Falcons Outclassed by Lions

West Perth were never in the contest against Subiaco on Saturday. They kicked the first score of the game, a behind, but it was the only time that they led for the day. The Lions showed why they are the benchmark team in the competition with a dominant display that was highlighted by strong marking and a miserly defence. Congratulations to Mike Lourey who played his hundredth game. He has been a very good player since joining the Club from Frankston. Young Ben Johnson made his debut. It was a tough day to be playing in defence but he battled hard all day. The Reserves had a strong win while the Colts went down by less than a kick after leading for most of the game.

Rudy Riddoch scored a behind in the first minute but the first three goals went to the home team. As a result, they led by eighteen at the midway point of the term. The first Falcon major went to Andrew Strijk who took a strong mark at the back of the pack and finished from the square. But there was little respite for the West Perth defence as the Lions kicked the next two to lead by twenty four. Just before the siren, Tyler Keitel marked forty out and kicked the first of his two for the day. He was, once again, among the Falcons best. At the quarter time siren, the signs were ominous with Subiaco leading 5.3 (33) to 2.2 (14).

The second quarter saw Subiaco put the game out of West Perth’s reach. They kicked the first five goals to take the lead out to fifty at the twenty four minute mark. Lion forwards Ryan Borchet and Ben Sokol were dominant and the constant supply that they received made life for the Falcons defence very difficult. The only West Perth goal came three minutes later and it went to Keegan Knott who scored from forty after some good work by Kris Shannon. Subiaco had a forty four point lead at the main break; 10.6 (66) to 3.4 (22). The Falcons had the task ahead to preserve their percentage in order to enhance their prospects of playing finals.

West Perth fought hard in the third quarter and kicked three majors, the same as Subiaco. Subi scored the first before Corey Chalmers hit the scoreboard with the first of his three for the game. He snapped accurately from forty. The Lions kicked next two to take their lead to fifty four before the Falcons kicked two late in the term. The first was a second to Corey Chalmers who finished from the square before Tyler Keitel snapped his second. As a result, West Perth had won the quarter and reduced the margin to forty one; 13.7 (85) to 6.8 (44).

The focus during the final quarter had to be to preserve percentage but this was not to be the case as Subiaco kicked six unanswered goals to take the lead out to seventy eight. West Perth’s final quarters have generally been very good but the Lions’ ball use was impressive. At the twenty five minute mark Corey Chalmers kicked his third and this saw the margin reduced to seventy at the final siren. Chalmers was West Perth’s best forward on the day. The final scores were 19.8 (122) to 7.10 (52).

The result makes the Falcons position in the five very precarious. They must beat the inform South Fremantle next week to ensure a finals place. Perth and West Coast Reserves can both leap frog them as their next opponents are below them on the ladder. Best for the West Perth League team were Tyler Keitel, Corey Chalmers, Tyson Moulton and Mark Hamilton.

The Reserves are in second spot after a strong forty-three-point victory. They played a very good brand of football and bounced back after a tough match against Claremont last week. Best players were Kael Coleman, Mitch Antonio, Tom Medhat, Tom O’Donnell, Brayden Antonio and Ben King.

The Colts went down by five points after leading until late in the game. They are still assured of playing finals football. Best players were Zak Patterson, Heath Chapman, Callum Johnson, Koopah Todd and Taylor Ashworth.