Lions pull off upset in Kinnear’s milestone

An impressive second half has helped Royals upset North Albany and hand veteran Ryan Kinnear a two-point win in his 200th game after a thrilling final term at Centennial Stadium yesterday.

The match was one of two extremely tight contests in round 9 of the Great Southern Football League as Railways held off a persistent Denmark-Walpole in today’s sole fixture.

Kinnear joined an illustrious club of Lions to play 200 league games but he and his teammates trailed by 20 points at half time before kicking six goals to two in the last half and come away with a memorable win that was decided on the siren.

The Lions fought back to hit the front late in the third but their two point lead didn’t last long as Luke Cameron put the Kangas in front.

Cameron Allison was able to pull the deficit back to two points but the Kangas answered again this time through Ray Padfield.

The Lions kicked the next two goals with Andrew Ruck slotting his third and then Brayden Parker’s long set shot sailing through with less than five minutes to play.

It had been an absorbing fourth term and it continued as the Kangas came again with youngster Ted Batchelor kicking a behind to trim the Lions’ lead to three points.

They continued to press forward searching for a winner and Kangas captain Graham Ross was awarded a free kick for holding the ball inside the final 40 seconds but his shot from 35m on an angle was off to the right as the siren sounded.

The Lions prevailed, 9.5 (59) to 8.9 (57), to jump back inside the top four with Ruck highly influential along with Allison and Corey Ward.

The Kangas were best served by midfield duo Matt Orzel and Michael Trevenen while defender Adam Ditchburn was solid all afternoon.

Mt Barker continue to knock on the door of the top two after a comfortable 53-point over Albany at Sounness Park yesterday.

The task of stopping Bulls spearhead Kym Monteath proved too much as he booted nine of his sides 16 goals as their only multiple goal scorer.

The Sharks finished with a late flurry outscoring the Bulls in the final term after four goals to Kieran Gowdie but the home side recorded a much needed percentage booster, 16.8 (104) to 7.9 (51).

Peter Taylor and Dionne Woods busy for the Bulls while Dylan Gowdie, Bryce Blaszkow and Stewart Davies the Sharks best.

Meanwhile in today’s thriller at Tigerland, the Tigers were able to hold off plenty of challenges from the Magpies on their way to a tense seven-point win and skip two games clear on top of the table as a result.

Despite leading at every change, the home side appeared in trouble when then the Magpies kicked the first two of the last stanza to trim the margin to three points.

The two sides traded goals in an epic final but the visitors had another big sniff when Tyler Stone kicked his third and then debutant Kalin Lane marked strongly and goaled from close range to make the difference a single point.

A clutch set shot from youngster Nelson Kent however would see the Tigers home as they pulled off a stirring victory, 15.11 (101) to 14.10 (94).

Kleemann medallist Zane Marwick had been highly influential before he was helped from the ground with an ankle injury in third term and his side had just one fit player on the bench in the final term.

Logan Stubber, Joel Want and Mitch Green were superb while young forward Jacob Blight imposed himself on the game with four majors.

Ryan Gaerth was outstanding again for the Magpies, racking up a stack of possessions and kicking a goal while Guidi and Stone kicked three goals apiece and found plenty of the ball.