THE Mt Barker Bulls came oh, so close to completing a fairytale victory over North Albany in Round 15 of the Great Southern Football League on Sunday.
Celebrating the 200-game milestone of life members Nathan Skinner and Kim Lange, the Bulls came from 32 points down midway through the last quarter to almost snatch victory.
It wasn’t to be for the Bulls, as youngster Ben Saunders missed two shots at goal in the last minute of the game to see his side lose 12.18 (90) to the Kangas 12.19 (91).
The game started in cold yet sunny conditions at Frost Park and it didn’t take long for the undermanned Kangas to put the first two goals of the game on the board.
The Bulls were quick to respond as Anthony Gardiner dribbled one through from the top of the square before Saunders took a strong mark to square the ledger.
Jukka Guy was in everything for the visitors and he set up a Kris Ericsson major. Then Kanga Brad McDonald let fly with a massive kick to see North out to a 16-point lead.
Saunders was again the main target for the Bulls and he bagged consecutive majors, including one after a big screamer to continue the trend of back-to-back goals.
Steve Rioli and Sam Lehman were again in everything for the Barker side and they trailed by just five points at the first change before Dwayne Berto gave them the lead early in the second term.
After Stu Roberts replied for North Albany it was all Bulls for the majority of the term.
However, the Bulls’ good work was undone by inaccurate kicking as they kicked seven behinds in a row.
Gardiner and his fellow forwards could not find the goals while kicking with the aid of the breeze.
Against the run of play, Kangas coach Brad Bootsma nailed one for yet another lead change.
Not to be outdone, milestone-man Lange set up youngster Luke St Jack who bagged a long goal from 50 metres for the fifth lead change of the quarter.
North had the better of their opponents in the third term as they kicked four of the five goals at the scoring end.
When Grant Freeborough was on the end of a chain of handballs, the reigning premiers were suddenly out to a 22-point lead as the Bulls again missed late opportunities to take the advantage.
Bulls’ coach Merv Neagle encouraged his troops to “break the pain barrier” in the quest for victory but they were feeling more pain when Roberts kicked his third and Clinton Cummins goaled to give the Kangas a 32-point lead.
Mark Chambers played well for the Kangas and received good support from Stuart Meyers as North Albany looked like cruising home to a comfortable win.
However, Dwayne Berto scored a miracle goal with a reverse torpedo punt from the boundary which triggered an onslaught as the Bulls came home hard in a last-ditch quest for victory.
He added two more before a Saunders sliding mark and conversion reduced the Kangas’ lead to just three points.
It looked like time would beat the home side before drama unfolded in the last minute.
Saunders missed a shot after receiving a free kick and then just moments later had a chance to make amends after a sliding mark.
As the siren sounded, a Saunders shot from 35 metres just missed the target, to leave the Bulls suffering a heartbreaking one-point loss.
There was stunned silence around the ground as goal umpires checked their scorecards to reveal after numerous scoreboard errors all day, the Kangas had in fact won.
Neagle praised his side and said he was very proud of their efforts on the special day.
“You can hold your heads high, the lot of you,” he said after the match.
He also singled out Saunders who was visibly distraught in the rooms after the game.
Neagle said he was not disappointed with the outcome of the game.
“We managed to play four good quarters against one of the better sides,” he said.
“It would have been good to notch up a win, but kicking nine points in the second quarter didn’t help.
“It was a pity we couldn’t win, but we worked hard for the whole game which is something we haven’t done this season”.
The Bulls now have a bye while North Albany take on Railways at Tigerland this week.
- Daniel Wiseman.
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