WEST PERTH SCORE IMPORTANT WIN AGAINST PEEL

THE Falcons impressed with their seven-point win against Peel Thunder at HBF Stadium on Saturday. West Perth stuck to the game plan all day and did a terrific job to hold on for the victory against an opposition that contained 15 AFL listed players. It was an important victory to kick start the season and it indicated that West Perth will more than hold their own this year.

The first two scores of the game belonged to the visitors with one being a goal to Max Duffy. The Falcons then took advantage of the breeze that they were kicking with to score four unanswered goals. The first was the result of a high kick forward by Steven Browne. Kody Manning took a strong pack mark to kick the first of his three for the quarter. The Falcons took a five-point lead when Michael Lourey marked 50 metres out. His strong kick gave him the first of four for the day. Manning kicked his second after intercepting a kick out of defence and Luke Meadows snapped an opportunistic major to take the lead out to 17 points after 20 minutes. Peel then steadied to dominate the next 10 minutes and in doing so reduced the margin to just two. Gerald Ugle and Brayden Lawler kicked telling goals for the visitors. The final score for the term went to Manning who intercepted a defensive kick for the second time in the quarter. He kicked his third from 20 metres. At the first change West Perth led 5.0 (30) to 3.4 (22).

The Falcons kicked the first major of the term when Lourey scored from 40 after being on the end of a handball. The lead was out to 13 after four minutes but from this point the quarter belonged to Peel. They kicked the last four goals of the quarter to take an 11-point lead into the main break. Turnovers were costly for the Falcons. At half time Peel led 7.7 (49) to 6.2 (38).

West Perth played a terrific third term scoring six goals to one. Their use of the football was precise and they ran hard from behind the ball. Lourey kicked his third after marking on the wing and receiving a 50m penalty and when Matt Fowler scored from 20 metres out at the 10-minute mark they had regained the lead by a point. Shortly after Lourey kicked his fourth from 40 out deep in the pocket and the lead was extended further when the ball was taken straight out of the middle and marked by Drew Rohde 30 out. The lead was then taken out to 20 when Kris Shannon passed to Meadows who kicked his second, but the Falcons were not done yet. A series of passes from full back resulted in Max Alexander marking 40 out, on the boundary. His straight kick gave the Falcons a 26-point lead and was a fitting end to a sustained period of good football by West Perth. A little of the good work was undone when Ed Langdon kicked one for Peel just before the siren but going into the final change a very good quarter of football had turned an 11-point deficit into a 20-point lead. West Perth led 12.5 (77) to 8.9 (57).

The last quarter was always going to be tight as Peel were kicking to the scoring end. Peel pressed hard but the West Perth defence held up really well. At the 10-minute mark the lead was reduced to thirteen after Danyle Pearce scored from on the boundary. Less than a minute later the status quo was returned though. Matty Guadagnin took the ball out of the middle and kicked a long, low goal on the run from outside 50. The Falcons advantage was back to 19 points at the 11-minute mark. From here West Perth defended grimly and it was a relief for Falcons supporters when the final siren went with West Perth leading by seven; 13.6 (84) to 11.11 (77).

The win concluded a really good day for the club as it gave a clean sweep in all grades. All three sides are on the board now and there is a lot to look forward to going forward. Congratulations to Michael Ashfield, Corey Chalmers, Ben McGillivray and Brayden Antonio who received awards in the reserves. Brayden kicked four goals as did his brother Mitchell in the colts. Best players for the league included Jay van Berlo, Michael Lourey, Nick Rodda, Kody Manning and best was Andrew Strijk. Another home game against Perth next week. Be there to help keep the momentum going.

ARTICLE BY DARRELL KENT

PHOTOS BY BELINDA TAYLOR