Jackson and Berry fire in final term as Mt Barker storm home to beat reigning premiers Railways in round two

After failing to register a goal in two quarters, Mt Barker produced a superb final term to stun reigning premiers Railways in a round two Great Southern Football League thriller at Tigerland on Sunday. The Tigers led by 19 points at three-quarter-time and appeared set to record a strong win on their home turf but the Bulls had other ideas as they stormed back into the contest with a six-goal fourth quarter to snatch an 11-point win. Bulls coach David Johnson praised his team’s never-say-die attitude in the face of strong opposition. “There was a bit of an arm wrestle early, it was really scrappy with the pressure on and four goals in a half of footy from two pretty good sides tells the story of how intense the pressure was really,” Johnson said “They got on top of us in the third quarter, throwing a lot of their big guns in the midfield and that was some of the pressure we had to absorb. “Credit to my boys because we took it well, we talked about how we weren’t spreading hard enough across the middle of the ground and wanted some link-up between our forwards and backs.” The Bulls held a one-point lead at half-time but majors from Clay Michael, Logan Stubber and Jack Steel handed the home side a game-high advantage. The fourth quarter however belonged to the determined Bulls outfit as goals from Zach Jackson and Lincoln East got them on a roll and then Jackson levelled the scores. Zak Hortin gave the Tigers a much-needed goal at the other end but his side couldn’t stop the Bulls’ momentum as majors to Keegan Berry and a third for Jackson for the term put their side in front. Berry then sealed the 8.11 (59) to 6.12 (48) victory with a terrific snap to spark the visitors’ celebrations. Johnson applauded the effort of young defender Darcy Wallinger. “Darcy Wallinger was our best today and he is akin to playing off half-back but also he likes playing in the midfield,” he said. “We have to try and give these kids a little string to their bows and putting him in defence proved to be a really significant change for us. “He’s got all the attributes to be a great player. “He grew over the summer and he’s got great size now which helps him to absorb a bit more physicality, he’s a terrific kick and he’s super fit. “Our backs were really good today, they had plenty of inside 50s but they soaked up a lot of pressure, the ball went in a lot but they didn’t score as much as you’d expect.” The Tigers led at the first change after two goals from Kane Shephard but they were outworked in the final term and star midfielder Logan Stubber is set to face the tribunal after being reported for a head high bump. In the final term Bulls youngster Seb Ballard was helped from the ground before he was ruled out for the rest of the match with concussion. The field umpires reported Logan Stubber at the end of the match for bumping or making forceful contact to an opponent front-on. He was offered a two-week penalty but the Tigers will challenge the ban at the tribunal this week. Jackson (four goals) broke the contest open in the last term, hauling in a number of marks and booting three goals despite being hampered by a hamstring injury. Berry was also a great contributor with two final-term goals, defender Wallinger intercepted superbly throughout the afternoon while ruckman David Stone and ball winner Joel Gray were also influential. Logan Stubber worked tirelessly all day, collecting plenty of possessions and willing his side forward. Defenders Mitch Green and Bodhi Stubber were both solid contributors and youngster Mohit Jaggi also toiled hard for the shell-shocked Tigers. Tigers coach Mark Bayliss said it was a disappointing result but hopes that match fitness will play a part in his team’s improvement. “We were pretty disappointed in our last quarter, it probably came down to our pre-season, we’re not as fit as we’d like to be but we’ll work on that over the next few weeks,” he said. “It was a good outcome for Mt Barker and not a good one for us but some of the positives were some of our young kids. “I thought Mohit Jaggi was really good for a young player, Bodhi (Stubber) was relentless, he does things that most players just can’t do. “Ryan Davies was great, his pressure was enormous and he just has a never-give-up attitude.”