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Big men star but little changes as season ends
Tuesday, August 27, 2024 - 12:39 PM
Big men star but little changes as season ends
The end was little different to the rest of the season.
Competitive enough to secure a lead against a finals contender during the last quarter of a tough encounter, West Perth could not hold on when the game was there to be won.
The Falcons went down to South Fremantle on Saturday – giving favourite son Todd Curley the chance to guide the Bulldogs to another September campaign in his final season at the port – but not before displaying the same traits that had been on show throughout Jason Salecic’s first year at the helm.
The 18-point loss was the 10th this year that the Falcons surrendered a last quarter lead during a season that West Perth came eighth for the first time since their 1992 wooden spoon.
The margin between success and failure is narrow but West Perth have been on the wrong side of it for much of the year.
First the good news.
Tyler Keitel, the league’s most effective spearhead, finished the season strongly to secure his fourth Bernie Naylor Medal and underline his status as a modern-day WAFL star.
Keitel’s three goals in the 12.9 (81) to 9.9 (63) result maintained his season average while his 56 majors was just one fewer than last season.
Keitel joins Austin Robertson (eight times), George Doig and Naylor himself (six), and Bonny Campbell, Warren Ralph and Brad Smith (four) as the only players to lead the league goal-kicking at least four times.
The big right-footer opened the scoring early at Fremantle Oval, extended the advantage in the bright opening stanza and then snatched the lead midway through the last term as West Perth made a late charge.
That charge was generated by ruckman Riley Sprigg whose career-best performance against Subiaco a week earlier was followed by an equally effective display.
Sprigg’s endeavour and energy were keys to his impact as he won the ball 23 times and provided his midfielders with enough precise access to the ball that West Perth scored five of their nine goals directly from stoppages.
Sprigg’s game high returns - 13 contested possessions, 12 tackles, eight clearances and seven hit outs to advantage – in a game featuring a host of Sandover and Simpson medal winning midfielders, reinforced his potential as an important pillar in Salecic’s rebuilding program.
But West Perth’s potent stoppage game, with Luke Meadows (seven clearances from 20 disposals), Kane Bevan (seven from 19), Shane Nelson (six from 26) and Corey Rundle (six from 15) doing their best work in crowded quarters, was not matched by their impact once the ball came loose.
South Fremantle scored eight of their 12 goals from turnovers with Haiden Schloithe’s class and Aaron Drage’s pace proving difficult to combat.
The difference was most evident in the second quarter which started with West Perth eight points ahead but ended with the Bulldogs kicking five unanswered goals as Josh Branchi managed to quell Sprigg’s influence.
Sprigg bounced back strongly in the second half to provide a clear measure of his temperament but South’s veterans in Schloithe, Zac Strom and Dylan Main had the taste of victory and helped their team get over the line.
The Falcons showcased another promising young tall forward in second-gamer Kayle Gerryn, whose father Chris was a premiership player at Claremont, but like Jasper Scaife who was taken at the AFL midseason draft after just seven matches, his time at the club may be short-lived.
WEST PERTH 4.3 4.5 7.7 9.9 63
SOUTH FREMANTLE 3.1 8.2 8.7 12.9 81
GOALS - WEST PERTH: Keitel 3; Knott, Gerreyn 2; Sprigg, Rundle.
SOUTH FREMANTLE: Z Strom 3; Winder, Donaldson, Harbour 2; Pearson, Graham, Main.
BEST - WEST PERTH: Sprigg, Keitel, Meadows, Bevan, Nelson.
SOUTH FREMANTLE: Drage, Schloithe, Z Strom, Branchi, Winder.
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