GSFL Round 15: Tigers make it eight straight, injury concerns for the Bulls and Lions down persistent Magpies

Railways have finished their impressive regular season on a strong note, after a dominant fourth quarter helped them overcome Albany by 51 points at Tigerland on Saturday. All three games in the last round of the Great Southern Football League competition were played on Saturday and it was the Tigers who came out on top in the battle between two sides that will feature in the finals. The Sharks were within 20 points early into the fourth term, but the minor premiers went up a gear to notch their 13th win of the season. The Tigers booted six of the last seven goals of the contest to charge to the finish line in their last home-and-away fixture for the season with an impressive 16.11 (107) to 8.8 (56) triumph. The home side got the jump early, opening a 14-point buffer at quarter-time thanks to goals from dynamic forwards Matt Palfrey and Clay Michael. The Tigers were left to rue a run of behinds with Michael and Palfrey both hitting the post in the early stages of the second term. However the home side had success in winning clearances with hard-nosed midfielders Joel Want and Ryan Davies providing great drive. Palfrey and Michael added one major each in the second period but a late goal from Sharks star Brett Peake dragged the margin back to 24 points at the long break. Davies bobbed up on the 50m arc to put through his first of the game before exploding from the centre to find the chest of a leading Zak Hortin who put the Tigers up by 35. With the game in danger of breaking apart, Peake and Matt Martin kicked two majors in quick succession to inject life into the Sharks. Both sides traded goals towards the end of the third term but a booming goal from Peake had the visitors within striking distance, trailing by 22 points at three-quarter time. Sharks speedster Lewis Bosch had an opportunity to cut the margin back to 16 points but missed and Peake sprayed a shot wide soon after to start the final stanza. Matt Van Schayk completed a desperate chase down tackle in the Tigers’ forward half before putting through his first of the game. Two goals to Michael and a goal each to Palfrey and Davies capped a rampant last term as the Sharks ran out of steam in the dying stages. Davies produced another electric display in the midfield and he was well-supported by Want and Mitch Green as their side made it eight wins on the trot. Captain Bodhi Stubber was defensively sound all afternoon, intercepting countless Sharks entries while setting his side up going the other way. The Tigers front half also worked well containing Palfrey (four goals), Michael (four) and Hortin (three). Sharks’ midfielders Fraser Eaton and Isaac Baum were superb in a losing affair, while Cameron Jones toiled hard in the defensive half. Peake finished with four majors, taking his season tally to 55 at the end of the regular season. Six goals in the first and last quarters from Mt Barker ensured they took winning momentum into the finals, outlasting North Albany at Sounness Park on Saturday. However the win came at a cost with defender Darcy Wallinger (calf) and veteran Sam Lehmann (back) not finishing the game with injuries ahead of this Saturday’s qualifying final showdown with the Tigers. The Bulls set up the 42-point victory with six unanswered goals in the first term as the Kangas were made to pay for sloppy defending and wayward kicking in front of goal. The home side led by 32 points at the first change and two goals from Dylan Gowdie and second majors to Lehmann and Steven Scott helped extend that to 41 at the long break. However the Kangas produced an inspired third period, storming back into the contest as their midfield got on top. Jyrin Woods, Nathan Crudeli and Jonny Hegney were terrific at the stoppages and majors to Graham Ross, Taj Williams, Jackson Davidson, Dustin Boyce and a wonderful goal on the run from Woods gave them plenty of momentum at three quarter time. The visitors had trimmed the deficit to 17 points but true to their top two form this season the Bulls hit back emphatically as they kicked two goals inside the first three minutes of the final quarter to make life difficult. Woods tried desperately to inspire the Kangas to a famous win with another classy goal and talented teenager Kobi Keen added his second but the Bulls had too many answers at the other end. Zach Jackson rolled himself into the middle of the ground and had immediate effect before pushing forward to kick three telling majors as the Bulls ran out winners 18.13 (121) to 11.13 (79). Bryce Blaszkow capped a terrific day in the midfield with a final quarter goal, Joel Gray again won countless clearances and pumped the ball inside 50 regularly while in his 150th league game Lee Pavlovich was again rock-solid and youngster Sebastian Ballard did little wrong. Zach Jackson finished with six goals after kicking three in the opening term but he was well-held in the second and third quarters playing as a deep forward. Bulls coach David Johnson said Wallinger and Lehmann were concerns heading into the first week of the finals while Rhys Hogg had to be helped from the ground after a heavy collision in a marking contest. The Kangas had wonderful contributions from Woods (three goals) and Keen while Davidson worked hard along with Crudeli and talented teenager Lucas Ravenhill came into the game after half-time. Experienced defender Alec Haskins was injured and didn’t play after half-time. The Bulls finish the normal season with a win-loss record of 11-4 and have won their past three games while the Kangas two-win season comes to a close, finishing fifth on the ladder. Royals outlasted a determined Denmark-Walpole to finish 31-point winners at Retravision Stadium on Saturday. The visitors never trailed by more than 20 points at any change but a strong finish from the Lions handed them a 14.11 (95) to 9.10 (64) triumph. The Lions opened up a two-goal buffer at the end of the first term but the Magpies kept finding answers to trail by 19 points at the main break. Both teams went goal-for-goal in an eventful third term and the margin remained at 19 points with one quarter left to play. However a four-goal last stanza sealed victory for the home side as they stitched up third place on the GSFL ladder heading into the first week of finals where they will face the Sharks in a elimination final. In the fourth quarter Lions’ Daniel Archbold-Mortensen and Magpies’ Barry Roberts both received yellow cards for rough conduct. Ethan Panizza was outstanding for the home side alongside Lorcan McNamara, Archbold-Mortensen and Hayden Johnson. Coel Hunter booted three goals for the winners while Rory Luscombe, Nic Ashford and Panizza were the other multiple goal kickers. Tyler Stone (three goals) was again superb for the Magpies who finished the season at the bottom of the ladder and they also had strong contributions from Tyrone Kennedy, Kadan-King Davies and David Scriven.