Second

Railways will head into the Goldfields Football League’s finals series this weekend in cherry-ripe form on the back of a second-half demolition of Mines Rovers on Saturday that paved the way for a 68-point victory, 19.12 (126) to 8.10 (58), to close out the 2023 qualifying series.

In an ominous sign for minor premiers Boulder ahead of a second semi-final clash with Railways this Saturday, the 2022 champions led by just four points at half-time but they flexed their muscles to blitz their outgunned rivals 13 goals to two after the main break.

The clash at Digger Daws Oval showcased the talents of the Panthers’ 2022 Mitchell Medallist Jack Steel, who emerged as the game’s leading forward despite hitting the post four times.

Steel finished with six goals but in uncanny circumstances he already had three “posters” and an unlucky 2.4 against his name by early in the second quarter.

Mines Rovers burst out of the blocks to kick four of the first five goals that included a searching run from deep in defence by Kodee Lowe. that was capped of with a major.

Lowe was among the leading players on the ground during the early going, but the Diorites’ bright start was steadily absorbed by Railways who rallied for five goals in the second quarter.

Mines Rovers were serviceable with two goals of their own, but the wheels quickly fell off as Railways enjoyed the fruits of a dominant midfield in the second half.

Steel, who hit the post for a fourth time in the third term, kicked three of his six goals in the final quarter when Railways surged for 9.1.

Josh Clark was Mines Rovers’ leading forward with two goals, both kicked in the first term.

But teammate Jake Douglas followed Steel’s earlier lead in the opposition camp with two second-half posters and summed up the blue-and-whites’ second-half struggles that produced 2.5.

Railways coach Rhett Pettit now faces some tough selections as he looks to make room for the likes of Cody Chester, Judd Kelman, Kyle Ryder, Tim Sutherland and Jacob Oakes who were missing against Mines Rovers.

“My initial thoughts were that I was just happy that everyone got through unscathed,” Pettit said.

“It was a decent hit-out before the finals and obviously good to get that run under our belts after two weeks off.

“I thought we ran the game out reasonably strongly, even after taking some pretty good players off (as a precautionary measure).

“There’s anywhere between eight or 10 who could come back in next weekend (against Boulder) which is something I’ve been thinking about for the past couple of weeks to be honest.

“I’m not sure yet which way we’re going to go — obviously there’s a few who will come straight back in and there were none (significant injuries) to speak of which was my greatest concern.”

Likewise, Mines Rovers coach Marc Johnstone said he was looking forward to this Sunday’s first semi-final against Kalgoorlie after a match that had no bearing on the composition of the top-four.

“I thought we were very dominant in the first quarter and competitive for the next two,” Johnstone said.

“But that last quarter had a feel to it of ‘get everyone off’ and prepare for next weekend.

“There were still plenty of positive signs for us, especially with all the cattle we’ve got to bring back in.”

On the possible effects that the big loss might have on his group, Johnstone dismissed it on Sunday.

“We actually had a couple of boys with heat stroke (Jacob Potts and Maxwell Sambo) so we rested them up and we had three others who’d played colts beforehand,” Johnstone said.

“We were just a bit light-on but apart from that, it’s all good and we’ll be fully-loaded for Kangas.

“They (Railways) are a good side and if we were playing for a bit more, then maybe things might have been different.

“But a few boys were just looking to get through unscathed to be honest and just survive the last 20 minutes.”

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