Brendan Tingey put in a blistering performance to help the Baldivis Brumbies claim the Stand Down Trophy in their Anzac Day battle against Halls Head on Wednesday evening.
Tingey was a force through the middle of the ground and found the scoreboard with three goals in his best-on-ground performance, steering the Brumbies to an 8.9 (57) to 12.8 (80) win over the Lightning.
Baldivis jumped out of the blocks in their fourth straight win, with Tingey bagging his first early thanks to some hard work up the ground from captain Emmanuel Collard.
The Lightning were kept goalless in the quarter, and found themselves down a pair of goals when Tingey struck again early in the second on the back of a 50m penalty.
But Halls Head weren’t without good signs, and their labour started to bear fruit when Tyson Phillips converted his contested mark into a major.
Baldivis would kick the next through Luke Robinson, but a run of three consecutive goals capped off by a brilliant snap from Mathew Allen saw the Lightning take a two-point lead into the half time break.
The Brumbies looked up and about coming out of the breather.
Sam Eccles continuously cut off Halls Head’s attack with Collard and Brieghton Shea bagging goals off his efforts.
Allen booted his second of three late in the quarter to put the Lightning in front by the slimmest of margins, but a miracle soccer from Tingey and a major to Zak Quigg saw Baldivis boasting a 10-point buffer at the final change.
A pair of early goals in the fourth had the Brumbies sitting pretty, but Halls Head’s Robert Falkstrom continued to run hard for his club, with his efforts giving Ryan Storer a goal and his team a final hope.
An all-in-brawl midway through the term saw tempers flaring, but Halls Head’s aspirations were dashed when another pair of Baldivis goals saw them drop to a 29-point deficit in the dying stages, the biggest of the game.
Allen ended the night with his third coming after the final siren, but it did nothing to change the result as Baldivis ran out victorious.
Each side will now enjoy a lengthy break with the weekend off.