After missing the Landmark Carnival the week before, Edwards was unstoppable in Royals’ massive 149-point victory over the struggling Mt Barker Bulls at Centennial Oval.

His high marking and accurate kicking were a feature as the former Peel Thunder player kicked four opening-quarter goals to see his side out to a seven-goal lead at the first change.

In wet and slippery conditions, Royals adapted better, allowing Edwards countless opportunities to capitalise.

If he wasn’t marking the ball he was bringing it to ground where the smaller forwards were able to crumb and kick goals.

James McRae continued his stellar season for Royals, and his drive from the midfield in the absence of Cleve Humphries allowed Glynn VerBruggen (six) and Aaron Williams (four) to also contribute.

A hat-trick from Edwards in the third term pushed the lead out to 105 points and it seemed like nothing more than a training drill for the premiership favourites against a Bulls side containing seven first-gamers.

The last quarter was more of the same and three more from Edwards capped off his day nicely, while a superb soccer goal from Bulls’ ruckman Shane Van Reeken was the lone highlight for the visitors as Royals 27.15(177) defeated Mt Barker 4.4(28).

Best for the winners were Edwards, Williams, Chris Flick and McRae, while Luke McPartland, Kim Lange and Peter Taylor tried valiantly for Mt Barker.

While much of the focus was on Royals and Leith Edwards, a bigger problem for the GSFL would be Mt Barker forfeiting the reserves and struggling for numbers in the league.

Both senior sides are sitting on the bottom of the ladder, while their colts are doing a little better in fourth position.

Bulls’ coach Greg Bunker admitted it was one of the worst sides Mt Barker had put out in his time there.

“It was a tough day at the office,” Bunker said. “They won’t get much harder than that.”

While Mt Barker have their concerns, Denmark-Walpole are faring only marginally better after going down to North Albany by 49 points at McLean Park on Saturday.

Trailing by only four points at half time, the Giants failed to kick another goal after the long break to eventually lose 3.14(32) to the Kangas 10.13(73).

Boyden Coyne again was a target up forward for North Albany and bagged three majors to take his season tally to 29. Ryan Murphy, Bryce Durack and Graham Ross were on the better players’ list.

Beau LeFort continued his good season, kicking two goals for the Giants, and along with Andrew Richardson and John Thompson, was named in his team’s best.

North Albany will venture to Centennial Oval on Sunday to see if they can cause a major upset against a white-hot Royals.

All three clashes have been keenly contested so far this year, but the Lions have prevailed on each occasion.

Kangas’ coach Brad Bootsma will again be doing all he can in an effort to register a win, and thinks that Royals are beatable.

“They have a few areas in their game that are deficient, but if we don’t win in those then it will be hard to beat them,” Bootsma said.

“We showed last game that we could beat them but couldn’t sustain the effort to achieve this.

“They probably have a better side now than we did when we won the first of our three premierships.”

Bootsma appreciates that Royals’ tall forward line will be tough to stop.

“We certainly have the players who can match up on them for sure,” he said.

“I would look further up the ground and look at their midfield which is delivering the ball to them.

“If we play to our best we give ourselves a good chance of winning.”

After an extended break, Railways will be looking for some momentum when they host Mt Barker at Tigerland on Sunday. With third spot all but guaranteed, the Tigers will be looking for a solid hit-out as they make their charge toward the finals.

The Bulls must win to keep any chance of playing in the finals. After their performance last weekend it might be a day that coach Greg Bunker may actually prefer staying in his office.

Denmark will use the Round 16 bye to regroup before engaging in a mission impossible against Royals the week after.