GSFL 2024: Reigning premiers thump fellow top-four side in ominous sign as key forward returns in style

Reigning Great Southern Football League premiers Albany made an emphatic statement that coincided with the return of star forward Matt Martin, thumping Mt Barker by 83 points on Saturday. The Bulls handed the Sharks their first loss of the season in round five but the tables were turned dramatically in round 10 at Retravision Stadium. Martin has been playing for Donnybrook in the South West Football League but transferred back to the Sharks before the June 30 clearance deadline and was a handful in his return kicking six goals. Martin, a former Port Adelaide rookie, played for the Sharks in 2022 kicking 34 majors in 17 games as the Sharks reached their first grand final but lost to Railways. Brett Peake and Martin provided plenty of headaches for the under-siege Bulls defence, combining for 12 goals in the 19.12 (126) to 6.7 (43) triumph. The dominant victory was set up by an electric opening half, kicking 10 goals to one. Martin and Peake had two goals each in the first term as their side led by 33 points, before adding four unanswered goals to stretch the margin to 58 points at the long break. The Bulls came out with more enthusiasm in the third but despite an early goal, the Sharks maintained their stranglehold on the game. With Martin and Peake running riot in the forward 50 and Kane Pinney and Cameron Jones mopping up everything across half-back, the Sharks coasted to their eighth win of the year. Peake kicked two majors in the final term to finish with six and Martin was superb in his return with six as well. The Sharks had a stack of good players with Robbie Lee racking up plenty of the ball and Pinney was outstanding in his defensive general role. Bailey Taylor and Bryce Blaszkow were influential in the midfield and Isaac Baum (two goals) had another strong display pushing up from half forward as the Sharks moved two games clear in the top two with five rounds left in the regular season. It was a lowly day for the undermanned Bulls, who are starting to feel the absence of some of their best players. Captain David Stone and defender Lee Pavlovich didn’t play, joining Sam Lehmann and Brandon Ugle as key pieces missing and the Bulls lost Ross Douglas to a calf injury in the warm-up and were forced to bring up Jarrod Pearce after he played reserves. Daniel Patching tried gallantly to lift his side in the midfield, Jared Ballard and Darcy Lubcke were strong contributors and Zach Jackson (one) was also important. “I knew we were going to be up against it with the amount of outs we’ve got,” Bulls coach Brad Hook said. “It was a little disappointing because the last three or four games have started really well and today, we didn’t and obviously we were chasing tail for the rest of it. “Their run and spread was terrific.”