Strong wins on opening day of Great Southern Colts Carnival sets up title triumph for Great Southern Storm

Two impressive victories on the opening day of the Great Southern Colts Carnival helped the Great Southern Storm qualify for yet another grand final. The long-running carnival was held in Lake Grace at the weekend and the Storm were emphatic 54-point winners in their opener before beating Peel in their second match to secure a place in Sunday’s decider. Two goals in the opening term against Peel gave the Storm a strong start and they never gave up the lead from that point on. Neither side kicked a goal in the second term but the Storm set up their 26-point win with a terrific third quarter. Key forward Clay Michael kicked a booming goal on the run and his side had two in the space of a minute after a brilliant goal from the boundary from Teague Valli extended the Storm’s advantage. Michael kicked his third and despite a major from Peel’s Tyler Gater, the Storm went into the final term up by 17 points. The Storm kicked the first two goals of the final stanza to seal the triumph, both coming from the boot of Michael. Despite a late Peel major it was the Storm who progressed to the grand final, winning 7.7 (49) to 3.5 (23). Midfielder Ryley Valli was outstanding in the victory, while defensive pair Josh Davenport and Sebastian Ballard were also strong contributors. Teague Valli won plenty of the ball, Michael was a dominant force in the front half and William Cousins played well in the ruck. The Storm had to shake off a strong physical challenge from Ongerup in their opening game of the carnival as Michael finished with four majors. Ryan Lazar snared two goals in a high-scoring opening term but Ongerup fought back strongly in the second to trail by only 24 points. However, the class of Michael and midfielders Ryley Valli and Mohit Jaggi lifted the Storm in the second half. Three goals from Michael in the third quarter stretched the margin and the Storm kicked four goals to one in the final quarter to secure victory, 13.10 (88) to 5.4 (34). Jaggi and Ryley Valli won countless possessions and clearances, Michael kicked 4.3 in a great display up front and Lorcan McNamara and Ballard also had plenty of impact. The win did come at a cost, however, with Blake Panizza breaking his collarbone and Max Baker coming from the field after a heavy hit that injured his back and ribs. He did not play in the second game later that day. In other day one results, Goldfields also went through undefeated to reach the grand final, overcoming a strong challenge from Upper Great Southern in their first game to win by 13 points and then claiming an extra-time thriller against Eastern Districts. With a spot in the grand final on the line, Eastern Districts and Goldfields could not be separated after normal time but Goldfields got the upper hand in extra time to win by 15 points. Peel knocked off Lower South West by 33 points in their first game and Eastern Districts won a tense three-point affair against Esperance. In the second set of fixtures on Saturday, Lower South West responded with a thumping 58-point win over Ongerup, while Upper Great Southern prevailed by 24 points over Esperance.