Hamish McMorran’s five-goal haul helps Royals get the better of Albany in derby

A five-goal haul from Hamish McMorran and another prolific midfield display from Cameron Allison guided the Royals to a resounding 62-point victory over Albany in the Centennial Stadium derby on Sunday. The Lions virtually stitched up top spot and the minor premiership after notching their 12th win of the Great Southern Football League season. The 15.16 (106) to 7.2 (44) result helped them move two games and percentage clear on top of the ladder, all but guaranteeing they will host the second semifinal. Ex-AFL player Brett Peake still showed he has plenty left in the tank with another five-goal haul for the Sharks, but his side were outclassed by the reigning premiers. McMorran starred up forward as the Lions slammed home 10 goals in the opening half to set up the win. It took 14 minutes for the first goal of the game to be scored from Seb Stanton before Rivah Bocian and then two in a row from McMorran gave the Lions four unanswered goals and a 28-point buffer at the first break. Peake kicked the first two goals of the second term to trim the deficit but the Lions responded with the next four, including two from the returning Declan McNamara. Lions captain Brayden Parker was yellow carded after a free kick reversal and then another resulting free kick seconds later and the Lions dominance was briefly halted after a Henry Graham major. McMorran, however, had five by half-time as his side opened up a 53-point advantage. Both sides kicked two goals in the third stanza as Peake took his tally to four on the siren with a long-range effort but his side still trailed by 55 points. The Lions slotted the first three goals of the final term to seal the big win, as McMorran finished with 5.4 and took a number of telling marks. He was joined in the Lions best by Allison who racked up 33 possessions and a stack of clearances. Youngster Ryley Valli was impressive off a wing while veteran Ryan Kinnear, rising defender Ben Altus and ball winner David Parker were also key contributors. Lions coach Andrew Ruck was pleased with his side’s strong all-round contribution. “I thought our first quarter was our best quarter of the year,” he said. “I thought our second quarter when we went forward we played dumb footy, we kept going wide and we didn’t play our smartest. “Having someone like ‘Hammer’ (McMorran) to kick to straightened us up a bit. “We played some good tempo footy and probably didn’t get reward that we deserved but when you win like that you’re pretty happy.” Peake was outstanding with five goals from 15 possessions in a losing affair, taking his tally to 39 for the season, and Jonothan Leach won a stack of the ball across the four quarters. Jake Louthean battled hard in the ruck, midfielder Cameron Jones was solid and teenager David Arthur impressed, but they missed the usual output of a number of important regular players. “It was probably one of our better second halves and our side was extremely young,” Sharks coach Jamie Ramm said. “They use the ball very well and are a very good side. “It was a pretty good game of footy and they’re the best side at the moment and that’s where we are aiming to be.”