FALCONS FALL AWAY AFTER POSITIVE START

FALCONS FALL AWAY AFTER POSITIVE START

West Perth dominated the first quarter against Claremont on Saturday scoring four goals to two but from then on the home team dominated the contest. The Falcons only scored four more goals for the rest of the game while Claremont piled on fourteen.

West Perth scored the first goal of the match at the six-minute mark and it went to Tom Boyes who marked forty out. He was on the end of a great pass from Aaron Black. The second was a top individual effort by Tyson Moulton. He soccered the ball forward, got a handball from Tyler Keitel and snapped the first of his pair from thirty. Claremont got one back before a Tyson Moulton pass set up Keegan Knott for his first.  After the goal the first of many scuffles for the game broke out, and as was the case all day, Claremont received the free out of the middle which led directly to their second. It would be fair to say that West Perth only stood their ground all day against what appeared to be a Tiger tactic. The margin was five midway through the term. The next went to an unlikely source. Noah Pegoraro, who had been moved forward, snapped one from the pocket. The rest of the quarter was a real battle with no more goals being scored and as a result West Perth led by twelve at the first change; 4.2 (26) to 2.2 (14).

Claremont didn’t take long to grab the lead in the second quarter, outscoring West Perth six goals to one. They kicked four majors in quick time to lead by sixteen at the seventeen-minute mark. Just into time on a Steve Potente pass hit Tyson Moulton on the chest and after he received fifty he finished from the square. But once again Claremont steadied to kick the last two to lead by twenty-two at the main change. The quarter saw a dramatic increase in the number of Falcon errors, which has been most uncharacteristic up until this part of the season. The scores were 8.6 (54) to 5.3 (33).

The trend of the second quarter continued in the third with the Falcons kicking one major opposed to Claremont’s five. The West Perth goal went to Nathan Alexandre who marked and finished from fifty. As a result, the game was done at three quarter time with West Perth trailing by forty-four; 13.7 (85) to 6.5 (41).

The home team extended their lead to fifty-eight before West Perth scored. A clever kick by Keegan Knott saw Rudy Riddoch mark in the square. Promising Claremont youngster, Jack Buller, then kicked the last of his five before a clever snap by Keegan Knott, just before the siren, saw him kick his second and reduce the margin to fifty-two. The final scores were 16.11 (107) to 8.7 (55).

West Perth supporters, who probably outnumbered those of the home team, would be disappointed with the result but it is always a difficult ground to win at. Senior coach, Geoff Valentine, will undoubtedly review this game with the players closely and then move on to prepare for the game against Swan Districts next week. Best players included Connor West, Tyson Moulton, Noah Pegoraro, Aaron Black, Shane Nelson and Keegan Knott.

The Reserves were in the contest all day but at the end lost by twenty as Claremont scored a couple late. The scores were 11.11 (77) to 8.9 (57). Tristan Hobley and Koopah Todd scored two each and the best players included Kellen Johnson, Tristan Hobley, Nathan Murray and Koopah Todd. The Colts started the day in winning form for West Perth. It was also a tight contest but the Falcons prevailed 11.10 (76) to 7.11 (53).  West Perth controlled the game after half time. Coach, Ryan Lasscock, would have been very pleased with the win as the team has been very competitive in all of its matches so far.  Zarne Robis kicked four, Darcy Dixon and Isaac DeMarte two each. Best players were Lochlan Paton, Liam McWha, Zarne Robis, Zac Fleiner and Jordan Berry. A must win set of games next week against Swan Districts. Be at Provident Financial Oval to get the teams over the line.