A WIN FULL OF MERIT

THE weather conditions were as wintry as you were likely to see but the effort of West Perth brought more than a ray of sunshine to the supporters who turned up to watch them in action against Subiaco at Medibank Stadium on Saturday.

Their disciplined attack on the football set up the 26-point victory and gave the Falcons their fifth win of the year.

The first quarter was played in relatively dry conditions but the wind was certainly a factor.

West Perth had first use of it but Subiaco did most of the early attacking. Matt Johnson was the first to hit the scoreboard after marking outside 50. His long, penetrating kick split the middle at the six-minute mark.

From here the Lions had the better of the quarter kicking the only other two goals to Simon Moore and Kyal Horsley. As you would expect the game was a real slog with neither team shirking the issue but at the first change Subiaco had done well to kick into the breeze and lead by four; 2.1 (13) to 1.3 (9).

When Subiaco key forward, Hamish Shepheard, kicked his only goal at the two-minute mark of the second quarter the Falcons looked like they could be in trouble. The Lions led by 10 points with the advantage of the breeze. The next 10 minutes saw plenty of action but no impact on the scoreboard.

This was until Kody Manning stepped up with a terrific individual performance. He took possession of the ball near the wing, had a bounce and steadied to nail a major from inside 50.

At the 17-minute mark Max Duffy took the ball off the front of the pack to kick his first and give West Perth a two-point lead. From this point each side kicked two behinds each and as a result West Perth led by two at the main break; 3.5 (23) to 3.3 (21).

Just before half-time a storm approached the ground; it got that dark that it was difficult to see the other side of the ground and when the players returned to the field it was a much bleaker scenario. The first four scoring shots were behinds with the Falcons kicking three of them. Consecutive goals to Subiaco saw them snatch back the lead.

The eight-point deficit was quickly hauled in as the Falcons steadied to kick the last four majors of the term. The first went to Michael Lourey who intercepted a kick out of defence on 50. His long kick narrowed the margin. Manning regained the lead for West Perth when he ran onto a long kick forward by Trent Manzone. He was running at full pace and soccered the ball from 30 out.

At the 21-minute mark the Falcons scored another soccered goal. This time it was Duffy who kicked his second from near the square. The lead was now out to 10. Subiaco had the next three scoring shots but they were all behinds before the hard working Aidan Lynch kicked the ball out of a congested pack. Steven Browne was on the end of it and his accurate kick from 20 gave West Perth a handy 13-point lead; 7.9 (51) to 5.8 (38).

The Falcons started the fourth quarter like they finished the third. They scored two behinds before Rohan Kerr showed his class with a very clever kick from 40. His kicking is all class when the pressure is on. The lead was out to 21 but not to be outdone Subiaco kicked the next two to make it a 10-point game midway through the term. One of these was a second to Liam Ryan.

But from here the Falcons finished full of running, kicking the last three goals of the game. A clever pass by Duffy set up Johnson for his second, precise use of the footy by Lourey saw Mark Hamilton mark 30 out and Kerr kicked his second when he took advantage of a clever soccer forward by Aaron Black. At the final siren West Perth had recorded a most impressive 26-point victory; 11.11 (77) to 7.9 (51).

As the season has progressed the improvement in West Perth has been notable. This is partly due to the return of key players from injury but just as importantly it can be traced back to the development of youngsters such as Tyler Keitel, Luke Meadows, Drew Rohde, Aidan Lynch and Dean Munns. This isn’t including players like Nick Rodda, Aaron Black and Shane Nelson who are all 24 or less because they have established themselves from an early age.

The senior players are all leading by example and as a result there is a lot to like about the side as it builds into the year. In a day that it was difficult to pick best players because of the evenness of the team effort the following players were mentioned; Dean Munns for his terrific tagging job on Leigh Kitchin, Luke Meadows who continues his very good form and Drew Rohde who worked hard in the ruck. Shane Nelson, Aaron Black, Trent Manzone, Rohan Kerr and Jay van Berlo all had plenty of the footy and were key contributors.

The colts had a win but the reserves went down. A trip to Lathlain Park to take on the Demons next week. Let’s hope the weather is a bit kinder.

Article by Darrell Kent
Photos by Belinda Taylor