SWFL 2023: Harvey Bulls star forward Brad Holmes boots 1000th career goal in victory over Dunsborough

The South West Football League’s Harvey-based teams had plenty to celebrate this weekend from dominant wins to a star forward achieving a huge milestone. In the midst of Harvey’s 12-point win over the Dunsborough Sharks, Brad Holmes knocked off two big milestones in one game, booting his 1000th career goal and notching his 150th goal wearing the Harvey Bulls colours. There was plenty of hype about the potential for fans to witness the milestone with Holmes kicking his 999th goal with a snap from the boundary at the northern end of Harvey Oval during the first two minutes of the SWFL league match. The Bulls were off to a strong start, booting a further two goals before the Sharks could respond. While the Sharks managed a goal to get themselves on the board, the Bulls held a four-goal lead by quarter-time. Although Dunsborough made a strong start to the second quarter with Mack Candy booting a long-range goal, followed by a further major from Chris White, the Bulls got the ball to Holmes to kick his 1000th goal at the nine minute mark. The major produced plenty of fanfare from supporters — car horns blared and several kids ran on to the field to congratulate Holmes. Just minutes later, Holmes booted a third goal to notch his 150th goal with the Harvey Bulls, knocking off two milestones in the same quarter. While Dunsborough continued fighting hard to stay in the contest, the Bulls held strong to lead by 28 points at half-time. In the second half the Sharks stepped up and challenged the Bulls’ lead, clawing their way back into the contest with two goals to narrow the margin to 17 points by the final change. While Dunsborough continued putting up a strong fight during the final quarter and keeping the Bulls goalless for the entire second half, several missed opportunities proved their undoing as the Bulls held on to win 9.8 (62) to 7.8 (50), with Holmes doing a celebratory ‘shoey’ after the game. Earlier in the day, a dominant start for the Harvey Bulls’ women’s team has helped them to their third win in a row, defeating Dunsborough 8.4 (52) to 1.0 (6), with Emma Faulkner and Rachel Wright kicking three goals and two goals respectively. Meanwhile at Collie Recreation Ground, Harvey Brunswick Leschenault had a good day out as their women’s and league teams both recorded convincing wins over the Collie Eagles. Zoe Roberts led the Lions’ charge to victory in the women’s team with three goals, along with strong performances by Shelby Humphries and Giaan Evans to notch the 6.9 (45) to 0.1 (1) win over the Eagles. In the league match-up, the Lions were under plenty of pressure from Collie throughout the first half but put their foot down during the third quarter with Zavier Williams and Jarrod Humphries providing plenty of headaches for the home side. The dominant second-half performance helped the Lions on their way to victory, 13.8 (86) to 5.11 (41).