One of Those Days!

Every now and again you have a day when nothing goes right. This was the case for the Falcons on Saturday when they hosted Claremont at The Arena. They had the first two scoring shots of the game but from there on it was all downhill. West Perth struggled to find a target and finish in front of goal and as a result suffered a fifty six point defeat. One thing that Falcons’ supporters can be sure of is that the team is better than the result indicated and that there is still a lot to look forward to.

Keegan Knott took a strong mark on a very acute angle at the three minute mark. His clever kick gave West Perth the early advantage. A rushed behind followed before the Tigers hit the scoreboard from outside fifty. Shortly after Dylan Yem was involved in a head clash that saw him stretchered off the ground and he took no further part in the game. For the second week in a row the Falcons were a man down only minutes into the first quarter. The remainder of the quarter was a real arm wrestle until the twenty-eight-minute mark when Claremont’s Thomas Lee kicked the first of his five goals. At the first change West Perth had held their own to trail by a straight kick; 2.1 (13) to 1.1 (7).

The first half of the second quarter belonged to Claremont and as a result they extended their lead to twenty five midway through the term. At the eighteen minute mark some good work from Keegan Knott enabled Trent Manzone to snap from close in. Shortly after, Liam Tedesco was on the end of a very clever kick forward by Rudy Riddoch. His accurate finish reduced the margin to just thirteen and West Perth was right back in it. A brilliant snap from the boundary by the Tigers just before the main break enabled Claremont to increase their lead again and as a result they led by eighteen at half time; 6.2 (38) to 3.2 (20). The Falcons were still well and truly in the contest at this point in the game.

The third quarter was the one that sealed the Falcons fate. The visitors kicked five unanswered goals in quick time to lead by forty eight at the fourteen minute mark. The only West Perth goal went to Keegan Knott who took a strong mark twenty out. He subsequently scored his second major. At the final break the Falcons were in big trouble trailing by forty six; 12.2 (74) to 4.4 (28).

Both sides just went through the motions in the last quarter. Claremont added two majors while West Perth could only manage four behinds. From the seven minute mark until into time on only behinds were scored. At the final siren West Perth had been defeated by fifty six; 14.4 (88) to 4.8 (32). Coincidentally, Claremont kicked the same score as Peel the week before. It was without doubt a disappointing result in Andrew Strijk’s 250^th Senior game but it is one that the players will rebound from.

Best players for the Falcons were hard to find but Rudy Riddoch was clearly the best as he used the ball with great effect. Others to come under notice included Ben King, Shane Nelson and Connor West. There is no doubt that this team will rebound strongly against the Bulldogs next Sunday at Fremantle Oval.

The Reserves suffered a heart breaking three-point loss in the last few seconds of the game. They led all day but a soccer from thirty went through for the visitors with less than a minute to go. It was a lucky goal and as a result the home team didn’t receive just reward for a fine last quarter during which they battled hard to keep their lead. They went down 8.11 (59) to 7.14 (46). Best players included Dean Munns, Brayden Antonio, Michael Ashfield, Conal Lynch and Zac Guadagnin.

The Colts had a strong fifteen-point win over Claremont; 8.7 (55) to 5.10 (40) at Steele Blue Oval in the first Colts Super Round of the season. Best players included Jaxon Prior, Ben Johnson, Tyron Hindmarsh, Callum Johnson and Ewan Brazier.