Reigning premiers Royals reel in brave Denmark-Walpole out and hold on for thrilling win to remain undefeated

Royals coach Andrew Ruck said his side were lucky to walk away with a thrilling three-point victory after overhauling a gallant Denmark-Walpole outfit in round five at McLean Park on Saturday. In greasy conditions, the Lions survived a big scare to win their 31st consecutive game, reeling in the home side with a strong second half. Five unanswered goals in the third term helped the Lions get back in the contest and hit the lead for the first time since early in the match. The Lions trailed by 15 points at the main change but they mounted a superb comeback in the third stanza as their key senior figures stood up to reverse the momentum and execute a 30-point turnaround. Stephen Beal and David Parker kicked goals from turnovers before Michael McGlade broke clear from a stoppage to put the visitors up by two points midway through the third term. Hamish McMorran added his fourth goal of the game and then Jordan Heil snapped smartly to put the visitors 15 points ahead. Jayden Woods took a spectacular aerial mark and converted and that was followed by a Coen Marwick soccer goal to pull the deficit back to three points midway through the final term. McMorran steadied the ship before Magpies captain Alec Haskins was awarded a 50m penalty and converted to make it a two-point game in the dying stages. However the Lions found a way to win, holding on for a memorable 11.9 (75) to 11.6 (72) triumph in ruckman Nathan Powell’s 100th league game. Heil was awarded the game ball for Belt Up round by the umpires after a dominant display finishing with 36 touches and one goal. McMorran, who played forward the entire game, was the difference in the win finishing with five goals and a number of telling marks while Parker had 20 important disposals and was influential in the second half and Beal was also crucial. “We are just very, very lucky to get the win,” Ruck said. “They had conditions to suit, we had five-six young blokes that probably got exposed because of the conditions and because of their stronger bodies. “We showed a lot of fight in the third quarter and got dirty after rolling our sleeves up at half-time.” The Magpies jumped out of the blocks to lead by five points at the first change and had extended that margin to after booting five goals to three in the second. New recruit Bailey Bennett starred in the second quarter booting four goals and he had five by the main break for the Magpies. Ryan Gaerth worked tirelessly through the middle of the ground with 28 possessions, Tyler Stone was strong around the contest with 19 touches and a goal, Jaden Guidi was prolific through the centre and Brodie Reeve was solid in defence. Woods finished with 29 possessions and two goals to go with his mark of the year contender. Magpies coach Alan Smallwood said he was proud of his side’s performance. “It was a bloody good game to watch, it was outstanding and good skills considering the wet,” he said. “We just had that lapse in the third quarter where we just got away from what we focused on in the first half and then we got back to that in the last quarter. “We just got away from what we wanted to do, gave them a bit more room and lost a bit of composure and pressure in the third quarter.”