Royals remarkable 32-game winning streak ends against arch rivals Railways in thrilling finish

Railways have pinched top spot and ended arch rivals Royals remarkable winning streak, as they snuffed out some late chances by the Lions in a thrilling final term at Tigerland on Saturday afternoon. The Lions 32-game winning streak came to an end as a result of the eight-point loss to the Tigers in round seven of the Great Southern Football League. A dominant six-goal second-half from the home side propelled them to an impressive victory over the reigning premiers, in the process pinching top spot by virtue of superior percentage. Railways key forward Zak Hortin kicked his third goal of the game to give the home side the lead for the first time since the first term with more than 10 minutes to play. However the Lions came hard as three behinds in a row reduced the deficit back to one point with less five minutes to play. In congestion Joel Want kicked the winner from close range with 40 seconds left to hand the Tigers a thrilling come-from-behind win and give the Lions their first defeat since round three in 2019. The Lions settled quickest and produced a terrific second quarter to open up a 29-point half-time advantage. However they failed to add another major in the second half as the Tigers gained the ascendancy. A clever Fraser Grant snap on the run and then a brilliant set shot from Ryan Davies in the right forward pocket gave the Tigers two in a row midway through the third term and the margin was back to single figures by three-quarter-time after Hortin kicked truly from a 50m penalty. Tigers midfielder Logan Stubber kicked the first goal of the final term and his side went on to win 7.8 (50) to 5.12 (42). Kane Shephard was awarded the game ball for the Tigers after being pivotal through the midfield. Tigers captain Bodhi Stubber played a key role in defence and then helped change the game in the third quarter when he was moved to centre-half-forward. Ryan Davies worked hard all day along with Logan Stubber, who finished with 22 disposals. Tigers coach Mark Bayliss said he was proud of the group. “I said to the boys at half-time we couldn’t go as bad as we did in the first half,” he said. “I challenged the boys to respond and they did. It was great to see the boys respond as a group that’s what impressed me the most. “I think we gained ascendancy in the second half around the ball and started to carry the ball. “We are building momentum which is the most important thing and hopefully we can be a competitive side at the end of the year.” Michael McGlade (27 disposals and one goal) was outstanding in the middle, while youngster Ben Altus was impressive across half-back. David Parker (23 touches and two goals) was vital in the first half and Cameron Allison battled all day. The Lions had 20 more inside-50s in the game but were not as effective. “I thought their leaders were good, their older blokes, I thought Bodhi was awesome they didn’t really have a centre-half-forward to kick to and he was leading Hammer (Hamish McMorran) to the ball by 10m,” Lions coach Andrew Ruck said. “I thought their leaders stood up and ours were poor. “It was a good contest and obviously we will be disappointed but we can’t win them all and they just wanted it a bit more. “If you want to ever come down and watch a good captain’s performance I thought Bodhi’s game was outstanding.”