FALCONS RESERVES WIN NINE STRAIGHT TO ENTER GRAND FINAL

WEST Perth's reserves continued its outstanding form in the second half of the season in Sunday's preliminary final joining the league side in the grand final by beating Perth by 42 points.

The West Perth reserves won seven straight matches to close the home and away season and finish in fourth position heading into a derby first semi-final at Claremont Oval, which saw the Falcons win and set up a preliminary final clash back at the same venue against the minor premier Perth.

Perth had a strong year all along in the reserves to set up top spot on the ladder, but the Demons were thumped in the final round by South Fremantle by 91 points and then lost again to the Bulldogs by five points in the second semi-final.

That meant that West Perth was coming into the preliminary final on Sunday in tremendous winning form while Perth hadn’t won in three weeks despite having finished on top of the ladder.

The Demons started the better on Sunday to lead by two points at quarter-time, but the Falcons got going in the second term booting four goals to one to be up by 21 points at half-time.

Perth regained the advantage of the breeze in the third quarter kicking five goals to two but West Perth still led by eight points at three quarter-time, and then booted five goals to nil in the final term to run out 14.16 (100) to 9.4 (58) winners.

That means that the West Perth reserves have now won nine straight matches to join the league team in this Sunday's grand final at Subiaco's Patersons Stadium.

The league team will be facing East Perth in a derby decider while the reserves will be playing South Fremantle with the two Falcons teams trying to win premierships in the same year as the other for the first time since 1960.

Ruckman Frank Stockley has led the West Perth reserves from the front all season long and again dominated the preliminary final finishing with 24 possessions, nine marks, 31 hit outs and two goals.

The West Perth league side struggled to kick straight in the league second semi-final at Claremont Oval and Corey Chalmers managed just three goals from nine shots on Sunday, and Cameron Branch one from four but the Falcons still won comfortably by 42 points.

Chalmers still kicked three important goals, though, from 22 possessions with Drew Rohde also booting two majors.

Brayden Antonio was outstanding with 24 possessions and two goals while Aidan Lynch gathered 23 disposals, Joel Latham 20, James Embley 18 and the returning Luke Tedesco 16 in his first game back from a calf injury.

WEST PERTH 3.1 7.6 9.11 14.16 (100)

PERTH 3.3 4.3 9.3 9.4 (58)

WEST PERTH – Goals: Chalmers, Rohde 3; Antonio, Stockley 2; McNamara, Branch, Mascoulis, Lynch.

Best: Stockley, Antonio, Lynch, Chalmers, Tedesco, Embley, Latham.

PERTH – Goals: Egan 2; Richardson, Fry, Arangio, Hunt, Holland, Ransted, Leeson.

Best: Hug, Leeson, Manuel, Hunt, Ransted.

BY CHRIS PIKE