Encounter Bay pulled off one of the upsets of the season with a 14-point win at home over the previously undefeated McLaren Eagles in round six action of the Great Southern Football League (GSFL). The win moves the Bays up to fourth position while McLaren remain in second spot ahead of a huge clash at Langhorne Creek this Saturday. McLaren held an eight-point lead at halftime before Encounter Bay hit the front by three points turning for home after a three goal to two third quarter. The home side could smell an upset and a further three goals to one in the final term saw the Bays win 10.13 (73) to 8.11 (59). Tyson Neale kicked six goals for Encounter Bay while James Grimley kicked four goals for the Eagles. Callum Tonkin, Thomas Neville, Hamish Tonkin, Wade Sweetman and Tyler Baldock were best for Encounter Bay while for McLaren, Thomas Fenoughty, Grimley and Luke Goodieson were among their best players.

After three consecutive losses, Willunga has hit back in emphatic fashion with a crushing 73-point victory over Yankalilla. The win was set up with a dominant display from the Demons in the first half as they led 11.2 (68) to 2.5 (17) at the long break. A further seven goals to three in the second half saw Willunga win 18.4 (112) to 5.9 (39). Willunga had nine different goalkickers including Brad Haskett and Daniel Bass who each slotted four majors. It was a different story for the Tigers with just Jed Durdin kicking multiple goals with two. Bass, Sean Beath, Haskett, Marcus Burdett and Danny Irvine were the best players for the Demons while Luke Durdin, Ethan Moore and Nick Liddle were among the best for a disappointing Tigers outfit.

Mount Compass recorded a fourth straight victory to consolidate third position on the GSFL ladder following a comprehensive 14.21 (105) to 6.3 (39) victory at Strathalbyn. The game was effectively over at halftime as the Bulldogs had a 45-point lead and it could’ve been more except for them kicking an inaccurate 8.10 (58) to 2.1 (13). Mount Compass remained inaccurate in the second half adding a further 6.11 to 4.2 to win by 66 points. Shane Heatley was the leading goalkicker on the ground with four goals for Mount Compass while Marc Elliott and Austin McFarlane each kicked two goals for Strathalbyn. Josh Davis, Adam Hunter, Tomas Vitkunas, Scott Pittaway and Heatley were best for an improving Bulldogs lineup. Mark Tucker, Xavier Redden and McFarlane were named in the best players for the Roosters.

Goolwa/Port Elliot won their first game of the season with an 11-point win over winless Victor Harbor at Goolwa. After a tight opening term saw the Magpies lead by just six points, the home side pushed ahead further and by the last change, Goolwa/Port Elliot led by 21 points and the home crowd was getting excited about a possible first win for new coach Todd Miles and his Magpies. To their credit the Victor Harbor lads tried hard in the last term to overcome the deficit by kicking three goals to one before going down 9.8 (62) to 8.3 (51). Brock Godwin-Knott continued his good recent form for the Magpies kicking three goals (10 in the past three games) while Daniel Fry kicked two. Oscar Barnett, Godwin-Knott, Daniel Fry, James Fry and Damien Nangle were best for a jubilant Magpies outfit while Dylan Kleining, Nathan McCarthy and Harrison Martin battled hard for the brave ‘Roos.

Reigning premier Langhorne Creek moved a game clear on top of the ladder following a 40-point win at Myponga. It was an entertaining first half as the home side took it up to the premiership favourites and only trailed by 12 points at halftime. The Hawks flexed their muscles after the long break as they kicked seven goals to three to pull away and win 14.8 (92) to 8.4 (52). Coby Helyar kicked four goals for the Hawks and now has 20 for the season to lead the GSFL goal kicking tally. Matt Dominish also hit the scoreboard for Langhorne Creek with three majors. Anthony Kempster and Brett Irons kicked two goals each for the Mudlarks. Helyar was named best for Langhorne Creek and he was well supported by James Sellar, Troy Blackwell, Jarrod Kellock and Shannon Jones. Sam Kennedy was named the Mudlarks best player for the third time in 2020 and he was ably supported by Dylan Lang, Luke Bruce, Daniel Trevena and Scott Ogilvie.

Ladder (after Round 6)

Langhorne Creek 12, McLaren 10, Mount Compass 9, Encounter Bay 7, Willunga 6, Yankalilla 6, Strathalbyn 6, Myponga-Sellicks 2, Goolwa/Port Elliot 2, Victor Harbor 0.

Round 7 fixtures (home team named first)

Langhorne Creek v McLaren

Myponga-Sellicks v Goolwa/Port Elliot

Strathalbyn v Encounter Bay

Victor Harbor v Willunga

Yankalilla v Mount Compass