Busselton have defeated South Bunbury by two points in a thrilling round thirteen Dale Alcock Homes South West, South West Football League match at Sir Stewart Bovell Park on Saturday afternoon.
In front of a big crowd, on a cool and overcast afternoon, the two sides delivered what was expected, with some tough tackles, some moments of brilliant, plenty of pressure and in the end a thrilling finish.
Busselton started brilliantly in the opening quarter, kicking three goals in the opening seven minutes, without the ball really going inside the Tigers forward 50m. When Jon Meadmore kicked the Magpies fourth with five minutes to play, the Tigers still hadn’t scored as Busselton celebrated Meadmore’s goal in his 250th League match. Riley Della-Sale kicked a good goal which was important to slow the Busselton momentum, but only a minute later, Tom Kusal kicked Busselton’s fifth goal for the quarter, extending the margin back to 25 points. Tyson Lane kicked the Tigers second goal just before the siren after an errant kick had almost all defenders out of position.
Trailing by nineteen points at quarter time, the Tigers needed a swift response to get back in the contest, and that is exactly what they did. Goals to Tyson Lane, Ben McGuire and Blaine Johnson within the opening nine minutes of the term, silenced the vocal Busselton members, and when Kade Wallrodt converted not long after, the Tigers were in front. South Bunbury were kicking goals from all angles and were seven goals straight, which applied scoreboard pressure as much as anything else, while at the opposite end, Busselton missed some easy set shots, and as a result, South Bunbury would lead by nine points at half time.
The pressure and intensity went up a couple of notches after half time, with Busselton needing a good start, but again they missed some easy shots, while Lane kicked another for the Tigers, who would lead by fourteen points. Callum Gannaway kicked a handy goal for Busselton to narrow the margin, and when Mitch Tenardi kicked accurately, scores were level. Tyson Lane, who would kick four goals for the match, found himself free late in the term and put South Bunbury back in front, with the Tigers leading by six points with a quarter to play.
Ryan Ekert who had been kept goal-less for the first three quarters, kicked the opening goal of the final term, which put Busselton back in front, which sent the home fans into raptures. That excitement lasted four minutes, as Cole Sawyer gave the Tigers back the lead by four points. Ekert kicked a long range goal midway through the final term, handing the lead back to the home side, and when Tony Notte converted, Busselton would lead by eight points and seemed to have the momentum once again. Nathan Murray ensured a grandstand finish when he kicked a goal under enormous pressure, narrowing the margin to one point with five minutes remaining. Both sides had late chances to win the match, but it would come down to Meadmore in his 250th match. A goal would confirm victory, a behind would give the Tigers 32 seconds to kick a goal at the other end to snatch victory. Meadmore’s kick swung violently from left to right, setting up a thrilling finish, with the Tigers in possession, just forward of halfway when the siren sounded.
The match lived up to all expectations, with Busselton home by two points.
SCOREBOARD
Busselton 5.1.31 5.4.34 7.8.50 10.11.71
South Bunbury 2.0.12 7.1.43 9.2.56 11.3.69
Goals: Busselton – Ryan Ekert 2, Jackson Arbon 1, Liam Creighton 1, Callum Gannaway 1, Ben Ganzer 1, Tom Kusal 1, Jon Meadmore 1, Tony Notte 1, Mitch Tenardi 1. South Bunbury – Tyson Lane 4, Blaine Johnson 2, Riley Della-Sale 1, Ben McGuire 1, Nathan Murray 1, Cole Sawyer 1, Kade Wallrodt 1.
Best: Busselton – Jon Meadmore, Jalen Hoffman, Ben Ganzer, Ryan Ekert, Ruairi Bass, Kelton Kemp. South Bunbury – Jace Cormack, Thomas Gorter, Jack Wright, Ben McGuire, Kevin Chitty, Ryan Hutcheson
Ground: Sir Stewart Bovell Park
Umpires: Aaron Andrews, Braden Surrall, Kevin Hutchins
Crowd: 882
It was a tight tough contest from beginning to end at Sir Stewart Bovell Park. Photos courtesy of Wayne Hislop