Railways retain Warrick Proudlove Tribute Match shield after strong final term keeps North Albany at bay

Railways produced a gutsy final term to deny North Albany and win their fourth consecutive Warrick Proudlove Tribute Match, recording a 30-point win in gloomy conditions in round six of the Great Southern Football League at Tigerland on Sunday. The result pushed the reigning premiers one game clear on top of the ladder as the GSFL heads into the season’s first general bye. The Tigers held the Kangas scoreless for the entire first quarter as they opened up a 38-point advantage early, with wingman Dylan Schorer booting two majors as his side kicked with the advantage of a strong breeze. The visitors persisted in the second term as they kicked towards the North Road end with the wind, and Graham Ross booted two goals to trim the margin back to 23 points at half-time. It was a stalemate in the third term as both sides struggled for the ascendancy and failed to kick a major, with the Tigers lamenting several missed opportunities to convert chances in front of goal. An optimistic Kangas kicked with the breeze in the final term and trailed by 27 points, with neither side managing a goal at the city end for the first three quarters. However, an early goal from Tigers defender Ethan Knee killed off any Kangas momentum, pushing the margin to 33 points. Two consecutive goals from the Kangas courtesy of Kiya Jelley and Ross brought the margin back to within 20 points with 10 minutes left but Knee, Matt Van Schayk and Jack Steel sealed the Tigers’ win, kicking three final term goals in the 10.9 (69) to 5.9 (39) victory. Tigers ball-winner Mitch Green was crucial in the midfield, collecting a stack of possessions alongside Kane Shephard and Schorer. Fraser Grant had a terrific second half, intercepting superbly for the home side, and Dean Newbold dug in to win plenty of late ruck contests to help hold the Kangas at bay in the final quarter. Kangas midfielder Kobi Keen worked tirelessly all afternoon alongside Alec Haskins and Jarrad McDowall, while Ross (four goals) provided the main avenue towards goal for the visitors. Tigers coach Mark Bayliss said despite a horrible third quarter, he was impressed with his side’s ability to close the game out, kicking the only four goals against the breeze. “I think we outscored them in the last quarter so from that point of view, going into a five-goal breeze is probably a good effort,” he said “We shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position though, the third quarter went pretty average and I was disappointed with the players and I told them they needed to find an effort. “The conditions didn’t suit either side. It makes it hard when it’s really windy like that to get a real flow on the game but, you know, we stuck it out and got there in the end. “It was good to see Kneesy (Ethan Knee) go forward and kick a couple of goals and Squid (Matthew Van Schayk) did a good job throughout the whole game, but Greeny (Mitch Green) was our best.” Kangas coach Brad Bootsma said he was disappointed with his side’s ability to start the game positively. “The first quarter killed us. I think all year our first quarters have really hurt us and they kicked six goals to none in the first and then four for the rest of the game,” he said. “I thought the third quarter was really solid. We sort of bottled it up but I guess in the end they ran away with it which is a bit of a surprise to me because we’ve had a lot of success in four quarters this year. “We’re getting a bit frustrated with these close losses because we’ve proven we can challenge these teams when we play our footy.” The only sour point for the winners was the loss of star Matt Palfrey to concussion, early in the first quarter, while Craig Frost and Josh Duffield didn’t finish the game. The Tigers have now won the tribute match shield seven times since it began in 2012.