SWFL men’s: Harvey Bulls fail to register a score against Donnybrook, South Bunbury maintain unbeaten record

Harvey Bulls went into the South West Football League record books for all the wrong reasons in their 72-point loss to Donnybrook on Saturday, becoming the first side to go through a league match without registering a single point. At a rain-saturated Harvey Oval, the hosts failed to get the ball across the Dons’ goal line even once, with the scoreboard reading 11.6 (72) to 0.0 (0) at the final siren. Boyanup-Capel-Dardanup — now Eaton — had owned the record for more than 50 years with a score of a single point in a 1972 game, with the Bulls’ previous lowest score being nine points against the same opponent from the weekend in 2019. The shutout provided a major boost to the percentage of the finals-chasing Dons, who now have a one-win advantage over Carey Park and Busselton in the race for fifth spot. On a low-scoring day, the winners did their work early, kicking five goals in the opening quarter to take a 35-point lead into the first break. After also playing in the reserves, veteran Jeff Smith slotted four goals for Donnybrook, who will be sweating on an injury to young gun forward Cooper Clarke-Dehring after a heavy collision. Saturday’s other game at Bovell Park saw South Bunbury keep their unbeaten season alive with a 24-point win over Busselton. The weekend’s rain storm made for another low-scoring affair but the Tigers did enough to run out 6.4 (40) to 2.4 (16) winners, recording their 15th consecutive victory. Blaine Johnson was the only multiple goal kicker on the day with two majors for the visitors, but the spearhead will face a nervous wait after being put on report for an attempted strike. The loss leaves the reigning premiers one win and percentage adrift of the top five, meaning they are likely to need to win all three of their remaining games to be a chance of featuring in the finals. On Sunday, Augusta-Margaret River ensured they stayed a game clear of the chasing pack in fourth place with a 60-point win over Collie at Collie Recreation Ground. The Hawks got better as the game progressed in a 10.15 (75) to 2.3 (15) performance which ensured they stayed a win clear of Donnybrook while moving two ahead of Carey Park and Busselton. Having made the longest road trip in the competition, the visitors were slightly slow out of the blocks but still managed to take a 28-point lead into the main break thanks to a three-goal to none second term, which grew further in a four-goal final quarter in which they did not concede a score.