South Bunbury have defeated Harvey Brunswick Leschenault on Sunday afternoon at Hands Memorial Oval, in the final home and away match of the Dale Alcock Homes South West season.
There was plenty riding on the match, with top spot and a week off on the line for the Tigers who needed to win by 77 points to make that a reality. Mother nature had other ideas, with heavy raining and gusty winds particularly in the second half making scoring incredibly difficult.
In a tight first term, it would be the Lions who scored first with Jordan Westaway snapping a clever goal out of the pack to give the visitors the early advantage. Shortly after Blaine Johnson goaled from long range to level the scores, and Kade Wallrodt put the home side in front after receiving a 50m penalty.
Leading by three points at quarter time, the Tigers dominated the second term, with Wallrodt kicking his second on the run to extend the lead to ten points. A vintage bit of play by Jace Cormack with a snap on the run gave the Tigers a 17 point lead, which soon became 23 points when Blaine Johnson converted a set shot. Potentially the goal of the match came from Shaun Crane with a great snap from the pocket, with Cormack kicking his second just prior to half time.
With the Tigers just under three percent behind ladder leaders Busselton, the opportunity to take top spot was still a possibility, but during the half time break and well into the third quarter, the heavens opened, with the Tigers held scoreless, with Taine Williams kicking the only goal of the term.
The Tigers managed two goals in the final term, winning by 41 points, finishing second on the ladder, and will host Bunbury in a Qualifying Final next Saturday at Hands Memorial Oval. The Lions meanwhile, will face Carey Park on Sunday in an Elimination Final.
SCOREBOARD
South Bunbury 2.0.12 7.3.45 7.3.45 9.6.60
Harv Bruns Lesch 1.3.9 1.4.10 2.6.18 2.7.19
Goals: South Bunbury – Jace Cormack 2, Shaun Crane 2, Blaine Johnson 2, Kade Wallrodt 2, Bodhi Nordahl 1. Harvey Brunswick Leschenault – Jordan Westaway 1, Taine Williams 1.
Best: South Bunbury – Kade Szyszka, Rhys Crawford, Jack Wright, Cole Sawyer, Rocco Versace. Harvey Brunswick Leschenault – Beau Sellick, Matthew Fenwick, Ty Armitage, Ty Anderson, Jack Fletcher, Zavier Williams
Ground: Hands Memorial Oval
Umpires: Talen Guthrie, Greg Rolfe, Cameron Valenti
Crowd: 846
