GSFL 2023: Royals chasing more flag success and Railways out to end long drought in colts grand final

Royals will be out to continue their golden era while Railways will chase a breakthrough victory when the two sides meet in a highly-anticipated Great Southern Football League colts grand final on Saturday. The clubs will clash in a colts decider for a fourth time in GSFL history, the Lions having won all three previous encounters. The Lions have won the past four colts premierships and will be out to add a fifth at Sounness Park — a feat only bettered by North Albany who won six straight from 1998-2003. The Tigers’ success at colts level is far more scarce, having won just one flag since the GSFL’s inception back in 1991. In 1991 the Tigers held Mt Barker goalless on their way to a 59-point triumph but it has been tough going since then. The Tigers have lost five colts grand finals following their first flag, including defeats at the hands of the Lions in 2019 and 2020. Finishing third, the Tigers knocked off 2022 grand finalists Denmark-Walpole and then second-placed Albany on their way to this year’s decider. The Lions were thrilling three-point winners over the Sharks in the qualifying final and have been dealing with injuries to key players. Teague Valli (foot) played one game in June before being ruled out for the season while leading goalkicker Jayden-Paul Devenish and ball winner Mitchell Paine both sat out the qualifying final victory. The Lions were dominant 46-point winners in their most recent clash with the Tigers and they also had victories by 29 and 15 points in round eight and three respectively. The Sharks are out to win a maiden league premiership on GSFL grand final day and that is also the case in the reserves. It will be the first time in club history the Sharks play off in a reserves decider after a tense two-point win over the Lions in the qualifying final a fortnight ago. Just one game separated the two sides on the ladder at the end of the regular season and the Lions then smacked the Tigers in last week’s preliminary final to get another crack at the Sharks. The Lions are chasing a hat-trick of reserves flags after beating the Tigers in the past two grand finals. This will be the seventh straight grand final appearance for the Lions in the reserves. Wingman Ryan Kinnear and forward Adrian Hardy, who played in the Lions’ losing league preliminary final team, are qualified for reserves and among a couple of changes expected for the Lions. The Lions won two of the three meetings between the pair in the regular season and the Sharks prevailed in round seven. The Sharks will be chasing back-to-back 16s premierships when they tackle the Tigers to kick start the day. After winning the first two 16s flags in 2009 and 2010, the Sharks then claimed the 2022 title with a big win over the Lions. The Tigers will be out to win their second 16s premiership in three years after a 19-point triumph in the 2021 decider. They were the first team into the grand final after downing the Sharks, who finished as minor premiers, by two points in the qualifying final. The Sharks then responded to beat the Lions by 10 points in the preliminary final and keep their premiership defence alive. The Tigers won their first match-up of the season in round four before the Sharks won by one point in round nine and 40 points in round 14.