FALCONS GET THE JOB DONE

IT was a real struggle all day but West Perth eventually wore down Perth to record an important 26-point victory at Lathlain Park on Saturday.

The game was played in pleasant conditions in contrast to a number of previous Saturdays. There were periods of good football with both sides moving the ball quickly but they found it difficult to take advantage and  there were long periods without a goal being scored.

Perth had the better of the first 10 minutes kicking the first two majors. After that period of time they led by 13 points. The first Falcons goal didn’t come until midway through the term and that went to Michael Lourey who was on the end of a pass from the skipper, Jay van Berlo. He kicked the first of his three from 40. The next West Perth goal came from the in-form Rohan Kerr, shortly after. Initially he had marked 40 out on the boundary but Matt Johnson was dropped to the ground behind play and the 50m penalty made it a certainty from the square. These were to be the only Falcon scores for the quarter. Promising Perth forward Sam Garstone kicked his second right at the end of the quarter to give Perth an eight-point advantage; 3.2 (20) to 2.0 (12).

The play opened up in the second term with eight goals being kicked. Perth kicked the first at the four-minute mark to take the lead out to 14 points. The West Perth reply came shortly after when Trent Manzone and Max Duffy combined to get the ball into the hands of Kerr for his second. Perth responded in less than a minute, though, as they took the ball out of the middle and the busy Liam McKenna finished from 30.

The Falcons kicked two goals in less than a minute to narrow the margin to just one. The first went to Duffy who scrambled one through and the second to Lourey who marked 20 metres out after a kick forward by van Berlo. The entertaining quarter continued with Perth scoring the next before Seva Mozhaev had a purple patch. At the 19-minute mark he received a free 30 metres out, which he converted. Two minutes later he took possession in the square for his second. This gave West Perth a five-point lead. West Perth held a six-point advantage at half-time; 7.2 (44) to 6.2 (38).

The third quarter was the polar opposite of the second with the scoreboard attendant having to add to the goal tallies on only one occasion. Perth big man Angus Graham marked in the square to give the Demons a one-point lead at the 10-minute mark. There were four more scores and they were all behinds to West Perth. As a result they led by three at the final change; 7.6 (48) to 7.3 (45).

At the four-minute mark West Perth worked the ball forward to Manzone who kicked accurately to take the lead out to nine points. After a Perth behind van Berlo was again involved when he passed the ball to Steve Potente 50 metres out on the boundary. His kick gave the Falcons a 14-point lead at the eight-minute mark.

West Perth had control of the game and attacked consistently but only kicked six behinds and as a result led by 20 points going into time-on. A feature of the game was the intercept marking of big defender Nick Rodda. He led a defensive unit that consistently repelled Perth attacking moves. Tyler Keitel eventually broke the run of behinds when he marked 30 metres out and converted. At the 28-minute mark Perth scored its only goal for the quarter. Lourey kicked the final major of the game just as the siren went. It was his third and it gave West Perth a hard fought 26-point victory; 11.12 (78) to 8.4 (52).

The Falcons have now won five in a row and are in fifth position but only percentage out of third spot. Best player awards went to Michael Lourey, Rohan Kerr and Nick Rodda. The reserves had a comfortable victory and the colts went down. One of the players to be recognised with an award in the reserves was Luke Tedesco as he tries to get back into the league side to play his 150th game and earn a much-deserved life membership. Others to receive recognition for their performance were Corey Chalmers, Kris Shannon, Mitch Antonio, Conal Lynch, Scott Nelson and Michael Ashfield. An important game against East Perth at HBF Arena on WA Day next Monday. A win can put a three win gap between the long-term rivals.

BY DARRELL KENT
PHOTOS BY BELINDA TAYLOR