SWFL 2022: HBL Lions rain on Collie Eagles’ milestone parade with six-goal win

Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault have rained on Collie Eagles’ milestone parade with a three-goal display by Brayden Prentice contributing to a six-goal win.

The Lions made the journey up the hill to take on the Eagles at Collie Recreation Ground on Sunday, where Collie was celebrating two huge milestones with Adam Bignell running out for his 250th game and Paul Rinder racking up his 150th match.

While it was a relatively even contest in the early stages, the Lions were the first to hit the scoreboard with an early goal from Jarrod Humphries.

Although Collie put the pressure on in a hard hitting contest, HBL’s Brayden Prentice broke through to kick two majors to establish an early lead.

Just when it looked as though the Eagles would be kept scoreless for the opening term, Samuel Russell managed to respond with a late goal reducing the margin to two goals by the quarter-time break.

The Lions were quick to drive the ball forward early in the second term, although it ultimately resulted in HBL’s first blemish of the afternoon with Blake Offer scoring a behind.

While Collie continued fighting hard in defence, the ball spent more time in HBL’s forward 50 with Corey Serravite managing a goal, which was quickly followed by an impressive snap by Zachariah Piper.

Collie soon found themselves fading as they struggled to drive the ball forward as the Lions managed several easy interceptions.

However, Luke Abbott proved himself an asset at full-back, getting many touches on HBL’s shots at goal in a bid to stifle the amount of scoring shots registering.

A late goal from Prentice saw the Lions lead 6.7 (43) to Collie’s 1.0 (6) at half-time.

HBL continued controlling the contest into the second half, once again driving the ball forward in a bid to extend their lead even further.

However, as Collie stepped up the pressure, a tussle in front of Collie’s goal square saw Shaquille McKenzie and Tom Kelly sent off with yellow cards.

While Sam Salmeri managed to finally get Collie’s second goal of the day, HBL responded with a major from Reid Kinninmont maintaining the Lions’ lead at six goals at the final change.

Although Collie managed to finally fire out the gate with a goal from Jayce Fontana, the Lions continued stifling the Eagles across the field.

Despite tensions continuing to bubble after an alleged headbutting incident, HBL extended their lead with majors from Kinninmont and Ben Musitano.

Although 250-gamer Bignell managed a goal and 150-gamer Paul Rinder intercepted a shot on goal from Humphries, it was too little too late for Collie as the Lions held strong to win 9.10 (64) to 4.4 (28).