Denmark-Walpole rue missed chances in front of goal as Royals surge home to win GSFL colts premiership

A dominant second quarter helped Royals upset Denmark-Walpole in the Great Southern Football League colts grand final at Collingwood Park on Sunday, handing the Magpies their sole loss of the season. The victory handed the Lions four straight premierships in a colts grade they have dominated in the past decade. The Lions trailed by eight points at the main break but three goals to Rory Luscombe in the second half set the Lions on their way as they surged home to a 12.5 (77) to 8.11 (59) victory. The Panizza Brothers Medal for the player best afield in the colts decider went to a player from the losing team, Magpies’ young star Todd Brown, but the Lions had strong contributions across the board to record an 18-point win. “Obviously Denmark left us in the game for a long time, then we’ve started to get a little bit of momentum and we were close enough,” Lions coach Darrell Panizza said. “At half-time we made a few changes, we pushed Saxon Henrickson forward which gave us some ammunition, we were finding the ball was coming out of our forward line a bit too easy. “With 10 minutes to go before three-quarter-time the whole momentum swung whereas for the first quarter and a half, we were on the receiving end. “I think that all started to fall away because they were a little bit tired and then our players all year have played at a certain level consistently. “I don’t think we played below it at all during the year, it was just a very resilient standard of footy that was able to withstand teams getting on top of you and we were always able to fight our way back.” The Magpies were wasteful in the first quarter, kicking 1.5 while at the other end Rory Luscombe nailed his first attempt of the day for the Lions. In the second term Jhett Morrison-Carter made up for an early miss, converting a clever major in the goal square. Evan Delbene and Jackson Ross added two more for the Magpies but goals to Lions’ Latrell Williams, Teague Valli and Lachlan Steytler cut the margin back to eight points at half-time. Magpies’ Marlon Mastalerz pushed their buffer to a game-high 14 points early in the third term but the Lions found another through the key forward Luscombe. The hard-nosed Ashton Gianati pushed the Magpies’ lead back out to 14 points but again the Lions responded. Ryan Lazar converted a set shot and then Jordan Hulm snapped truly minutes later. Another Luscombe mark and goal had the Lions with their tails up and a nine-point lead at three-quarter-time. Early in the fourth term Luscombe booted his fourth to push the lead to 16 points before Dylan Russell and Jackson Ross answered for the Magpies. However, majors from Lachlan Steytler and Lazar capped a terrific performance for the Lions. Luscombe (four goals) was the difference for the Lions while Lazar (two goals) and Steytler (two) were handy contributors. Captain Saxon Henrickson, Teague Valli and Kaizen Beeck were also prolific for the winners. Brown’s tireless efforts in the ruck and around the ground earned him the best-on-ground honour. He was well supported by Mastalerz and Jackson Ross who kicked two goals each while Jed Schwarzbach and Evan Delbene also had plenty of influence. Magpies coach Peter Ross said accuracy in front of goal proved crucial. “I think our midfield dominated the game in the first half and we had enough opportunities to have a bigger lead and unfortunately we weren’t able to convert,” he said. “When Royals went forward they were very efficient for the whole game, so I think that was the difference in the end. “We’ve had a great time, it’s been a really enjoyable season and unfortunately we couldn’t finish it off the way we wanted but we still had a good time.”