Falcons Dominant In The Wet

The weather was very ordinary but the West Perth performance was anything but. In what was the Falcons best performance of the year they dominated the game to run out fifty seven point winners. The score of 16.13 was their highest score of the season and it was achieved in challenging conditions, to say the least. The win was the icing on the cake for a great day for the West Perth Football Club. All three grades had easy wins and this sees all teams in the top five.

In the League, the first quarter set the tone for the game. The rain hadn’t arrived and West Perth played a fine brand of football. Swans kicked the first score of the game, a behind, before the Falcons controlled play with efficient use of the footy. “Strijky” hit the scoreboard first with a clever snap. He was on the end of some good work by Tyler Keitel. Tyler had a dominant game and was probably West Perth’s best. The big man hit the score board himself at the twelve minute mark when he kicked a long goal after marking on fifty. The lead was out to nineteen after a Mitch Peirce snap from thirty split the middle. The run was interrupted by a major to the Swans, Anthony Stevens. But this didn’t deter the visitors as they kicked the next three to take the lead out to thirty three. A precise Brayden Antonio pass hit Rudy Riddoch who scored from thirty. Tyler Keitel rucked for most of the day and kicked his second after he took possession of the ball from a boundary throw in and scored from outside fifty. It was a great goal. The sixth goal for the quarter came from Keegan Knott who kicked a clever major after receiving a free deep in the pocket. It was the first of four for the match and his forward line pressure was a feature of the game. Swans got one back right on the siren and as a result West Perth took a twenty seven point lead into the first change. They led 6.4 (40) to 2.1 (13). It was a really good quarter of football.

The second quarter was a more even contest. The rain arrived but it was still a good game of football to watch. Swans scored the first of the term before the Falcons extended their lead by kicking the next three. Corey Chalmers kicked the first of his two from close in, Tyler Keitel handballed to Tyson Moulton who scored a classy goal from fifty and Keegan Knott got one over the back after a long kick forward by Trent Manzone. The Black Ducks steadied to kick the next two to reduce the margin before West Perth got one back right on the siren. It was a second to Andrew Strijk who marked and finished, on an angle, from forty. At the main change West Perth had extended their lead to thirty six; 10.7 (67) to 5.1 (31).

Despite the conditions goals continued to be scored freely. Seven more were kicked in the third quarter with the Falcons getting four of them. Kris Shannon, who showed a great amount of dash all day, finished from forty and Andrew Strijk kicked his third after some good passing by Rudy Riddoch and Tyson Moulton. The lead was out to forty eight at the eight minute mark. Dangerous Swans forward, Corey Gault, kicked the first of his three to reduce the margin before a clever soccer forward by Dean Munns led to Corey Chalmers getting his second from the square. Corey Gault then kicked two more; he in fact kicked the home team’s three majors for the quarter. The lead was back to thirty five before Keegan Knott scored his third. He laid a strong tackle thirty out, received a free and converted. At the final change West Perth had once again extended their lead. The scores were 14.8 (92) to 8.3 (51).

The last quarter was a real slog with the conditions having an impact. The first five scores were behinds with West Perth getting four of them. Midway through the term Keegan Knott kicked his fourth and at the twenty six minute mark Mike Lourey hit the scoreboard after marking forty out. These were the only goals for the quarter and the final siren saw West Perth run out fifty seven point winners; 16.13 (109) to 8.4 (52). It was a really good effort on a tough day for football.

The strong win capped an excellent day for the Football Club. Earlier the Colts had run out thirty point winners; 11.10 (76) to 7.4 (46). It was a very consistent effort and sees them sit third on the ladder. Players who came under notice included Koopah Todd, Corey Rundle, Tom Menaglio and Nazifi Muhammad Toh. The Reserves were, once again, very good and recorded a fifty point victory; 12.15 (87) to 5.7 (37). They are now second on the ladder and are playing an entertaining brand of football. As has been the case all year there were a number of key contributors. These included Lachlan Johns, Nathan Alexandre, Sam Rotham, Drew Blurton and Alec Johnson who kicked four goals. The League now sits in fifth spot, one game plus percentage clear of Peel. Best players were Tyler Keitel, Aaron Black, Shane Nelson, Corey Chalmers and Laine Rasmussen. It was a very even team effort. A big challenge against Subiaco next week, be there to help get the teams over the line.