GSFL 2023: Royals take significant step towards playing finals with third straight win after downing Mt Barker

For the second straight week Royals have overcome inaccuracy in front of goal to post victory, this time grinding out a 20-point triumph on the road on Saturday. The Lions made it three straight wins as they accounted for Mt Barker at Sounness Park and now sit more than two games clear of the fifth-placed Kangas on the ladder. The result is a significant step towards playing finals in 2023 and coach Andrew Ruck says their inside-50 numbers and scoring shots in the past three rounds show his side is building strongly. “The past three weeks I think we’ve had close to 60 inside-50s each game but we can’t turn it into scoreboard currency, that’s our issue at the moment,” Ruck said. “We are going inside-50, we’re starting to build some momentum but for whatever reason we can’t finish it off. “It was just a frustrating day all round, we hit the post, the boys got frustrated, kept turning it over and Pav (Lee Pavlovich) played well and was zoning off and reading it and then they managed to kick three against the grain.” The Lions kicked 23.18 in their win over Denmark-Walpole before scoring 13.22 in the round five win against North Albany. In the round six clash the Lions again wasted chances in front of goal but four majors in the third term proved decisive. With captain Brayden Parker mopping up well in defence, Joel Flick and Corey Ward busy in the middle and lively half-forward Brandon Elliott a constant threat all day, the visitors got the job done. The Lions squandered early chances and kicked 1.7 in the first term to lead by 10 points but the Bulls clicked into gear in the second. Daniel Patching sparked the home side with two terrific goals in the but the visitors still held the advantage going into the last half with each side kicking three for the term. The Bulls added two majors in the third term through Dylan Gowdie and Ben Kirkwood but the Lions kept finding the answers and pushed the margin to 28 points. Elliott snared his second while majors from Justin Galos, Nic Ashford and Jaiden Alison ensured the Lions remained on top. Reigning Kleemann medallist Zach Jackson shook off his woes in front of the big sticks to kick two final-term majors and keep the Bulls in the game but Alison’s second sealed the 9.16 (70) to 7.8 (50) win. Elliott was terrific up front as he and Alison were the multiple goal kickers for the visitors. Joel Flick was influential through the middle of the ground and kicked a long-range goal while Parker, Ward, Cameron Allison and Stephen Beal all played key roles in the result. For the home side, defender Lee Pavlovich took a plenty of intercept marks and was outstanding all afternoon, Patching worked tirelessly in the middle of the ground while Darcy Wallinger and Cameron Walsh had strong performances. Zach Jackson finished with two majors but was well held early and Mitch Jackson went down late with an ankle injury. Bull Alex Skinner and Lion Lorcan McNamara were yellow-carded in the final quarter for their involvement in a melee. Poor disposal and constant turnovers were a source of frustration for Bulls coach Brad Hook. “That is our worst game we’ve played all year. Nothing against Royals, they won the game and they were the best team,” Hook said. “Our disposal was terrible and our entry into forward line, although there wasn’t many because the ball was turned over between the arc, was terrible. “We didn’t have a target to kick to and the midfield kicked the bulk of our goals today. “As bad as we played there is lot of positives, we only lost by three goals.”