GSFL OPINION: Albany and Mt Barker can be top-two teams and shake up the big boys in the competition

For the Great Southern Football League to remain a strong and vibrant competition, six participating clubs is simply a must. The primary aim would be to have six financially viable and competitive on-field clubs that would balance out to an equal competition. Now the GSFL powerbrokers will be having a few anxious nights thinking about the problems currently at Denmark-Walpole but the executive must take some heart from last weekend. The league’s expansion club Albany and out-of-towners Mt Barker, not only headlined round four but they produced a brilliant game of footy that underlined why they are two of the in-form teams so far this year. It is fantastic that both the Sharks and Bulls are up and about early in the new season and both can stake their claim as top-two contenders if they continue to play in the fashion they are at present. Wouldn’t it be nice to see a change at the top and see a couple of new teams facing off for the premiership cup? Last week’s two-point game between the Sharks and Bulls was a great spectacle. At times it was hard, physical footy and at other stages the ball pinged from end to end at speed. Both clubs had key targets in attack that drew plenty of attention and when it got down to the last quarter, you didn’t want to be anywhere else apart from Retravision Stadium. One side holding on for dear life and the other rolling the dice like there was no tomorrow. It produced a wonderful contest and the records show that the Sharks clung on for a desperate victory, which later in the season could be massive in terms of ladder position. Even Bulls coach David Johnson conceded in the aftermath just how big the result was, with his club buoyed by a strong start to the season. However that start, if not slow first halves against Royals and the Sharks, could read four wins as opposed to a record of 2-2. The Sharks were lucky to hold on and they can thank intercept defender Kane Pinney largely for the four points, as he held the dam wall up in that final term. What the result does is give the Sharks some added confidence ahead of their showdown with Railways this weekend. The last time the two sides met was in a preliminary final and the Tigers bossed them, quite frankly. It showed the Sharks the level they must get to if they want to reach a grand final, clearly the next on-field step for the building club. Although round five is a long way from making a grand final, this Saturday will show the Sharks exactly where they are. They face a Tigers side that has just started to get rolling with back-to-back wins and Sharks coach Jamie Ramm’s first order of business will be how to stop Matt Palfrey. Palfrey has kicked 15 goals in a fortnight and the scary thing is there has been plenty of midfield time in both of those fixtures as well. After five completed rounds we will get a good gauge on where each team sits but a change is as good as a holiday and it’s encouraging to see clubs like the Sharks and Bulls performing so well on the field in 2022.