SWFL league: Bunbury bounce back from WA Day derby loss with 23-point win over Donnybrook

Sunday saw Bunbury bounce back from their last-gasp WA Day derby loss with a hard-earned 23-point victory over Donnybrook at Boyanup Oval. After letting a victory against South Bunbury slip the Sunday before — despite leading for nearly the entire game — the Bulldogs produced a professional performance to down the Dons, running out 12.7 (79) to 9.2 (56) winners to shore up third position on the South West Football League ladder. Harry Creasey stood out for the winners, with his precise inside-50 kicking a major feature, and was well-supported by veteran trio Jesse Gribble, Denholm King and Dylan Heasman, while the competition’s leading goal-kicker Joel Houghton overcame difficult conditions to slot three goals. The competition’s all-time leading goal-kicker Matt Martin, who crossed to Donnybrook from Bunbury over the summer, did not have to wait long for his first opportunity in front of goals, winning a holding the ball free kick inside the game’s opening moments. But, he sprayed the set shot across the face. Kicking against the breeze, Jett Woods got the visitors on the scoreboard before Martin’s forward partner Houghton showed his quality, snapping his side’s second. Donnybrook snapped into life and responded with a pair of quick goals, but a well-executed Cooper Nitschke snap saw Bunbury take a seven-point lead into the first break. Young forward Mason Hawkes atoned for an open goal square miss in the first term in fine style in the second, coming up with two quality finishes to further extend his side’s lead. But one brilliant passage of play — a Ben Howlett kick which opened up the field followed by a brilliantly-executed Martin set shot — ensured the Dons were able to keep pace against the breeze, heading for the main break trailing by 14 points. A see-sawing third term saw both sides have their moments — Hamish Hall opened the scoring for the Bulldogs before setting up another for Jackson Oliver as they threatened to break the game open. But Martin and Ben Frazer responded for Donnybrook before Houghton and Nitschke extended Bunbury’s lead back out to 22 points at the final change. Goals for Gribble, Creasey and Houghton saw the visitors advantage grow as big as 39 points in the final term, but the hosts went down fighting, kicking the last three majors of the day. Martin finished with three goals against his former side while Sam Perkusich was again among the Dons’ best performers.