GSFL 2023: Railways storm to 82-point win against Mt Barker to remain undefeated after opening two rounds

Railways continued their perfect start to the season with a commanding 82-point win over Mt Barker at Souness Park on Saturday. The Tigers showed no signs of a premiership hangover against the Bulls, making it back-to-back wins to start the Great Southern Football League season undefeated. Tigers coach Mark Bayliss praised the efforts of the determined Bulls, who went in without their premier ruckman David Stone and lost star midfielder Scott Price to injury. “I think the Bulls have done a great job considering what they’ve got and what they’ve had,” he said. “Our pressure probably outweighed theirs towards the end, which helped us run away with it. “I still think we’re a long way from our top gear and the next few weeks might be challenging — we have a few out, with some new ones coming in. “I think we’ll have three or four changes this week and then next week another three changes, which will test our depth structure. “I thought Duff (Josh Duffield) was great, he rucked superbly for most of the game. It’s his follow-up skills that have improved so much this season.” The sides traded goals in the opening term and it looked as though, for the second week running, the Bulls were a fighting chance against the odds. However, the reigning premiers outscored their opposition 16 goals to three in the final three quarters, streaming away with a 19.12 (126) to 6.8 (44) victory. Tigers’ Joel Want and Bulls’ Daniel Patching both stepped up in the first term, kicking two goals each in a tight opening, but the Tigers led by a point at the first break. Six majors for the Tigers in the second term put the clamps on, and to make matters worse, Price went down with a nasty rib injury as a result of a tackle and failed to return to the game. Despite an even third quarter, the Tigers kicked nine of the last three goals as Clay Michael (five goals) came alive, kicking four of those. The Bulls had something to cheer about when Camball McMahon rose on the back of Jaxon Lombardini in the forward line, taking a spectacular mark early in the third quarter but he failed to convert the shot at goal. A goal to Tigers youngster Toby Hall lifted his teammates’ energy early in the final term, nailing a stunning check-side kick from a tight angle in the pocket. Want was terrific for the second week in a row, leading well at half-forward to finish with five majors, while small forward Jack Steel bagged three and the returning Dylan Holt added two. Jayden Scott won plenty of clearances and the outside run of Mitch Green and Ryan Davies caused problems for the opposition all day. Despite the hefty margin, Lee Pavlovich was outstanding in the Bulls’ defensive arc, cutting off multiple entries and setting his side up the other way. Patching (two goals) toiled hard in the forward half while pacy midfielder Joel Gray (two) also shone.