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Meadows, Sprigg blaze trail for 2025 season

Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 10:33 AM
Meadows, Sprigg blaze trail for 2025 season
 
The losing streak is over and season 2025 has started.
West Perth upended Subiaco on Saturday in Joondalup’s wettest playing conditions in several years to climb from the bottom of the ladder and underline the standard required next year.
Led by classy centreman Luke Meadows and emerging ruckman Riley Sprigg, the Falcons avoided their worst losing streak in 85 years by outplaying and outlasting Subiaco by 16 points.
The 8.10 (58) to 5.12 (42) result was built on consistency of effort, a trait manifested in two goals in each quarter, that lifted the Falcons from 10th to eighth on the ladder and could foreshadow a strong finish to the season.
The solid display amid the puddles that stretched across Pentanet Stadium ended the losing streak at 10 defeats, equalling but not surpassing the mark in 1979, and gave coach Jason Salecic a glimpse at his options next year.
One of them is Sprigg, the 21-year-old Mukinbudin product, who produced a break-out performance with 55 hit-outs, nine tackles and a dozen disposals that exposed Subiaco’s aerial vulnerability.
 Sprigg has not been able to cement a place in the league team, playing 12 matches in his maiden season and six this year, as he has failed to replicate his impressive debut last year when he had a significant say in a win over eventual premier East Fremantle.
Until now.
 Just as he did in that match early last season, and in several other promising efforts, his best football appears to coincide with Meadows being a dominant figure.
Whether it is cause or effect, having influential players around the ball will provide Salecic with a reasonable foundation in his second year at the helm.
Sprigg had 19 hit outs and half a dozen disposals in the first term to lay down a strong marker and assist Meadows (eight of an eventual 35 disposals), Shane Nelson (nine of 23) and Corey Rundle (eight of 22), to dominate the midfield.
West Perth led by just one point at half-time after a tough opening hour but had far the better of the second half as they more than doubled their score while restricting their neighbour to just one goal.
The Falcons have conceded more scores than any team this season apart from last-placed West Coast but it was notable that the return of Ben Johnson helped to stiffen the defence and provide stronger rebound than in recent weeks.
Johnson rebounded eight of Subiaco’s 20 inside 50s in the second half on the way to 27 disposals while West Perth’s 19 tackles inside their defensive 50 played a significant part in keeping Subiaco to their second lowest score – by just one point – in 38 visits to Joondalup.
Like Johnson, Meadows is armed with a booming boot. That attribute was critical on a day when numerous players struggled to cover distance in the heavy conditions.
The main beneficiaries were senior forwards Tyler Keitel and Keegan Knott who each kicked two goals to reward the heavy labours of their midfield colleagues.
Keitel leads Perth’s Aaron Clarke by 13 goals with one game remaining in the race for the Bernie Naylor Medal.
And Meadows, Keitel and Shane Nelson are likely to be involved in a close tussle for this year’s Breckler Medal as West Perth’s champion player.
That experienced trio will be vital to Salecic’s plans next season as they continue to set a standard for their younger team-mates to follow.
Debutant Kayle Gerreyn and impressive fellow teenager Callum Smith may be part of that cohort unless they are called to the national stage.
 
WEST PERTH 2.1 4.3 6.7 8.10 58
SUBIACO 1.1 4.2 4.8 5.12 42
GOALS - WEST PERTH: Keitel, Knott 2; Pegoraro, Meadows, Hinder, DeMarte.
SUBIACO: Borchet 3; Robbins, Rohde.
BEST - WEST PERTH: Meadows, Sprigg, Rundle, Johnson, Nelson, Smith.
SUBIACO: Kitchin, Borchet, L Hickmott, Rohde, Savigni.

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