GSFL Round 14: Mt Barker hold off fast-finishing Albany, Railways win seven straight and Royals survive scare

Royals survived a late charge from a defiant North Albany to emerge with a valiant 16-point win at Collingwood Park on Sunday, moving to third on the Great Southern Football League ladder with one round left to play. The Lions led at every change but in a frenetic final term the Kangas hit the front with less than 10 minutes to play. However three consecutive goals helped the Lions seal victory, 14.13 (97) to 12.9 (81). The visitors held an 11-point lead at the final change but they found themselves on the back foot early as goals to Taj Williams and Graham Ross helped the Kangas snatch a one-point lead, hitting the front for the first time in the game. Lions midfielder Zak Mola had an opportunity to put the visitors up but his kick struck the post and Rory Luscombe narrowly missed a snap moments after. Williams found himself in space at the other end, bouncing through his fourth goal of the game from 45m out to put the visitors up by five. Lions key forward Nic Ashford missed a shot on goal soon after but a couple of minutes later Jordan Hulm won an important possession and hit the chest of a leading Ryan Lazar. Lazar made no mistake under pressure, slotting a goal from 35m out to put his side up by two points. A clutch set shot from Ryan Kinnear (four goals) gave the visitors breathing space and then a close range major to Coel Hunter handed the Lions a hard-fought win. The Lions struck early through Ashford and inclusion Ethan Panizza but prolific Kangas goal-kicker Ross kept finding answers, kicking two majors at the other end. Ashford kicked truly once more and Chandler Askevold-McDonald added another to help the visitors creep out to a 10-point lead at the first change. A see-sawing second term saw both sides grapple for the ascendancy with Lions’ Ryan Kinnear adding two early goals. Towering Kangas forward Lucas Ravenhill hit back and a Lions turnover allowed an opportunistic Williams to run into an open goal-square to boot his first for the afternoon but the Lions held a slender 15-point advantage at the long break. Two more majors to Ravenhill and a goal to Angus McKercher dragged the margin back to six points but Ashford kicked a timely goal late in the quarter to open up an 11-point lead at the last change and they had to withstand plenty of pressure in the final stanza. Lions star David Parker lifted considerably in the last half to get his side across the line. He was well-supported by Brayden Parker in the opening half, while big man Stephen Beal had great impact in the ruck and around the ground. Mola was also important over the four quarters while Ashford was a big presence in attack and booted five majors. Jyrin Woods was outstanding for the Kangas and he was well-supported by Nathan Crudeli, Sam Moir and youngster Kobi Keen. Williams (four goals) was the major goalkicker for the home side while Ross (three goals) and Ravenhill (three goals) provided great targets up front. Mt Barker held off a late Albany fightback to secure a top-two finish and finals double chance, clinging on for a 13-point win at Retravision Stadium on Saturday. The Bulls led by 37 points mid-way through the third term but a rampaging Sharks gave the visitors a few nervous moments in the fourth. A scuffle on the boundary line and three late goals injected life into the game in the last term but the Sharks were left to rue a slow first half as the Bulls held on for a gritty 10.10 (70) to 8.9 (57) victory. The visitors had a blistering first term, with star forward Zach Jackson up to his usual tricks, booting four early goals to help his side skip to a 17-point lead. After a run of behinds for both sides, Sharks’ Lewis Bosch struck first in the second term to cut the margin back to 10 points. However goals to Dylan Gowdie, Rhys Hogg and Josh Price put the Bulls up by 30 points at the long break. A Brett Peake tackle early in the third term was deemed high and the star was yellow carded for umpire dissent as Bulls’ Ben Kirkwood kicked the first of the quarter shortly after. Towering forward Matt Martin fired back for the home side but they trailed by 31 points at the last change. The Sharks attacked with flair in the last term, taking risks and moving the ball quickly as they looked to mount an unlikely comeback. Martin found the big sticks early before Peake added another to trim the margin to 20 points. Keegan Berry was then yellow carded for misconduct, coming off the bench to join a scuffle on the boundary line. George Bockman slotted a major from a set shot 35m out in the dying stages but it was too late as the Bulls held on for their 10th win of the year. Ruckman David Stone was outstanding for the visitors while Brent Parsons played a great shutdown role on Peake to hold him to a single major and set his teammates up the other way. Darcy Wallinger was reliable in the back half alongside Lee Pavlovich while Joel Gray and Hogg worked tirelessly through the middle of the ground. Isaac Baum and Kane Pinney were again the standouts for the Sharks and were well-supported by Marlin Bennett, Robbie Lee, Kieran Zilm and the returning Dane Holdman in the losing affair. The result sets up a showdown between the Bulls and Railways in the qualifying final at Tigerland on August 27. Railways extended their winning streak to seven games after a strong opening half was enough to down Denmark-Walpole at McLean Park on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers were far too classy in the opening half and held the Magpies to a single point in two quarters of footy on their way to an emphatic 79-point win. A six-goal to two first quarter set the tone for the visitors and they stretched the advantage to 55 points by the long break as twin forwards Clay Michael and Matt Palfrey were causing plenty of headaches for the Magpies. The Magpies were scoreless in the second and managed only one behind in the third as the Tigers surged 82-points clear by the final change. Goals from Jarrod Brack and Carlton Godfrey helped the Magpies win the final quarter and finish on a better note but they went down 16.12 (108) to 4.5 (29). Michael had three goals to half-time and was a towering figure in the third with three more, finishing with a game-high six majors. Palfrey again had plenty of influence with five majors, three of which came in the second term while youngster Ryley Valli was superb in the middle of the ground to be a driving force behind the Tigers’ 12th win of the season. Craig Frost, Xavier Brenton-Reed and Kane Shephard were also valuable contributors in a game played in slippery conditions after half-time. Tyler Stone, Ryan Gaerth and player-coach Brad Nisbett all toiled hard for the home side while Aaron Wheeler won plenty of the ball.