SWFL men’s: Donnybrook snap three-game losing streak with 15-point win over Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault

Donnybrook snapped their three-game losing streak on Sunday at Boyanup Oval with a hard-fought 15-point victory over Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault. Eight lead changes took place across an arm-wrestle of an afternoon but it was the hosts who came out on top, grabbing the ascendancy at the start of the final term and holding off a late Lions comeback to run out 14.8 (92) to 12.5 (77) winners. The result sees the fifth-placed Dons close the gap on the third-placed Lions, with the two teams now only separated by a win. Jacob Kendle (two goals) and Sam Perkusich were brilliant again for Donnybrook as big man Todd Gregory did everything around the ground, while the visitors’ midfield core of Ty Anderson, Connor Carbone and Jack Fletcher continued stand-out seasons in their loss. A forfeited reserves fixture saw two club stalwarts who have been featuring at the lower level — Donnybrook’s Jeff Smith and Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault’s Ty Armitage — come into the senior side for their first outings of the year at the higher level. With the game on the line, Donnybrook made the perfect start in the final quarter, with Brandon Jetta winning a holding the ball free kick and slotting a goal before Lynch followed up and Clarke-Dehring capitalised on a downfield free kick for a late hit on Brayden Harris to extend the lead beyond four goals. Matt Fenwick responded for the Lions to give them some hope but a 50m penalty allowed Armitage to kick his third major and further narrow the margin. However, the Dons managed to defend resolutely before Lynch locked in the win with his third goal. Earlier in the day, Ty Anderson gave the Lions the perfect start only moments after the opening ball-up, bursting clear from the middle after being given an inch of space and brilliantly slotting his side’s first major on the run. Kendle responded to get Donnybrook on the scoreboard and Smith quickly followed up, but a late Jarrod Humphries goal was able to give the Lions a two-point lead at the first interval. The second term was a see-sawing affair: after Lynch crumbled and kicked a goal to give the Dons the lead back, Ty Armitage and Billy Boucher kicked two apiece in a run of four for the Lions before the hosts responded with a three of their own to take a three-point lead into half-time. More periods of changing momentum were to come in the third quarter, with Fenwick finishing from the goal square to give the Lions the lead back before a smart finish from Persukich saw the Dons advantage extend beyond one goal at the final break.