GSFL 2024: Youthful influence spurred Railways to hard-fought road victory, according to Bodhi Stubber

Railways player-coach Bodhi Stubber praised his undermanned side after they walked away 21-point victors against Mt Barker at Sounness Park on Saturday. The Tigers’ triumph won’t go down as one of the prettiest performances in recent memory but it was enough to secure the four premiership points over the Bulls. The visitors led at every change on their way to the 11.12 (78) to 8.9 (57) win, but at times were made to rue clumsy and erratic inside-50s after the Bulls made them pay with their devastating counterattacks. Hamstrung by the glaring absentees of Ryley Valli and Bailey Bennett among their five changes from last week’s heartbreaking loss to the Lions, the Tigers lacked polish and class forward of centre. Stubber was pleased with his side’s victory, featuring three debutants, who showed maturity beyond their years. “I’m pretty happy to bank the four points, especially given it’s probably our youngest side in five or six years,” he said. “We did miss the skills of Ryley (Valli) and Bailey (Bennett) but it gave the opportunity for younger guys to step up and they probably helped us run out the game a lot better in the end. “I thought we dominated the game and I think after last week’s loss we still tried to play our brand of footy and we did it again this week.” Tigers young gun Milan Jaggi found plenty of it across half-back generating most of their rebounds while brother Mohit Jaggi operated the wing tirelessly with brilliant ball use. But with their star midfielders missing, the Tigers continued to struggle to generate potent looks going forward and left the door open for the hosts. At the other end, Bulls gun Zach Jackson barely left the forward 50 booting four goals and single-handedly keeping his side within striking distance. Darcy Lubcke comepted strongly in the defensive half while Ross Douglas offered plenty of connection to the forward line and debutant Jared Ballard showed glimpses of his ability throughout. Both sides traded punches through the opening three quarters before the Tigers finally broke the game apart with three last-quarter goals. “They scored most of their goals from our turnovers and a lot of their goals came out the back,” Stubber said. “But once we kinda got that right we started to take control of the game and it showed in the last quarter.” Stubber (four goals) led the charge with two majors in the last before Mohit Jaggi added the icing on top when he booted his second. Bulls coach Brad Hook conceded his side could not match the Tigers’ pressure, which became their undoing in the brutal contest. “I thought that was a very fast-paced physical game for all four quarters didn’t relent at all and I just thought maybe under that pressure they were just a bit better with their ball use,” he said. “Railways’ pressure was relentless and they just handled the pressure better . . . and that probably showed in the last quarter. “We were disappointed with the loss the boys could walk off with their chins up.”