Encounter Bay defeated Willunga by 24 points to grab the all-important double chance in final round action of the Great Southern Football League (GSFL) on Saturday. It was an entertaining first half with 13 goals scored with the Bays leading by six points at halftime. After the long break scoring was more difficult, especially for Willunga, who could only manage 1.6 while Encounter Bay kicked 4.6 to win 11.10 (76) to 7.10 (52). Daniel Toole and Gary Karpany each kicked three goals for Encounter Bay while Myles Warmington and Brad Haskett kicked two goals each for Willunga. Josh Marshall, Toole, Nick Marshall, Tyler Baldock and Hamish Tonkin were best for the Bays while Sam Alexopoulos, Scott Brown and Daniel Bass were among the best for the Demons.

Langhorne Creek wrapped up the minor premiership with a crushing 130-point victory at Mount Compass. The Hawks led by 39 points at quarter time, 58 points at halftime and 85 points at the last change before a 10 goal to three last term saw them win 26.10 (166) to 6.0 (36). Langhorne Creek had 11 different goalkickers with Coby Helyar, Ben McLeod and Lachlan McGregor all kicking four majors. Shane Heatley was a standout for Compass with four goals of his own. Curtis Perrey, James Sellar, Troy Blackwell, Caleb Howell and Helyar were best for a dominant Hawks lineup. Klaus Simons, Adam Hunter and Heatley were best for a disappointing Bulldogs outfit.

McLaren tuned up for the finals with a huge 151-point win over Goolwa/Port Elliot at McLaren Vale. James Grimley kicked nine goals in a best on ground display for the Eagles, and in the process he also wrapped up the GSFL goalkicking, finishing the truncated minor round with 30 goals. Brad Prior was the only multiple goalkicker for the Magpies with two goals. The Eagles dominated from the start to lead by 42 points at quarter time. Another nine goals to none in the second term saw the lead blowout to 96 points by halftime. 10 goals to three in the second half saw McLaren victorious 26.25 (181) to 4.6 (30). Joining Grimley in the best players for the Eagles were Brendan Gill, Brett Ellis, Alex Moyle and Bryn Loots. Fred Nissen, Tom Ferguson and Prior were among the best players for the Magpies.

Yankalilla finished an improved 2020 campaign with an 80-point victory over Victor Harbor. The Tigers ended up with four wins (nine games) to finish sixth on the ladder after just five wins in 2019 (18 games). Yankalilla led all day to win 20.18 (138) to 9.4 (58). The Tigers had 10 different goalkickers with playing-coach Lindsay Thomas (5), Trent Kelly (4) and Ethan Moore (3) leading the way. Sam Basham and Brok Schubert kicked three goals each for Victor Harbor. Moore, Billy Hogben, Travis Bartlett, Xavier Gotch and Chris Clark were best for Yankalilla while Ben Basham, Nathan McCarthy, Zac Dowling, Steven Fairhurst and Ben Jarrett were named as Victor’s best players.

Strathalbyn finished 2020 on a high note with an 89-point win over Myponga-Sellicks at Myponga. The Roosters were never in trouble as they won 20.11 (131) to 6.6 (42). Strathalbyn had 10 different goalkickers with Ben Simounds and Richard O’Grady kicking four goals each. Marc Elliott was best on ground for Strathalbyn and he was ably supported by Daniel Pegler, Tom McNamara, O’Grady and Brodie Martin. For the Mudlarks, Daniel Trevena, Jake Spinks, Brad Clarke, Liam Partridge and Brett Baillie battled hard all day.

Final Ladder

Langhorne Creek 16, McLaren 16, Encounter Bay 13, Mount Compass 11, Willunga 10, Yankalilla 8, Strathalbyn 8, Myponga-Sellicks 4, Victor Harbor 2, Goolwa/Port Elliot 2.

Week 1 finals fixtures

McLaren v Encounter Bay (Saturday 2.30pm @ Encounter Bay)

Mount Compass v Willunga (Sunday 2.30pm @ Mount Compass)