GSFL 2024: Royals claim tense NAIDOC Round victory over Mt Barker, Albany score away win and Railways too good

Royals secured victory in a one-point thriller while Railways and Albany each notched big victories in NAIDOC Round of the Great Southern Football League on Saturday. The Lions and Sharks’ victories maintained their two game buffer over the chasing Tigers and Mt Barker, soundly solidifying their top two credentials with just four rounds to play in the regular season. Railways were the biggest winners of the weekend nearly booting 200 points in their 161-point thrashing of North Albany. A behind from the boot of Lions’ Chandler Askevold-McDonald in the final minute of the game was all that separated the Royals and Bulls at Retravision Stadium in a fiery clash. Despite leading since early in the first quarter, an ill-disciplined Bulls were made to rue numerous cards shown to their players in a bone-crunching encounter that saw the Lions emerge one-point victors. In a stoppage-heavy match fraught with controversy, Askevold-McDonald was the beneficiary of a contentious holding-the-ball call in the final minute that would ultimately hand the Lions the win. Bulls’ Darcy Wallinger potentially secured the win in the final quarter when a Lions official on the bench failed to return the ball after an out-on-the-full free kick to Wallinger that resulted in a 50m penalty, advancing Wallinger within 25m to extend their lead to eight points. But minutes later, Lions star big man Stephen Beal muscled his way to the boundary throw-in deep inside their forward-50 grabbing the ball out of the ruck and spectacularly snapping over his shoulder to even the ledger in the final few minutes. Despite going down by the barest of margins, Bulls’ Tyreice Brown (two goals) was the deserved best-on-ground after an incredible performance with superb foot skills and piercing runs throughout the afternoon. Brayden Parker was huge across half-back and booted a sensational running goal in the last while Beal imposed himself at the source in Bulls’ ruck duo’s absence in the third term. Rhys Hogg and Daniel Patching starred in the Bulls’ midfield while Clayton Wood and Seb Ballard were instrumental in defence for the visitors. Both sides found themselves on the receiving end of some match-defining decisions, but the Bulls had three players sent off in the 7.8 (50) to 7.9 (51) loss. Bulls midfielder Brent Parsons was dealt two yellow cards for umpire dissent within 30 seconds in the third term, ending his game early, before Mitch Jackson was shown a yellow minutes later for the same reason. An unruly Brandon Ugle gave away numerous free kicks off the ball and was shown yellow for rough conduct in the second quarter. Parsons’ effective red card was reduced to a yellow after the match following an umpires review. Blustery conditions made moving the ball on the wide-open spaces of Retravision Stadium difficult and after conceding the opener of the match, the Bulls made full use of their wind advantage with four straight majors to the first change. When the Lions were backed by the howling westerly in the second, they only managed two goals when James Watters snapped inside the goal square before David Parker set sail from beyond the arc, cutting the half time deficit to nine points. As tempers flared in the third, the Bulls were received their three yellow cards and with captain and ruckman David Stone unable to return to the field after half-time, their lack of rotations began to wear them down. Lions’ Brandon Elliot and Mitch Paine combined for two crucial goals into the breeze, matching Bulls’ two majors from Brown and Ashley Wallam (two goals) at the other end. The home side’s win was soured by the injuries to Jaiden Alison (hand) and young gun Teague Valli (shoulder) who did not return to the field after quarter time. The Sharks remain on top of the ladder, percentage ahead of the Lions, after their 79-point win over a gritty Denmark-Walpole at McLean Park. After a competitive opening term where the home side trailed by just eight points at quarter time, the Sharks kicked clear in the second stanza. The visitors began to dominate around the stoppages and were deadly in their front half as Brett Peake went to work against the under pressure Magpies defence. Peake had five goals to his name by the long break, the Sharks kicking seven goals to two as the margin ballooned out to 41 points. The Sharks appeared to have control of the contest early in the third but the Magpies fought back and a couple of late goals trimmed the deficit to 36 points at three quarter time. Magpies star Tyler Stone was denied a third goal of the term, beaten by the siren as he gathered the ball and kicked truly. The floodgates opened in the final term however as the tiring Magpies fell away, the Sharks booting seven unanswered goals to seal the 20.10 (130) to 8.3 (51) victory. Robbie Lee was outstanding for the Sharks, driving the ball inside 50 countless times, and received the NAIDOC Round match ball after being judged best-on-ground by the umpires. Peake finished with eight majors in another terrific display while Taj Williams (four goals) and Harry Hordacre (three) were also big contributors in the front half. Brock Anning won plenty of the ball, defensive duo Cameron Jones and Kane Pinney were rock solid again and youngster Clay Harrington showed his promise through the middle of the ground. Stone finished with four goals in a strong performance for the Magpies and he was well supported by Gus Brampton in the ruck while Brad Keast, Marlon Mastalerz and Josh Thompson were busy throughout the afternoon. Railways notched one of their more memorable victories and got the forward connection they desired after belting Kangas by 161 points on their home turf on Saturday. While the Tigers discovered their offensive groove at one end, their defence held firm at the other, conceding just three goals in the 28.13 (181) to 3.2 (20) hiding at Collingwood Park. Kleemann Medal fancy Ryley Valli was sublime across all four quarters, amassing a wealth of possessions and booting four majors on his way to being awarded the best-on-ground game ball. Bailey Bennett had a field day forward of centre with a bag of six goals while Mohit Jaggi’s strong run of form continued after booting five of the Tigers’ 28 goals. Co-captain Jayden Scott sustained his goal-scoring run discovered at the country championships last weekend with four goals and provided vital grunt in the midfield. After a blistering opening term where they booted six goals to Kangas’ two, the Tigers then turned the screws even further in the second with eight unanswered goals while keeping their opponents scoreless. The pain the Kangas endured did not stop there as the Tigers outfit emerged after half time with an equally impressive performance, booting 14 goals to one as runaway winners. The Kangas were best served by Nick Barrow, Brandon Woods, Seth Hambley and Kobi Keen.