Royals only unbeaten team after two rounds following comfortable derby win over Albany

Royals coach Andrew Ruck believes the performance of his young players was a key factor in their 50-point victory over Albany in the Retravision Stadium derby on Saturday. The Lions got off to a flying start as Coel Hunter kicked the first two goals for the home side with Brent Johnson and Joel Flick also hitting the scoreboard. Sharks’ Brett Peake answered back with two of his own in the first and the Lions led by only 11 points at half-time. However the Lions kicked clear in the third term and finished with an eight-goal to two second half, on their way to a big win 13.11 (89) to 5.9 (39). The winners lifted their work-rate in the third quarter, throwing caution to the wind as they moved the ball without hesitation in the two final quarters, kicking seven of the last nine goals in a display that pleased Ruck. “I think we had a lot of guys who did some really good jobs, Brett Peake usually kicks four or five against us and one of our young players Mackenzie Batten held him to two,” Ruck said. “Matthew Martin kicked four last week and Hamish McMorran did a great job on him too. “I think their (Sharks) top six are some really serious players but in the third quarter, I thought we had a really even contribution and managed to get on top of them, kick some early goals and probably break their hearts a little.” “(Ryan) Kinnear was really good on the wing and he just keeps getting better.” Hayden Johnson kicked two goals in the space of two minutes to start the Lions’ third-quarter blitz and majors from Jayson Ford and Seb Stanton opened up a 31-point advantage. Matthew Martin kicked the Sharks’ only goal of the third term but his side was under the pump and the Lions sealed the result with four final quarter goals. For the Lions, Zak Mola capped a terrific game in the midfield with two majors in the final stanza, captain Brayden Parker was outstanding across half-back, while Mackenzie Batten and Hamish McMorran played fantastic defensive roles. Ford (two goals) put the cherry on top for the Lions with a spectacular goal 45m out on a tight angle after the siren while Flick, Hayden Johnson and Hunter also finished as multiple goal kickers. Sharks coach Jamie Ramm said there were a few good signs for his team. “We had our chances in the second quarter with a lot of the ball and didn’t really capitalise but Royals are a good side, so after half-time they really took over. “I thought Robbie Lee was good for us again playing out on the wing, as well as Kane Pinney and Kieran Zilm in our backline. “I also thought Connor McCandless was good, he’s a young kid and he’s improving all the time. “We’re going to look at improving on making sure we can play more than a couple of quarters of footy.” For the Sharks, key defender Kane Pinney, midfielder Isaac Baum and Kieran Zilm impressed while Martin and Peake kicked two goals apiece. The only sour point for the Lions was the loss of key forward Nic Ashford to a hamstring injury.