SWFL men’s: South Bunbury blitz Bunbury by 61 points to retain Syd Jackson-Max McGuire Cup

South Bunbury erased any semblance of doubt they are the team to beat in the 2024 South West Football League season on Sunday with a 61-point takedown of second-placed Bunbury at Hands Oval. The Tigers retained the Syd Jackson-Max McGuire Cup and kept their undefeated season alive with another clinical performance, dispatching the visitors 18.10 (118) to 8.9 (57) for their 16th-straight victory. Top spot on the ladder — which brings a bye in the first round of finals and hosting rights for the preliminary final — is now assured for South Bunbury, with Bunbury’s loss meaning they are no chance of vaulting into first position. A bad day was made even worse for the Bulldogs by a back injury to the competition’s leading goal-kicker Joel Houghton, who came from the ground in the first term and only returned for a brief spell in the third. In typical style, the Tigers’ load was shared among their litany of stars — Mitch Bain was prolific through the middle and veterans Kevin Chitty and Jace Cormack led from the front, while Blaine Johnson (three goals), Richie Bourne and Lachlan Riley (both two) led a balanced offensive display which saw 13 players find the major opening. Round seven’s WA Day derby opened with the Bulldogs kicking the first four goals of the game but the reverse fixture started with the Tigers flipping the script, with a brilliant Blaine Johnson set shot from the pocket starting a run of five unanswered goals. Jethro Barraclough capped off an end-to-end transition play to get the visitors on the scoreboard and the Bulldogs followed up with the next two goals to cut the gap back to 13 points early in the second term. The hosts quickly responded with three of their own, taking a 26-point lead into the main break. The Bulldogs’ hopes of a strong start to the second half were quashed by the classy Bourne finding space and slotting a goal barely a minute into the third quarter, kick-starting another run of six unanswered goals which made a certainty of the result. After spending some time gingerly completing run-throughs, Houghton tried to make a return at the start of the third term but pulled the pin shortly after, with the ball barely coming down to his end of the ground regardless of his fitness. With the sting out of the contest, the visitors went on a four-goal to two run to add some respectability to their day, but two late goals from the Tigers sealed their 12th win by a margin greater than 10 goals so far this season. Barraclough was one of few Bulldogs to emerge with some credit from the performance, kicking a goal in each term to lead all comers on the day with four. The Tigers wore a special pink guernsey on the day to raise awareness and money for breast cancer, with the guernseys set to be auctioned to raise funds for the cause.