AN explosive start by Railways was the catalyst for victory over North Albany in Round Six of the Great Southern Football League last Sunday.
The Tigers kicked six goals to none in the first term to stamp their authority on the contest early.
All of the Railways big guns fired and the visiting Kangas had no answer to their opponents’ pace and attack on the ball all around the ground.
Callum Burgess was again in the thick of the action and he kicked four goals for the day in another polished performance.
Scott Hillman gathered plenty of the ball and Daniel Williams again found some good form to give the Tigers the advantage.
The 35-point lead the Tigers held at quarter time was quickly reduced in the second term as Kangas’ recruit Brad McDonald added three majors and midfielders Ryan Murphy and coach Brad Bootsma began to find the ball.
The game then seemed to develop into a relatively even affair after the long break, as tempers boiled over in North Albany’s forward line midway through the third term before the Tigers managed two late goals.
Despite North Albany kicking four goals to three in the final term, the margin proved too much for Kangas, and Railways ran out winners by 19 points.
Best for the winners were Williams, Burgess and Michael Cramer who kicked three goals for Railways, while Stuart Meyers, Matt Beaton and Bootsma excelled for North Albany.
The red-and-whites must now regroup before they take on ladder-leaders Royals at Collingwood Park on Sunday.
The Lions showed no mercy to the fourth-placed Denmark-Walpole as they extended their lead at every break and eventually won 18.14 (122) to 6.9 (45).
Missing a number of key players, Royals had four debutantes who performed admirably, while Aaron Williams and Caden Allison each booted four goals.
Aaron Triplett was again in good form, youngster David Parker played well and Richard Cronin was awarded the game ball for being judged best man on the ground.
The undefeated blue-and-whites will be sweating on the fitness of a number of players as they prepare to take on North Albany.
Jamie Bolton suffered an injury against the Magpies and will wait for scans to determine the extent of damage to his knee, while Cleve Humphries, Chris Denney, Mitch Curnow and Aldo Lionetti all look set to miss the game.
Royals’ coach Darrell Panizza said despite his side’s long injury list, he would look forward to this week’s game against the reigning premiers.
“It’s definitely a big challenge but we go there as underdogs with our backs to the wall,” Panizza said.
He remained confident of a good performance despite his club relying on several replacements for the injury-struck side.
“Despite having up to 14 senior players potentially out we have a great belief in our colts and in our football system at Royals,” he said.
“Our young blokes acquitted themselves well last week and we do go there with the idea we are going to win.
“We have got some structural damage that needs repairing but this season is about a slow approach, rotating players and finding out who can and can’t play.”
In this week’s other game, Railways will attempt to keep their winning ways going when they take on the Bulls in Mt Barker.
The Tigers won the last encounter between the two sides by 118 points when they met at Tigerland in round two, with Kyle Flett bagging five in a best on-field display.
Mt Barker remain at the foot of the table and will need to start producing some results if they are to take part in finals action this season.
In some promising signs for the Bulls, their colts produced a stunning seven-point win over the Sharks at Centennial Oval on Saturday.
Extremely accurate kicking from the Bulls saw them win the game 16.2 (98) to 12.19 (91).
Ben Saunders kicked four goals and was amongst the best players with Liam Gardiner (three goals) and Luke St Jack.
The result was the first time in the three grades this season that a team from outside Albany defeated one of the Albany-based sides.
Bulls colts’ coach Stuart Duggin was understandably satisfied.
“That’s a very positive result for the competition,” Duggin said.
“It was quite a unique scoreline and we are happy that we have come away with the points.”
In the other colts games, Royals overcame Denmark by 36 points and Railways sprang a surprise by inflicting North Albany’s first defeat for the season, beating them by four points.
Big wins were the order of the day in the reserves, with a 43-point win to Royals, while North Albany dominated from start to finish to beat Railways by 99 points at Tigerland.
– Daniel Wiseman.
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