on to record an impressive win, 14.10 (94) to 9.8 (62). Playing both in the midfield and as a key forward, Palfrey’s influence allowed the Tigers to kick eight goals to three and ran rampant in the second half against their arch-rivals. Kane Shephard was prolific around the stoppages with 24 touches and kicked three goals, while youngster Mohit Jaggi was also terrific for the winners. The Tigers also had strong contributions from Fraser Grant (two goals), Joel Want and the returning Jayden Scott. Tigers coach Mark Bayliss said it was a pleasing response after a disappointing fade-out against Mt Barker last week. “I thought we were too loose early and they were winning the centre clearances,” he said. “But our second quarter was good and we had a really good all-round team effort. “Palf was superb and some of our young players really stood up.” The Lions started strongly on their home deck with five goals in the opening term, including two from the boot of forward Coel Hunter, but they were beaten around the stoppages in the second half. Cameron Allison had 12 disposals in the first term and finished with 23, while Zak Mola (24 possessions) was a strong contributor across the four quarters for the home side. Stephen Beal had some moments in his return and Jayson Ford’s first half was electric, but he faded out of the game. Hamish McMorran spent large periods of the game in attack and kicked two goals, and Hayden Johnson was yellow-carded for misconduct in the third term. Lions coach Andrew Ruck said their side gave up too many goals from free kicks. “Palfrey was unstoppable, that was the difference really at the end of the game,” Ruck said. “We were a bit careless in some moments, coughed up probably four or five (goals) to free kicks. “They just overworked us and we are not as fit as we should be.”