KNOTT, ANOTHER GOAL OF THE YEAR By Darrell Kent

KNOTT, ANOTHER GOAL OF THE YEAR

By Darrell Kent

He has won the Goal of the Year Award for the last two years and on Saturday, at Splendid Park in Yanchep, Keegan Knott kicked one that will almost certainly make it a hat trick. Keegan was instrumental in the Falcons’ seventy-eight point victory against West Coast and was part of a dominant forward line that saw Tyler Keitel finish with six, Mitch Antonio have a break out game in which he snared four and Knott kicked three. West Perth were dominant all day and used the ball very well in the blustery conditions. In the end they prevailed 19.6 (120) to 6.6 (42).

Captain, Aaron Black, won the toss and elected to kick into the strong breeze. He had a tremendous day finishing with forty-three possessions. Mitch Antonio was busy early and he hit Tyler Keitel on the chest who then kicked his first at the two-minute mark. Tyson Moulton marked thirty out and the reliable finisher did just that. West Coast scored their only goal for the term, despite kicking with a strong breeze, after ten minutes. It went to first gamer, Lachlan Feeney. The rest of the quarter belonged to the Falcons as they dominated the play with precise passing. Mark Hamilton started the next from fullback that saw passes from Rudy Riddoch and Sam Rotham end with Tyler Keitel who scored his second. Mitch Antonio then hit the scoreboard after a brilliant pass by Rudy Riddoch. It was the first of his four and he worked hard around the ground all day. At the first change West Perth led by eighteen, 4.1 (25) to 1.1 (7).

The Falcons had use of the breeze in the second term and hit the score board within a minute. Mitch Antonio passed to Conal Lynch who finished from forty. The Eagles got two back to reduce the margin to twelve after five minutes but they were the last majors that they were to score for the quarter. West Perth kicked the last four of the term. Mitch Antonio snapped his second after taking the ball off hands, Tyler Keitel handballed to Keegan Knott for his first, Rudy Riddoch handballed to Tyson Moulton who finished on the run from forty and a clever soccer by Steve Potente resulted in Mitch Antonio running into an open goal for his third. At the main break West Perth led by six straight; 9.2 (56) to 3.2 (20).

West Perth extended their lead every quarter and the third continued that trend. The teams traded majors for the first ten minutes, kicking two each. For the Falcons, Keegan Knott kicked his second and Rudy Riddoch the first of his two. He finished from the square after a great passage of play from deep in defence. Rudy is running into some really good form. As was the case in previous quarters, West Perth then took control to kick the only other goals of the quarter. It was a hard fought term with both sides having periods of control but the Falcons use of the footy was superior. Tyson Moulton and Mitch Antonio combined for Mitch’s fourth and an unselfish handball from Keegan Knott saw Tyler Keitel score his third. Tyler’s attack on the footy was ferocious all day. The Falcons had the game in their keeping at the final change leading by forty-eight; 13.4 (82) to 5.4 (34).

West Perth dominated the final quarter kicking six goals to one with the West Coast major coming after the siren. The Keegan Knott “Goal of the Year” came at the two-minute mark and is impossible to describe. He somehow managed to keep the ball from going over the boundary a couple of times, beat four opponents and then banana it through from the boundary. His team mates certainly appreciated his efforts as they all came to congratulate him. A long kick forward by Tyler Keitel saw Sam Rotham kick one after the ball carried the pack. Tyler added his fourth, Rudy his second and Tyler then added two more to take the lead to eighty-four at the twenty-six-minute mark. West Coast got one back after the siren but the 19.6 (120) to 6.6 (42) was a true reflection of West Perth’s dominance.

There were many very good players for West Perth. Aaron Black touched it forty-three times and was dominant midfield, Trent Manzone had forty possessions from halfback and set up many forward moves. Tyler Keitel and Mitch Antonio scored ten between them and did a lot of work up the ground. Noah Pegoraro is a player of serious talent who marked everything and had a stint in the ruck. Steve Potente made a strong return to the Senior team and used the ball well with his twenty-six possessions and Rudy Riddoch is working his way into top form. It was a strong whole team performance that promises a lot for the future. A big test against Subiaco at Provident Financial Oval on Saturday. Be there to see if the team can carry their form into this one.