FALCONS END 54-YEAR RESERVES DROUGHT

THE conditions were terrible but the result was terrific at Patersons Stadium on Sunday. West Perth's reserves won their first premiership in 54 years outslogging Subiaco. It was a tight contest all day with goals at a premium but a five-minute burst by the Falcons in the last quarter set up the victory. The league premiership last year was enjoyed by all but it would be fair to say that this premiership almost brought as much joy to the coaches, players and supporters.

It was a wet and blustery day and goals were hard to come by with the first quarter no exception. The low scores didn’t reflect the effort of both sides as they tried hard to gain the advantage. The first two scores of the day went to the Lions with the first goal going to Subiaco’s Sean Bradley at the three-minute mark. He converted after marking 20 metres out. The West Perth reply came 12 minutes later when Prendergast Medallist, Aidan Lynch, converted from 40 metres out. This tied up the scores and completed the goal scoring for the quarter. At the first change West Perth led by the narrowest of margins; 1.4 (10) to 1.3 (9).

The rain continued as did the dearth of goals in the second quarter. All of the hard work resulted in a major to the Falcons at the 23-minute mark. The hard working skipper, Cameron Branch, scrambled the ball forward to Matt Fowler who kicked the first of his two from the square. This gave West Perth a one goal half-time lead in a quarter that the scorers had very little work to do. The scores were 2.4 (16) to 1.4 (10) in an intense contest.

The Lions made their move in the third term when they kicked two goals to none to grab the lead. Both defences worked overtime to limit the scoring. Will Fetherstonhaugh and Dylan Clarke hit the scoreboard for the Lions to give them a five-point lead going into the final term. Subiaco led 3.6 (24) to 2.7 (19) at the end of a quarter that was a real arm wrestle.

It was more of the same in the last quarter with a lot of hard work by both teams not showing on the scoreboard. The turning point of the game came at the 13-minute mark when Shaun Marusic took the ball at a throw up and kicked a wonderful snap to tie the scores up. Marusic had a terrific game and was a worthy winner of the Merv McIntosh medal for being best afield. This was the catalyst for the Falcons to take control to add two more in a five-minute burst. West Perth had a touch of luck two minutes later when Corey Chalmers took possession 55 metres out and set the ball up to the top of the square. As luck would have it the ball cleared hands to bounce through and give the Falcons a six-point lead. A behind to Sam Money followed before the sealer was kicked by Fowler. At the 18-minute mark he snapped his second goal from 40 to give West Perth a 13-point lead. Luke Meadows kicked the final score just before the siren when he went behind after receiving fifty. As he kicked, a number of players were involved in an altercation behind play. It went on for a while and highlighted the importance of the game to both sides. When the siren went West Perth had won their sixth reserves premiership, and first since 1960, by 14 points. The final scores were 5.9 (39) to 3.7 (25).

The celebration of the players after the game and in the change rooms highlighted the significance of the victory. The coach, Paul Sanzone, did a wonderful job to get the players up after they were comprehensively outplayed in the second semi. There were many good players but Marusic thoroughly deserved his medal for best on ground. Lynch would not have been far behind. The victory once again confirmed that Falcons supporters have much to look forward to as this group will provide some quality players for a number of years to come. This, in addition to Aaron Black’s Sandover Medal victory and the runner up performance of Shane Nelson, gave a strong finish to the season. Enjoy the break but be sure that the Falcons will be back better than ever next year.

PHOTOS BY BELINDA TAYLOR