HAY have continued their Golden Rivers winning streak, jumping out of the gates away in Wandella to claim a big victory.
In wet and wintry conditions, Hay kept up their rapid ball movement for much of the game, piling on 17 goals to defeat the Bombers by 76 points in round 11 action.
The Lions didn’t need to rely solely on key forward Declan Watson, who was held to just two goals by Wandella full back Jarryd Schlitz, with five Lions kicking multiple goals.
Another Watson claimed a bag of goals, Jacob Watson leading the Lions’ charge with five – closely followed by William Collis with four.
Jensen Hargreaves and Jack Headon each kicked two goals, adding impact on the scoreboard and around the ground.
After getting out to a six-goal lead in the opening term, the Lions continued to pile on the pressure while the Bombers attempted to claw back the margin.
The Lions had an answer for all of the Bombers’ punches, as Wandella threw everything at Hay to get themselves back in the game to little avail.
Jacob Watson was key to the win, not only with his goalkicking but also impressing around the contest and winning the hard ball alongside Jack Cattanach.
Daniel Stewart and Joel Crocker were at the start of much of Hay’s rebounding off half-back, propelling their side forward all game long.
Wandella co-coach Logan Keighran was a strong performer from centre half-back, as was Archer Lancaster, while Tim Robinson and Jack Radcliffe gave their all on-ball.
Michael Rowe provided a leading target in the Wandella forward zone and was rewarded well with three goals – the Bombers’ only multiple goalkicker.
While the Bombers’ effort never weakened throughout the game, Hay showed their class with a seven-goal-to-two second half.
Murrabit may have had flashbacks to their round 2 loss during their most recent victory, but this time they were able to hold off a fast-finishing Swans side.
After flying out to a four-goal lead in the opening quarter, Moulamein reeled the Blues back in with a strong second-quarter performance, kicking four goals.
By half-time, the Swans brought the margin back to just 15 points, before both teams added just a single goal in the third quarter.
The Blues’ opening term onslaught would prove to be what split the sides, as well as their accurate goalkicking, with Patrick Bryan leading the way with four goals.
The return of Dean Harrop for just his third game at Murrabit proved hugely influential, kicking three goals from centre half-forward and providing a strong link between midfield and forward.
Coach Jack Shannahan said the returns of Harrop and Pras Sayakhot added some more firepower to his side.
“Dean wasn’t sure how his foot was going to hold up, which was one of the reasons we started him deep forward,” he said.
“It turns out that he provided a really good contest, hit the scoreboard well and looked really dangerous down there.
“Having Pras (Sayakhot) and (Jordan) Lampi in our side just makes us 10 times better as well.
“In his first game back from a broken leg and dislocated ankle, Pras was always in and under and it was just like he’d played all year.
“If he plays like that in his first game back, there’s definitely plenty of improvement left in him.
“We’ve still got a mathematical chance of finals, which keeps the morale up around the club.”
Half-back trio Jacob Wade, Samuel Copland and Pras Sayakhot were also strong performers, marshalling their defence well and driving their team forward.
Kaylem Hartley was a rock in defence for the Swans, paying close attention to Blues coach Jack Shannahan and keeping him goalless.
Cody Storm was another strong in the back line, while the ruck-rover combination between Heath Moloney and Morgan Turvey continues to get better each week.
Ultima were able to hold Macorna goalless for the whole game, kept to eight behinds, while the Roos piled on the goals.
Ryan Devereux continued his six-game streak of kicking at least two goals, adding another five to his tally.
Devereux overtook Hay’s Declan Watson atop the goalkicking table, one goal ahead with 32 from his 10 matches.
Martyn Cooper, Jay Reynolds and Matt Taverna each kicked two goals, with Taverna putting in a huge performance while competing all day against Macorna ruckman Reegan O’Rourke. Jacob Schaper and Caillum Brady provided run from the Roos half-forward line, Zac Cattlin was just as good on the wing and Ryan Featherby kept a close eye on the Tigers’ forwards.
Macorna forwards Kurt Forder and Laing Whinfield were two of their side’s better performers, Josh Berryman and Harley Somerville also putting in tireless effort.
