SLOW START COSTLY

Swan Districts scored the first four goals of the match and from that point in time onwards West Perth were playing catch up at the Arena on Saturday. Unfortunately, that task was beyond the team suffering a forty four point defeat.

By the sixteen minute mark of the first quarter Swans had established a twenty five point lead. One of the goals went to Corey Gault who kicked five for the visitors. His strong marking was a real feature of the game. Kris Shannon was involved in the first Falcons goal when he carried the ball a long way and passed to Keegan Knott. He slotted the first of his two for the day from fifty. Keegan brings a lot of energy to the West Perth forward line. The margin was further reduced when a terrific Rudy Riddoch pass hit Andrew Strijk on the chest forty out. He kicked the first of his four for the day. Unfortunately the hard work was undone when Corey Gault kicked his second just before the siren. As a result West Perth trailed by twenty one at the first change; 5.3 (33) to 2.0 (12).

West Perth had the better of the second quarter and narrowed the margin to sixteen at half time. The quarter didn’t start well with Corey Gault kicking his third. He was a real handful for the Falcon defence. At the thirteen minute mark a piece of individual brilliance by Keegan Knott narrowed the margin. Under extreme pressure he finished from the boundary. Swans got one back shortly after but the last part of the quarter belonged to West Perth as they attacked consistently. Tyler Keitel hit the score board after some good work by Andrew Strijk and Keegan Knott. Mike Lourey then kicked the first of his three after receiving a free in a ruck contest. You cannot understate the hard work done around the ground by Mike Lourey. When in the ruck he is more than competitive and his tackling around the packs is very good. The score at the main break saw West Perth trailing by sixteen; 7.6 (48) to 5.2 (32). The Falcons had put themselves back in the contest.

A lot of this hard work was undone when the visitors kicked the first two of the third term. The margin was out to thirty at the ten minute mark. Mike Lourey then kicked his second from forty and Andrew Strijk got his second after a bullet like pass from Shane Nelson. “Nelly” went off injured shortly after and did not return. The margin was back to seventeen midway through the quarter but Swans steadied to kick acouple more and extend their lead to a match winning thirty two at three quarter time. The scores were 11.11 (77) to 7.3 (45).

Once again Swans started the quarter best and at the five minute mark led by forty four. During the course of the quarter Andrew Strijk kicked two to take his tally to four and Mike Lourey added one to finish with three. Both of these players were among the Falcons’ best. At the final siren West Perth had suffered a 16.12 (108) to 10.4 (64) defeat.

Best players for the League were Andrew Strijk, Mike Lourey, first year player Noah Pegoraro, Keegan Knott and Rudy Riddoch. It is fair to say that the players are trying hard,but things are not coming together as the Club would hope.

The Reserves had a comprehensive victory to record their second win for the year. With a touch of luck they could be undefeated as they have lost their last two games by three points. The performance was solid as the Falcons won every quarter to secure a 50-point victory. Best players were Jacob Turner, Thomas Medhat, Aidan Lynch, Dylan Yem and Liam Tedesco. 

The Colts went down by seventeen in an enthralling contest. For three quarters the young Flacons played strong competitive football before Swans controlled the final quarter to win the game. It was a great contest and gave both sides the opportunity to play some new faces with several players un-available due to the State 18s program. Best players included Tyron Hindmarsh, Corey Rundle, Ewan Brazier and Adam Gerritsen.