ROUND 2 of the West Australian Football League (WAFL) Colts was split over Saturday and Sunday with two games played at Steel Blue and East Fremantle Oval giving talent scouts terrific opportunity to watch the next generation of stars.

WAFL Colts: Round Two

West Perth 8.7.55 defeated Claremont 5.10.40

West Perth made it two wins out of two defeating Claremont at Steel Blue Oval by 15 points.

The Falcons got the first goal of the day through Callum Johnson and that was increased soon afterwards by a smart snap by Ewan Brazier. Johnson was setting the tone for others to follow with his hard running and a third major soon followed for Lachlan Scurria. West Perth had winners all over the ground and the Tigers needed to find a way to get on the scoreboard before too long.

An opportunity came through via a long kick came into their forward 50 but the exciting prospect Liam Henry could only register a minor score. For all the Tigers toil, the Falcons were making every post a winner in their Forward 50 when Brazier kicked his second of the quarter the Falcons had a impressive 25 point lead. That remained the margin at the first break and it was a tale of effiency with both teams entering their Forward 50 on ten occasions, but the only thing that counted was that West Perth had six scoring shots to Claremont’s one.

The Tigers looked more fluid at the start of the second quarter with several attacking thrusts but were still unable to put the ball between the big sticks. A free kick from the the goalsquare to Michael Mallard added to their woes and then Ben Johnson converted to pile on the pain. Bottom ager Joel Western got the Tigers on the board midway through the quarter and the game switched into a holding pàttern of sorts. However another indiscretion before the siren led to another 50 metre penalty with Zak Patterson goaling from the square. The 37 point-lead was fully deserved by the Falcons who had winners all over the field led by Jaxon Prior with 20 disposals and Ben Johnson with 14.

The Tigers started the third term with real purpose with Callum Jamieson taking a fine mark and covering from the square and that was soon followed by Charlie Malone kicking their second in quick succession and narrowing the lead to four goals.

For the first time in the contest, the Tigers were running at their opponents and puttting the Falcons under constant pressure. West Perth were well off their game compared to the first two quarters but kicked a steadier right before the siren through Tyron Hindmarsh after some fine ball movement further afield which extended their lead to 30 points. The positive for Claremont was that their effort was certainly now matching their opponents and all they needed was a high level of conversion to finish it off. They got what they were after courtesy of Jack Buller to cut the margin to 20 points. A free kick to Max Minear saw him convert from 40 metres to give them a real chance with eight minutes remaining. However some smart possession football by West Perth saw them withstand the fight back and claim a 14 point win, their second to start the season.

Star of the day

A player that offered so much run from half back was Jaxon Prior who amassed 34 disposals, eight marks, three tackles and countless rebounds from defensive 50 and fully deserved that honour.

Other Falcons who were fine players on the day included Tyron Hindmarsh (28 disposals and eight tackles), Koopah Todd (28 disposals and eight marks) and Ben Johnson (27 disposals and seven marks. A real exciting prospect for the Tigers is mobile 200cm ruck/forward Callum Jamieson with 14 disposals,five marks 13 hit-outs and a goal.

Key factors

The slow start was crucial to the outcome. It is not desirable to give a team a 4-5 goal head start in today’s footy otherwise you are playing catchup for the remainder of the game, however it is still early in the season and there is plenty to work on for both teams. The first half and the ability to show poise under pressure in the closing minutes would please Falcons coach Ryan Lascock and his assistants. Meanwhile, it would have been easy for the Tigers to drop their heads, however they hung in there which was a big positive for the Tigers coaching group. The amount of ball that Claremont took into their forward 50 will also be a pleasing factor (49-33), although they need more players to step up and help convert that advantage.

Swan Districts 10.8 (68) defeated East Perth 8.4 (52)

The second game of the double header saw Swan Districts erase a 27-point first half deficit to claim a 16-point win and make it two wins from two games to start the season.

The Royals started the better of the two teams with a number of forward entries. Jaxon East crumbed the ball expertly to kick the first of the game. They then increased their lead through Joshua Ladhams with a mark and goal and just like the previous game one team got off to a flyer with Sam Van Diemen kicking his first under very little pressure. Swans finally got onto the board with their best passage of play leading to a soccered goal by Sebastian Bright from the square. Ladhams put a exclamation point on a great quarter when he marked and goaled from 40 metres as the Royals led by 21 points at quarter time.

Swans got off to the perfect start on the second when Jayden Farrant snapped truly from 15 metres, but Van Diemen replied a few minutes later to give East Perth their their four goal lead once again. Some good forward line pressure saw Sebit Kuek earn a shot at goal which he duly converted and the Royals were out to their biggest lead of the day.

Defender Jack Pasini made the most of a infringement by the man on the mark to kick Swans’ third of the day. The two teams then traded goals towards the end of the second term and East Perth went into the long break with a 21 point margin. The Royals strength throughout the first half was their ability to generate inside 50s (25) and though they only scored on 10 occasions, the weight of numbers told the story. In comparison, Swans only had four scoring shots from their 15 entries. Harley Sparks continued his form from his impressive first game of the season against Subiaco compiling 15 disposals for the half. Meanwhile Kade Wallrodt was a tireless worker for Swans with 14 disposals and two marks.

Bottom ager Ayden Cartwright gave Swans’ the perfect start to the third term with a goal within two minutes. The next 15 minutes was a war of attrition with both teams launching attacks but to no avail. The home team finally broke the deadlock when bottom ager Jamieson Ugle got them to within seven points which seemed inconceivable a quarter ago. The Black and Whites had outscored East Perth 2.2 to no score in the term, but in truth it felt a lot more than that and it was certainly all to play for in the last quarter.

Some clever play early in the last quarter by Narkle set up Cartwright for his second of the game and the scores were now level. East Perth were seemingly running on the spot with Swans all over them like a rash. Cartwright soon kicked his second for the term and Swans had the lead for the first time in the game.

With East Perth needing to find a target in their forward line it was Kuet who stepped up to the mark and cut the deficit to one point. The next goal was always going to be pivotal and it was bottom ager Zane Trew with a fine snap from 35 metres for the home side. The icing on the cake came just before the siren when Jermarl Daly won a free kick and kicked his first major to seal a stirring 16 point victory.

Star(s) of the day

There were many candidates with Harley and Connor Sparks amassing 54 disposals, seven marks and seven tackles for the Royals.

But in truth, you could pick a handful of Swan Districts players and not go wrong.
Kade Wallrodt was tireless with 33 disposals and five marks, Zane Trew kicked a decisive goal to go along with his 26 disposals and seven tackles, while bottom ager Ayden Cartwright kicked three goals including two in the all important last term.

However it was the double act of Brenton Hilton and Jake Pasini who really stemmed the tide in the first half. In truth, it would have been a eight goal game without them holding the fort. Then in the second half they were imperious, impassable, impeccable or any other complement you want to pay them. The duo are key to Swan Districts premiership hopes this season.

Key factor

Momentum is massive in football and you have to make the most of it when you have it. East Perth had it in the first half but didn’t make the most of it. Swans had it in the second half and kicked six goals to one. That is the game in a nutshell.

In Sunday’s games:

East Fremantle 12.8 (80) defeated Subiaco 3.5(23)

East Fremantle made it two wins from two to start the season after a 57-point win. In the clash between the last two premiers it was the home team mastered the greasy conditions from the get-go kicking four goals to no score in the first quarter and the reigning premiers could not respond. Subiaco also were unable to kick a goal in the third term as the Sharks kicked six without reply. Exciting talents Luke Jackson and Trey Ruscoe combined for 40 disposals, nine marks and four goals while Trent Rivers was tireless with 29 disposals and six tackles. With a number of changes to playing personnel and a new head coach, it will take a bit of time for Subiaco to gel. The prolific Tristan Hobley never stopped working hard with 29 disposals and eight tackles.

Perth 9.12 (66) defeated South Fremantle 6.9 (45)

Perth kicked six goals to three on the second half to break open what was a low scoring scrappy affair and claim a win in their first game of the season by 21 points. The Demons made the most of their advantage when it came to forward 50 entries (46-33) and scoring shots (21-15) leading as much as 35 points in the last term putting together a impressive performance. Bottom-age talents Nathan O’Driscoll and Cain Evans were terrific for the Demons. O’Driscoll had 32 disposals and five marks while Evans compiled 19 disposals, five tackles and two goals. Meanwhile, Jack Musika was a willing worker with 26 disposals and five tackles and bottom ager Shannon Neale kicked three goals which was a fine effort in a team that only scored six for the game.