A WEEK IS A LONG TIME IN FOOTBALL
By Darrell Kent
West Perth produced a dominant performance against Subiaco at the Arena on Saturday. They outscored the visitors in each of the quarters to run out fifty point victors and put themselves back in the four. The effort was in marked contrast to the game against South Fremantle last week and showed what the developing young Falcons side is capable of.
Frank Stockley had West Perth on the scoreboard within the first two minutes when he marked on fifty and kicked accurately. It was the first of three for the quarter. The Lions Blake Broadhurst replied shortly after. This was to be the first of seven and he was single handedly responsible for keeping Subiaco in the game. A point and second major to the developing big man Frank Stockley gave the Falcons back the lead before a free kick to Subiaco’s Patrick Hassett and a rushed behind saw the scores all tied up at the twelve minute mark. Frank Stockley once again dominated the scoring for West Perth to extend the lead to seven. At the sixteen minute mark he was responsible for the entire Falcons score of three goals two. He was also involved when he tapped the ball to Anthony Tsalikis who handed off to Alex Elisseou for his first and when Anton Saylor and Matt Gaudagnin combined to get the ball to Jason Salecic for his first the lead was out to nineteen. Ex Falcon, Adam Campbell, scrambled one for Subiaco before a strong mark and clever kick by Jack Darling enabled “Slick” to finish from thirty. Anton Saylor was on the scoreboard shortly after before Blake Broadhurst bobbed up for his second. The Falcons got this goal back in less than a minute after Anton Saylor took the ball out of the middle, passed to Anthony Tsalikis who got the ball to Jason Salecic for his second. It was a busy first term with West Perth kicking eight goals. At the first change they led 8.2 (50) to 4.1 (25).
A third to Broadhurst started the second quarter for the Lions before a Lewis Harvey kicked forward was marked by Matt Gaudagnin. It was a strong grab. His first was followed by a second to Anton Saylor who marked forty out. He was on the end of some tough football on the wing by Anthony Tsalikis. At the eleven minute mark the lead was out to thirty but the next ten minutes was a tight tussle and during this time the lead was reduced to twenty four. Shortly after Rohan Bewick kicked one from twenty after a free down the ground. Caleb Shadbolt then stopped a certain goal with some great defensive work. The result was a rushed behind. A long run out of defence after the kick in by Jay Tindall saw Anthony Tsalikis mark twenty out and kick his second to take the lead out to thirty five. A behind to the skipper, Jason Salecic, made the margin six straight but right on the siren Blake Broadhurst marked fifty out right on the boundary. His kick was a beauty and reduced the margin to thirty points at the main break. The Falcons led 12.4 (76) to 7.4 (46).
West Perth dominated the first half of the third quarter but only managed to increase their lead by eight points. The only goal for this period of time was a second to Rohan Bewick at the two minute mark. A fifth to danger man, Blake Broadhurst, was followed by consecutive behinds and at the sixteen minute mark the lead was back to the half time margin of thirty. Jack Darling extended the lead once more with his first. This was followed by an Anthony Tsalikis behind before a free kick to Blake Broadhurst saw him kick his sixth. The lead was out to thirty two after a Josh Pearce behind but the best for the term was to come at the end. Alex Elisseou soared above his opponent to take a screamer twenty out. It was a top grab. His accurate kick from twenty gave West Perth a thirty eight point lead at the final change. They led 15.10 (100) to 9.8 (62).
Rushed behinds to Subiaco commenced the final quarter. One was the result of a determined effort by Dion Fleay who stopped a certain goal. Some strong body work by Jack Darling resulted in his second before a goal to danger forward, Blake Broadhurst, at the ten minute mark saw the lead back to thirty seven. A third to Jack Darling and a first to promising youngster Aaron Black saw the lead out to fifty. The evergreen Lion, Allistair Pickett, kicked his second but the winning margin of fifty was achieved when Matt Tedesco finished from thirty. Final scores were West Perth 19.12 (126) to Subiaco 11.10 (76).
There was a lot to like about the victory against Subiaco. The secret to success for this year will be to maintain it for the remaining five games. In a really good overall performance there were a number of fine players. All players had double figure possessions on the stats sheet. This is a good indication about the quality of the overall team performance. Award winners were Brent Lecras who set up many attacking moves from half back, Lewis Harvey who continues to negate opposition players and get plenty of the footy himself, Dustin Burns for his continued run and precise sharing of the footy, Ray Bartholomew who sets the standard for hard running and Rohan Bewick who amassed thirty two touches and kicked two goals. Best was Matt Gaudagnin whose work around the clearances was exceptional. Peel at the Arena this Saturday. A must win game, be there to support the Falcons.
