DOUBLE-digit goal hauls from the league’s top two goalkickers were highlights in the penultimate round of this year’s Golden Rivers football season.
The ladder’s top four spots remain set in stone, but next week’s final round will determine whether Ultima’s Ryan Devereux or Hay’s Declan Watson will finish as the leading goalkicker.
The pair are tied on 58 goals for the year, having been the league’s two standout forwards throughout 2024.
Devereux’s bag of 12 goals helped the Roos carry on their impressive form after last round’s win over Hay, as they piled on the goals in a 113-point win over Macorna.
The Roos burst out of the gates to start the game, booting 10 goals to one in the first quarter to practically put the game to bed before the first break.
It didn’t take long for Devereux to kick the game’s first goal, before he piled on four more to end the first quarter with five goals.
This included an easy conversion from the pocket after he climbed high over the pack to pull down a spectacular mark in front of goal.
Cameron Johnson continued his run of strong form, providing strong pace into the Roos’ engine room and winning clearances.
After their sluggish start, Macorna were able to keep up with the Roos in a second term in which both sides kicked four goals, but they were unable to halt the Ultima onslaught.
With a 10-goal lead at half-time, Ultima never let off the pressure – kicking six goals to a single behind in the third term to push the margin to 101 points at three-quarter-time.
Jay Reynolds finished with three goals for Ultima, while teammates Corey Grey and Ricky Wild finished with two each.
Hunter Ansett and Blake Forster battled strongly for Macorna all day, while Jordan Simpson was the Tigers’ only multiple goalkicker with two.
Ryan Featherby, Jamie Nicholas and Reynolds impressed for Ultima, while Reegan O’Rourke, Kurt Forder and Lachlan Thompson rounded out the Tigers’ best players.
In the round’s other games, Hay returned to winning ways with a 76-point win, kicking away after three hard-fought quarters against Wandella.
Starting the game with a four-goal-to-one quarter, Hay were pushed in the second and third terms by a surging Bombers side.
The Lions took a six-point lead into the half-time break, before a five-goal-to-two third term left them with breathing space in the last quarter.
From there, the Lions hit their straps and kicked seven unanswered goals in the last quarter.
Declan Watson’s haul of 10 goals was game changing, while Jack Headon kicked a bag of five in his return after his absence last week.
Nathan Wilson and Brad Pocock were good on the Hay half-back line, while Jacob Watson and Jack Cattanach performed well in the contest.
Darren Ruston was the Bombers’ best with two goals, while John Cooper and Ryan Lancaster continued their strong showings late in the season and Michael Rowe kicked two goals.
Moulamein have leapfrogged Murrabit for the ladder’s fifth spot, an inspiring second half fightback giving the Swans their third win of the year.
Trailing by 10 points at half-time, the Swans held the Blues to just three behinds in the final two quarters to claim the 38-point win.
Morgan Turvey was influential in the win, finishing with three goals while Xander Hartland, Lochlan Prentice and James White kicked two each for Moulamein.
Dean Harrop, Nathan O’Toole, Josh Bray and Samuel Copland were the Blues’ best players.
