MOORA Rovers followed up their Central Midlands and Coastal Football League win against Lancelin the previous week with a close fought, 21 point victory over Jurien Bay in Moora last Sunday.
It was Jurien’s second trip to Moora in three weeks and they would have been confident of taking the points from Rovers and started the game in the right direction, taking a 14 point break into the first change.
After taking some time to wake up and get moving, Rovers lifted their rate in the second term to catch the Bulldogs napping, quickly erasing the deficit and pushing on to a 25 point lead going into the main break.
An even game eventuated after half time, Jurien getting back on track and matching Rovers across the ground but were unable to get reward for their effort, falling a further six points behind at three quarter time.
Jurien easily won the final term, kicking three goals to Rovers’ one, but the Bulldogs’ lapse in the second quarter allowed Rovers to put a match winning break on the board that proved to be out of reach for the coastal side.
Rovers’ goal kickers were Tim King with four, three to Luke Praciak, two each to Whyte, Langley and Narrier, Matthew Lowden chipping in with one.
For Jurien Bay two goals each were kicked by Gibson, Murdoch and Burgess, single to Rowe, Fenton, McLeary, West and Bellotti.
Jim Hamilton was a stand out player for Rovers, well supported by Tim King, Luke Praciak and Craig Whyte. Better players for the Bulldogs were John and Dan Murray, Mat Ashworth and Shaun Lyons.
It was a good win for Rovers who have got things together with the inclusion of a couple of players and having players back from injury.
The Moora side will feed off these two wins and will be looking to make a push for a finals berth, something that seemed a bit out of reach earlier this season.
Jurien still seem to be out of sorts and will need to get a win under their belt to help get things back on track.
They are a club that thrives on success and the confidence level in the kennel sure needs a boost.
Saints down Pirates
The Dandaragan Saints continued on their merry way last week, easily accounting for the Lancelin Ledge Pirates in Dandaragan in what was quite a one-sided game.
Dandaragan were quick to stamp their authority on proceedings, controlling the game from the first bounce and jumping to a 27 lead by the first change.
The ball moved quickly into the forward line where they had plenty of options to goal.
Lancelin put up a bit better struggle in the second quarter, kicking three goals but Dandaragan were just too strong, piling on seven more majors to further stretch the lead.
It could have been bigger if the Saints kicked straight, also getting nine behinds.
After half time it was all Dandaragan as they kicked six goals each quarter while the Pirates only managed two for the half, giving the Saints a runaway win by 116 points.
Campbell Hurst found form up forward, finishing with a bag or 10, Nathan Lawler kicked three, Ben and Luke Milligan got two each along with Donnelly and Helms, singles to Pitt, Plankhurst and Fleay showing Dandy had plenty of avenues to goal.
The Pirates goals came from the boots of Bjorn Stokke and Matt Harris with two each, Erik Innes and Callin Blackwood getting one each.
It was another strong effort from Dandaragan who seem to have an even team with a good game plan and quite a bit of depth that will be an ace up their sleeve as teams head into the business end of the season.
It was a disappointing result for the Pirates who would have expected to do better, but they did come up against some quality opposition in Dandy.
Lancelin will be in the mix for a final four spot but will need a few more wins to keep things on track.
Another Cervantes win
Cervantes posted another big win against Warriors in Cervantes last week, but a couple of points came through that could be seen as chinks in the Tigersharks’ armour.
Whether it was the fact they were playing bottom side Warriors or something else, there were quite a few players who were unavailable for the game, meaning quite a few reserves players fronted up again for the league team which could indicate a lack of depth in the Cervantes squad.
Warriors’ cause was not helped by a car load of players not arriving until quarter time and the difference these players made to the Moora side was very noticeable, Cervantes kicked 8.8 to Warriors’ single point in the first term.
With the addition of the late guys, Warriors seemed more structured and were able to kick three goals a quarter for the rest of the game which, while this is a positive for Warriors, Cervantes were merciless with a nine goal second term and were able to score at will.
As usual there were plenty of goal kickers for Cervantes, led by Chris Bradshaw with eight, Matt Thompson with six, Dale Simmons, Lee Aurill and Josh Howes kicking four each.
Ian Smith led the Warriors goal tally kicking four, Justin Lawrence got three with Kev Wyatt and Mike Lawrence getting a single each.
Better players for Cervantes were Tyson Lord, Craig McLaren, Chris Bradshaw and Matt Thompson and for Warrior, Fred Mogeridge and Mark Begg turned in fantastic efforts after playing the full reserves game, Matty Yappo and Ray Lawrence also solid contributors.
It was another easy win to Cervantes, but it always hard to judge when top plays bottom.
Cervantes look to have some issues with player numbers or availability that may leave them wanting in some games, something that a side like Dandaragan may be able to exploit.
Warriors can take heart in this performance again kicking the biggest score that Cervantes have had kicked against them so far this season, certainly better than their first round 48 goal drubbing.
With a couple of key position players in this side, they would be quite a competitive unit, something that we may see happen considering the results of the Rovers meeting this week.
Games this week
On Saturday, game of the round will be in Dandaragan when the Saints host Cervantes.
If Cervantes’ player availability issues mean they put out the same side as last week, Dandaragan should be able to take the win.
Cervantes will have a couple of key players coming back in, but do not be surprised to see Dandaragan cause the upset.
Also on Saturday, Lancelin are at home to the out of sorts Jurien Bay, and while this should be an even game, the Pirates should enjoy enough of a home ground advantage to chalk up another win for the season.
Sunday football is in Moora when the second derby of the year takes place between Rovers and Warriors.
Rovers will have their tails up after a couple of wins in a row and with the addition of a couple of players, will pretty much have this win pencilled in, something that may work against them if Warriors get the right team on the park.
Warriors have started to learn how to play defensive and have a couple of players returning from suspension that may just give them the extra spark to give Rovers a fright, but they may still be lacking a couple of key position players to be a real threat.
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