Willunga, Mount Compass and Langhorne Creek remain undefeated at the completion of round three in the Great Southern Football League (GSFL) on Sunday. Willunga are still top of the ladder on percentage following a solid 21-point win against McLaren at McLaren Vale on ANZAC Day. The visitors held a handy 20-point lead at halftime before McLaren fought their way back into the contest with a four goal to two third term to see them trail by just six points at the final change. Willunga steadied in the final term as they kicked 3.0 to 0.3 to win 13.7 (85) to 9.10 (64). Tyson Hoffmann kicked five goals for Willunga and won the ANZAC medal for his best on ground performance. Sam Renney, Brett Miegel, Harrison Mills and Brad Haskett were also named in the best players for the Demons. James Grimley (2) was the only multiple goal kicker for McLaren while Stephen Branson, Samuel Lawrie, Kiefver Zohar, Todd McKay and Henry Mathews were the Eagles leading players.

Yankalilla moved inside the top five with a tight seven-point win over Goolwa/Port Elliot at Yankalilla on Saturday. It was a tight game throughout with Goolwa/Port Elliot leading by a point at quarter time before Yankalilla took a five-point lead into halftime. Goolwa/Port Elliot had an excellent third term as they kicked 4.6 to 1.4 as they turned for home with a 15-point lead as they hunted down their first win of 2021. Spurred on by their home crowd, Yankalilla turned it on in the final term to kick seven goals to three to run out winners 15.12 (102) to 14.11 (95). Harrison Morgan and Adam Braendler each kicked four goals for the Tigers while Zac Bates kicked three majors for the Magpies. Ben Gogel, Morgan, Braendler, Brad Thompson and Denver Ker were named best for Yankalilla. Aisea Raikiwasa, Zac Bates, Brayden Lane, Jesse Bates and Brock Godwin-Knott were best for a gallant Goolwa/Port Elliot. 

Reigning premier Langhorne Creek kept their unbeaten status intact with a 27-point win over local rival Strathalbyn on ANZAC Day at Strath. An inaccurate first term saw Langhorne Creek lead 1.5 (11) to Strathalbyn 0.8 (8) at quarter time. Langhorne Creek hit the scoreboard in the second term to kick 4.3 to 1.4 to lead by a handy 20 points at halftime. The Roosters came roaring back into the contest in the third quarter as they finally started kicking straight to add 4.2 to the Hawks 2.3 and the margin was just nine points at the last change. It was a high scoring last quarter with Langhorne Creek kicking clear to win 13.14 (92) to 8.17 (65). Jackson Dalitz kicked four goals and Coby Helyar kicked three for the winners. Cooper Machin was the only multiple goal kicker for the Roosters with three majors. Helyar, Ben Arbon, Matt Dominish, Darcy Clifford, Tom Derham and Dalitz were named best players for the reigning premier. For Strathalbyn, Ryan Clarke, Machin and former Crows player Brodie Martin were among Strathalbyn’s best.

Mount Compass continued their great start to the season with another convincing victory, this time by 78 points, over Myponga/Sellicks. Mount Compass have been a ‘scoring machine’ so far this season as they’re averaging 132 points per game. The game was pretty tight early with the Bulldogs taking a 15-point lead into halftime at Mount Compass. The home side really flexed their muscles in the second half as they kicked 15 goals to five to win 21.10 (136) to 9.4 (58). The goals were shared around between the Bulldogs with Ziggy Vitkunas leading the way with five goals. He was well supported by Nick Mott (4), Shane Heatley (3), Tom Pinyon (2), Lewis Johnston (2) and Joss Davis (2). Cameron Vinall led the way for Myponga/Sellicks with four goals. Jordan Kennedy, Sam Kennedy, Vinall, James Hutchinson and Anthony Kempster were named best for the Mudlarks.

Encounter Bay won their first game of the season with a convincing 84-point win against bottom side Victor Harbor at Encounter Bay. The Bays led all day to win 22.9 (141) to 8.9 (57). The Bays were celebrating their 100 year anniversary and named their ‘Team of the Century’ with current captain Tyson Neale the only current player named in the historic lineup. Neale celebrated in style with a best on ground performance as he kicked an amazing 10 goals! Kyle Hayter (3), Ben Gibbs (2) and Ben Davis (2) were the other multiple goalkickers for Encounter Bay. Billy Wade kicked three goals for Victor Harbor while Jaymes Hewett and Sam Basham kicked two goals each. Joining Neale in the best players for Encounter Bay were Callum Tonkin, Elijah Horrocks, Marcus Lippett and Wade Sweetman. For Victor Harbor, Leslie Weetra, Seb Guilhaus, James Boyd, Wade and Dylan Kleinig were their best players.

Ladder after Round 3

Willunga 6, Mount Compass 6, Langhorne Creek 6, McLaren 4, Yankalilla 4, Encounter Bay 2, Strathalbyn 2, Myponga/Sellicks 0, Goolwa/Port Elliot 0, Victor Harbor 0.

Round 4 Fixtures (Home team named first)

Goolwa/Port Elliot v Encounter Bay

Langhorne Creek v McLaren

Myponga/Sellicks v Strathalbyn

Victor Harbor v Mount Compass

Willunga v Yankalilla