GSFL 2024: Brilliant ball movement helped Albany to third straight win in fiery derby according to Jamie Ramm

Elated Albany coach Jamie Ramm said silky and precise ball movement was the catalyst of his side’s third straight win of the season after claiming derby spoils on Saturday night. The Sharks defeated a fast-finishing Royals by 12 points on Saturday night in a fiery encounter, that was marred by an ugly fight between spectators post-game. The two sides may be Retravision Stadium co-tenants but little love was shared between rivals with temperatures frequently flaring throughout the round three Great Southern Football League fixture. The terrific contest was soured by a clash between the two clubs off-field, as spectators and officials firstly became involved in a push and shove near the players race after the final siren, which escalated into a fight with punches thrown. The flaring parties had to be separated by the two sets of playing groups as they walked from the ground, in an ugly finish to the night fixture. The Sharks were electric early with slick and silky ball use, booting seven goals to three through the middle two quarters, setting up their 10.11 (71) to 8.11 (59) victory to keep their perfect record intact. “I think we used the ball pretty well and used our speed early on,” Ramm said. “That is probably what got us on top in the second and third quarters but it was a pretty hard game of footy, I thought the boys played pretty well.” After leading by a healthy 30 points heading into the final stanza, the Sharks were given an almighty scare with the Lions tapping into their trademark resurgent style, which has become a feature in the past fortnight. The Lions booted three goals in as many minutes to start the last quarter with Jack Carlson (two goals), Joel Flick and Hamish McMorran (two goals) converting three centre clearances into crucial goals. But the damage the Sharks had done in the previous three terms was too much for the Lions to recover. “They won centre clearances and we couldn’t stop it,” Ramm said. “They finished better than us which was disappointing. “We tried to change a few things and I think we stopped running a bit, younger guys probably went out of the game a bit which happens but is still no excuse — we were probably lucky in the end.” Bailey Taylor was instrumental for the Sharks with his brutal contested work a feature all game, and penetrating kicks that set up a lot of their offence. Taj Williams was elegant with piercing foot skills dissecting the Lions defence, and Isaac Baum was prolific all game. On the stroke of half-time Sharks’ Brett Peake and Lions’ Corey Linthorne were shown yellow cards for wrestling as a melee broke out in the pocket before heated spot fires littered the broadcast wing. Sharks’ Kaleb Germain was awarded a free kick for high contact and a 50m penalty after the half-time siren to the top of the goal square, gifting him a crucial goal and extending his side’s lead to 18 points at the long break. Despite being sent off for 15 minutes, Peake was still destructive inside the forward line booting a game-high four majors. Lions coach Darrell Panizza said the loss provided his side with key learnings. “For whatever reason we lost our direction and then at three-quarter-time, we just kept rolling and kept going,” he said. “I think we got a lot out of tonight and I think tonight is the change, and I think the change is that we come back to actually focusing on what we’re about. “Natural attrition probably come into it a little bit. I think we are fitter than they are and I think in some of the areas that we tried to work on them, we come out with some real positives. “We’ve had three of the hardest games of footy . . . but we want to work really hard and be where we want to be as a footy club, playing hard, being strong and being as professional as we can.” Brayden Parker competed strongly in the back half for the Lions while Declan McNamara and Flick were enormous in their last-quarter fightback. Seb Stanton also offered plenty of options for the Lions forward-of-centre and was a key link in a lot of their offensive ball movement.