Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault’s lesser lights shine in victory over Carey Park

Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault’s troop of youngsters stepped up on Saturday in the absence of some experienced teammates, dominating from start to finish to defeat Carey Park at Kelly Park. The 16.5 (101) to 5.9 (39) victory moves the Lions further up the ladder into fourth position, as they hunt a third consecutive finals appearance this season. Youngsters Xavier Milner, Reid Kinninmont and Dylan Chatley all impressed, but it was the efforts of dashing half-back Ty Anderson, who stepped up to play a role in midfield who stood out above the rest. The Lions entered the clash without Hayward Medallist Brendan Tingey, who was sent home from Kelly Park after becoming ill, as well as Jesse Crichton, Jack Fletcher and Joel Latham among other experienced names. Anderson was the most dominant player on the ground in the first quarter, combining twice with Ty Armitage for their side’s first two goals of the afternoon. By quarter-time the Lions had piled on five, while the Panthers’ inability to win the ball from the middle meant they went goalless. Ravaged both by injury and restrictions on travelling players the Panthers were forced to make eight changes and went without stars Rory O’Brien, Viv Blurton, Ethan Maguire, Mahli King and Jeffrey Carter. The changes forced skipper Jamahl Mullholland to play in the ruck and despite battling hard against HBL’s back-up Brayden Prentice, failed to give his midfielders the first look. A stunning six-goal second quarter which included a five-minute blitz at the start of the term saw the Lions stretch their advantage out to beyond eight goals by the main break as James Finucane and Jono Fenwick also began to influence the game in midfield. Taine Williams was a commanding presence forward for HBL, demanding the attention of Carey Park stopper Bill Brown and bringing the ball to ground for his fleet of young small forwards, as well as kicking two goals of his own. Riese Wilkey kicked a nice goal, snapping one back over his shoulder as he weaved through traffic to kick-start his afternoon, but it was too late for the Panthers as Kinninmont kicked two third-quarter goals to put the lead out beyond 10 goals. Wilkey would finish with three goals as the Panthers went on to win the final quarter but it was too little, too late for the home side, who just did not have the squad depth to match the Lions around the ground in difficult circumstances. The league competition now takes a week off to allow for a women’s-only round, before the Lions take on the Harvey Bulls for their rescheduled round three fixture. The Lions maintain their half a game advantage over South Bunbury in fifth spot and now sit just a game off Augusta-Margaret River in second spot. For the Panthers, the loss is another blow to their faltering finals hopes as they now sit three games off the top five with just six rounds remaining.