West Perth learn plenty as lightning strikes Leederville

West Perth learn plenty as lightning strikes Leederville

John Townsend

Nelson Mandela had a saying that was later taken up by Brisbane coach Chris Fagan.

“I never lose,” Mandela said, “I either win or learn.”

West Perth learnt plenty from their remarkable WA Day derby against East Perth that led to the archrivals swapping positions in the middle of the WAFL ladder.

While the East Perth victory squared the ledger at 174 wins apiece after 117 years of intense rivalry, West Perth learnt that anything less than 100% commitment leaves them vulnerable in a premiership season that could be won by any one of half a dozen candidates.

They learnt that WA regular Noah Pegoraro remains one of the best defenders in the WAFL but even he can’t singlehandedly keep the opposition at bay.

They learnt that Luke Meadows’ class, poise and deep kicking make him their most important midfielder.

They learnt that debutant Darcy Dixon, who kicked two handy goals by the time the second quarter was only a few minutes old, is a player to persevere with.

And they learnt that pace and skill are great qualities, but wet weather football requires a different level of physicality, particularly when the opposition boasts a ruckman with AFL attributes and experience and a considerably heavier and stronger midfield.

The last factor means that experienced players Mark Hutchings, Zac Langdon and Keegan Knott, who are building form in the reserves, are likely to be considered closely in the three vital matches remaining this month.  

The standout feature of the match at Leederville Oval was the historic 39-minute delay forced by lightning strikes around the ground.

Players and officials left the ground just before time-on in the second quarter when thunderstorms erupted with the Royals leading by 29 points.

Cancelling the game before half-time would have delivered a draw and two points each but play eventually resumed when the weather cleared.

Returning for the first time to the scene of last year’s premiership triumph, West Perth rallied after the long break, but they could not reverse the momentum that saw East Perth win by 36 points, 14.10 (94) to 8.10 (58).

Meadows was steady in the first half but lifted his rating considerably to have a profound impact after the lightning break.

He finished with 26 possessions, laid 14 tackles and kicked three goals for just the third time in his career and the first in eight seasons.

Meadows’ majors included an outstanding 55m bomb into the strong wind and he later read the play superbly to twice get into dangerous territory close to the goal-face to give his team-mates a scoring option.

Spearhead Tyler Keitel’s impact was diminished in the heavy conditions, but he opened the scoring with a clever snap and later found his way into space to reward a forward 50 entry.

Captain Aaron Black started deep in attack as a foil to Keitel but his greatest impact came when he moved onto the ball in a bid to combat East Perth’s midfield division.

Black found the ball 18 times in the second half and his running power helped put pressure back on the Royals.

Rookie ruckman Riley Sprigg received a valuable tutorial from opponent Scott Jones whose physical presence and willingness to impose himself at stoppages identified the standard required for league success.

Sprigg’s fourth league appearance came against an in-form player who has played nearly 100 matches, including a handful for Fremantle, but the young Falcon may never receive a better lesson than his two hours at Leederville on Monday.

WEST PERTH 2.1 3.2 5.6 8.10 58

EAST PERTH 5.4 8.7 10.9 14.10 84

GOALS - WEST PERTH: Meadows 3; Keitel, Dixon 2; Sprigg.

EAST PERTH: Hille, Tedesco 3; van Diemen, Brayshaw 2; Schofield, Crowden, Ameduri, Scott.

BEST - WEST PERTH: Meadows, Pegoraro, Black, Todd, Hobley.

EAST PERTH: Jones, Crowden, Schumacher, Robertson, Wright, Hille.