GSFL 2023: Lions stand tall to overcome Sharks in heated reserves decider and claim third straight flag

Royals sealed a three-peat of reserves premierships after their fiery 27-point win over Albany in the Great Southern Football League grand final at Sounness Park on Saturday. Three unanswered goals in the second term proved decisive in the flag triumph, as the Lions opened up a 19-point advantage at half-time before going on to finish 10.7 (67) to 6.4 (40) winners. The Sharks led by a single point at quarter-time on the back of a late goal from Lawrence Woods, but Casey Ganzer kicked one from the goal square and then snapped a second soon after to hand the Lions control. Adrian Hardy then gave the Lions a significant buffer, jailing a terrific set shot to push the Lions further clear by the long break. Earlier a 100m penalty gifted Woods a goal from point blank range to end an enthralling first quarter. Sharks’ Zac Pearson kicked the first goal of the game before Darren Hardy and then Adrian Hardy hit back for the Lions. The lead changed again as the Sharks’ Hamish Fuller kicked truly but it was only brief as Gerson Alforque helped the Lions pinch back the advantage inside the last two minutes of the opening term. In the third term Shark Ashley Sanders got one back but Adrian Hardy fired home back-to-back majors to bring his tally to four. Adrian Hardy bobbed up again in the early stages of the fourth quarter, crumbing from a pack before snapping his fifth major from 30m out. Pearson marked 40m out on an angle and converted to trim the margin back to 24 points and had another at the 18-minute mark. However Darren Hardy put the game beyond any doubt, putting through the final goal of the contest late in the last quarter, sparking jubilation from teammates. Adrian Hardy was awarded the Jim Hull Medal for his outstanding display forward of centre, finishing with five goals. Nathan Powell dominated in the ruck while Joley Graham and Mitchell Curnow also shone. The Sharks were best served by Sanders, Gus Bockman, Harris Grimes and Pearson. Lions coach Scott Ganzer said having an experienced playing group was pivotal in the win. “I think our composure improved a lot from our qualifying (final) loss,” he said. “Some of our older blokes hitting targets helped, we brought some players in and our backline stood up tall. “They’ve (Sharks) been building for the last couple of years so credit to them, we have strong core of players and some young blokes which got us over the line. “This is my fourth year coaching the reserves, we’ve played in four grand finals and won three of them so it was more a relief on Saturday than anything. “The pressure of trying to win three was definitely there, I was pretty happy to be honest. “(Ashley) Sanders was hurting us through the midfield so we checked him a little bit. “Young James Watters stood up when he needed to with some good marks and Casey (Ganzer) put his body on the line when he needed to, it was a real captain’s game from him.”