Peel revive Swans thrive Falcons dive
AS I wandered down to Fremantle Oval on Sunday to watch South Fremantle play Peel in round 14 of the WAFL I concluded there's a good reason teams that have just sacked their coach tend to go pretty well first up.
It's about timing. If you're considering getting rid of your coach it's a good idea to take a glance at the fixtures and do the dirty deed a week before a game you could possibly win.
Peel sacked Trevor Williams after consecutive thrashings from East Fremantle and Swan Districts and replaced him with Mark Moody. Thunder's round 14 opponents the Bulldogs were undermanned, out of form and struggling… just the thing you want for a revved up and chastened group of players.
Peel blew the game apart when they kicked eight goals to three in the second quarter and South became ragged and undisciplined in the third quarter. Thunder captain Brendon Jones, in his 150th WAFL game, was outstanding and the forward line operated well with Brendan Hancock and Brad Holmes each kicking three goals and Kris Thornton slotting two set shots in the last quarter to end a bit of a Bulldog challenge. Tom Sheridan again impressed, Peter Faulks was good in defence and Pat Travers battled away as usual. Anthony Morabito looked very good but copped a whack in the jaw off the ball late in the game and was carried off on a stretcher. Apparently a tweet from the Dockers has reassured fans that Morabito was not seriously injured.
A Twitter aside...
After a pre-season game this year South veteran Toby McGrath fired off a tweet after young gun Mason Shaw had his jaw broken reading:
dog act by @mitchbrownie breaking a kids jaw behind the play... Possible criminal charges to be proposed by SFFC
Paul Mugambwa kicked two goals in his 100th game for South and worked hard, Sean Tighe controlled the hit outs while Ben Saunders kicked four goals to take him to 37 for the year.
When he spoke to his players at three quarter time Moody, who has played and coached at Port Adelaide, said it was time to change the culture of the club… the winning feeling will linger, the Thunder have the bye next week,
Peel 21.8 (134) South Fremantle 15.15 (105)
In the top of the table game at Bassendean is was all over at quarter time with Swan Districts 7.5 leading East Perth 0.2. The Royals did better in the second half but were never going to catch up.
Ashley Hansen kicked four goals in the first quarter and finished with six, ruckman Wes Lammie won an epic battle with Paul Johnson, Shaun Hilderbrandt had another fine game and Tim Geappen and Murray Newman each kicked three goals while Matthew Outridge's tagging job meant Garry Moss had his first quiet game of the year.
Daniel Macauley sparked East Perth's revival when he went to the midfield and Adam Prior kicked three goals.
Swan Districts 16.18 (114) East Perth 13.9 (87)
Subiaco's season was back on track when they kicked eight goals to Claremont's two in the second quarter at Leederville and half way through the third they led by 40 points. It was back down the gurgler again as Claremont kicked 10 of the last 11 goals and the Lions couldn't kick any in the last quarter. The Tigers won by 13 points.
Ian Richardson, who kicked four goals, was a star for Claremont on a day when the usual midfield suspects were a little down. Tom Lee was in good form, Chad Jones kicked four goals and Kane Mitchell did lots of the hard stuff.
Aiden Parker was outstanding in the ruck and in defence for the Lions, Jack Anthony had another good game, Blake Broadhurst kicked four goals and Robert Forrest kept Luke Blackwell quiet and did lots of good things himself including kicking a couple of goals.
Claremont 16.13 (109) Subiaco 15.6 (96).
At Kalannie Oval, 259km north-east of Perth, East Fremantle widened the gap between fourth and fifth with a 52-point win over West Perth.
The Sharks midfielders including Mark McGough, Rory O'Brien and Richard Hadley were too good, Max Duffy kicked four goals and Steven Dodd was strong in defence. Brent LeCras kicked five goals for the Falcons.
East Fremantle 19.12 (126) West Perth 10.14 (74).
The ladder: Swan Districts 40; East Perth 34; Claremont 32; East Fremantle 32; West Perth 22; Subiaco 20; South Fremantle 12; Perth 12; Peel 12.
Next week the top four play teams outside the four. If there are no upsets the teams for the finals will just about be settled.
• Peel's Mitchell Keddle drives him team forward. Photo by Les Everett.
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