FALCONS WIN CLASSIC

IT IS easier to say when you are on the right side of the scoreboard but West Perth won a classic game of football against Peel Thunder at Bendigo Bank Stadium in Mandurah on Saturday.

Many spectators agreed that it was one of the best WAFL games that they had seen for a long time after West Perth hung on for a four-point victory. There was a lot of symmetry to the game as scores were tied at quarter and three quarter-time and the Falcons led by four points at the main break and full-time. The win kept West Perth in second spot heading into the bye next week.

A highlight of the game was the accurate kicking of both sides and that was evident from the first bounce. Both sides had kicked two goals each by the seven-minute mark. The first Falcons score went to Tyler Keitel who kicked a goal with his first kick in league football. Chris Keunen kicked the second after a clever intercept, sidestep and accurate finish from 30 metres out. Peel then dominated play to kick four consecutive goals and open up a 25-point lead by the 19-minute mark. But then in a remarkable turnaround West Perth replied with the next four goals and at the end of the 35-minute quarter had levelled the scores. Matt Johnson, who finished with four for the day, started the fight back with a clever snap under pressure from 40, the next was a terrific goal on the run from Corey Chalmers after a slick handball from Keitel. Drew Rohde marked and after receiving a 50m penalty narrowed the margin to just six and at the 32-minute mark Jay van Berlo maintained his run of goal scoring to kick accurately and level the scores at 6.1 (37) apiece.

The second term was much more subdued in terms of goals but not in the quality of the football. Luke Meadows laid a terrific tackle 50 metres out and his straight kick gave West Perth the lead for the first time. Craig Moller evened things up again after marking close to goal before Steve Potente gave the Falcons back the lead, finishing from the top of the square after a long kick forward. Peel kicked two behinds before a strong mark by Meadows 30 out saw him kick his second and take the lead out to 10 points at the 19-minute mark. The only other goal for the term was a third to Peel’s Leroy Jetta and as a result West Perth took a four point lead into the main break; 9.1 (55) to 8.3 (51).

It was hard to imagine the first term being replicated but it was in the third and 13 goals were kicked in another long quarter. The term started exactly the same as the first with Peel and West Perth taking turns to kick two goals each so that after six minutes West Perth led by four. A clever tap by Keunen saw Aaron Black kick one and Johnson scored his second after receiving a free in the square. For the rest of the quarter the teams basically traded goals in what was an enthralling encounter. The lead didn’t get out any further than 10 points and Tendai Mzungu led the way with Peel by kicking two goals. For West Perth, Keitel kicked consecutive goals to take his tally to three, Meadows scored a third and at the 34-minute mark a third to Johnson tied the scores up for the sixth time of the game. His was a terrific finish from 50 metres out on the boundary. The accurate kicking continued to be a highlight as the 15.4 (94) for each side would indicate.

Everyone present expected the last quarter to be a cracker and it was. Goals were at a premium with each side kicking two each. The first was a fourth to Johnson at the three-minute mark but the scores were tied for the seventh time when Max Duffy kicked his fourth shortly after. A goal to Josh Bootsma gave Peel the lead at the seven minute mark and from here the game settled into a terrific battle of nerves for players and supporters. West Perth kicked two behinds before Chalmers showed a maturity belying his four league games when he marked 40 metres out on an angle. He went back and calmly kicked his second to give West Perth a two-point lead. The Falcons' accuracy left them for the next 10 minutes and they kicked three behinds to take the lead to five at the 27-minute mark. The last two minutes of the game was spent in the Peel forward line as they attacked relentlessly. There were a number of wonderful defensive efforts during this time but none were better than that of Laine Rasmussen who spoilt running back with the ball surrounded by Peel players. It saved a certain goal. With less than a minute to go Josh Deluca snapped out of a pack to just miss and reduce the margin to four. It was a real heart in mouth finish but when the siren went shortly after West Perth had prevailed by four; 17.9 (111) to 17.5 (107).

It was a wonderful game of football that could have gone either way. Having said that it was great to be on the winning end of the result. The colts went down narrowly by four points and the reserves had a commanding 97-point victory to maintain their terrific recent form. Brayden Antonio with four majors and Brent Fotheringham with five led the way and Joe Morrow, Blake Wilhelm and Tim Sutherland were also prominent . Best players for the league, in what was a wonderful team effort, were Shane Nelson, Aaron Black, Marcus Adams, Luke Meadows, Matt Johnson, Kris Shannon, Corey Chalmers and Andrew Strijk. A week off next Saturday before another game against South Fremantle at HBF Arena in what will be another fight to hang onto second spot.