Reigning premiers Royals dominate in atrocious conditions keeping Mt Barker to one goal and remain undefeated

Royals coach Andrew Ruck praised his young talent as the Lions extended their winning streak to 32 games in atrocious conditions against Mt Barker on Sunday. The Lions produced a terrific defensive display, holding the Bulls to one goal in round six of the Great Southern Football League at a rain-soaked Centennial Stadium on their way to a sixth successive win this season. Ruck was impressed with a handful of youngsters who responded well in trying conditions after a few were found out against a physical Denmark-Walpole last week. “Our young blokes were brilliant in the conditions,” he said. “They probably got found out against the bigger bodies last week but they all responded and played fantastic. “It was a really solid effort from the young group, and credit to the junior coaches for helping the young blokes coming through. It’s good for the future of the club.” It took 18 minutes for the first major of the game to be secured through a scrambled kick from Ryan Flick before late goals to Rivah Bocian and Carson Flower helped the Lions open up a significant 23-point lead in the poor conditions. In a dour second term the Lions managed the only score, a behind to Bocian, as they went into half time four goals up. The home side had the first five goals of the contest after Cameron Allison played on from a 50m penalty to goal and then Brandon Elliott found the big sticks as their side skipped 39 points clear by three quarter time. Brent Johnson put the Lions even further ahead in the fourth stanza after converting from close range but the Bulls finally hit the scoreboard through Dylan Gowdie. Gowdie ended a long drought for the visitors when he marked in the goal square, after a rare errant kick from Sam Lehmann, and converted to secure the Bulls first goal and first score of the game 13 minutes into the last term. The Lions juggernaut rolled on however as Allison produced another terrific display as an inside midfielder for the winners with 19 possessions and a goal. He was well supported by Lorcan McNamara across half-back while brothers David and Brayden Parker were pivotal and tall Chandler Askevold-McDonald also had a strong influence on the outcome. In driving rain for much of the afternoon the Lions were a cut above in the conditions as they prevailed 6.9 (45) to 1.1 (7). “We dominated the game across the ground and with inside-50 entries,” Ruck said. “Our defence held up really well and our senior players were a class above. “We couldn’t have asked for much more in the conditions.” Youngster Sebastian Ballard was terrific across half forward for the Bulls in just his third league game while veteran Lehmann battled hard all day for the Bulls. Lee Pavlovich was solid in defence, Byrce Blaszkow worked hard through the middle and Jack Horrocks was as physical as ever. “Our inability to score frequently needs to be addressed,” Bulls coach David Johnson said. “It was a tough game in horrible conditions and is hard to get a lot out of the game. “I was proud of the effort and intent of our players, their commitment can’t be faulted.”