Two wins on first day of Great Southern Colts Carnival powers Great Southern Storm into grand final

Great Southern Storm are into the grand final of the Great Southern Colts Carnival after two impressive wins in Lake Grace on Saturday. The Storm were emphatic 54-point winners in the opening game of the long-running carnival and then beat Peel in their second match, to secure a place in Sunday’s decider. They will face Goldfields for the title at 1pm on Sunday, after Goldfields emerged 15-point winners over Eastern Districts in the other semifinal on Saturday. 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. After 11 minutes 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, Storm went into the final term up by 17 points. 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. In their opening game of the carnival the Storm had to shake off a strong physical challenge from Ongerup, 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 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 while Lorcan McNamara and Ballard also had plenty of impact. The win did come at a cost however with Blake Panizza breaking his collarbone while Max Baker came from the field after a heavy hit that injured his back and ribs and did not play after that.