SWAN Districts secured one of the upsets of the WAFL Colts season so far, downing ladder leader West Perth by 18 points at Pentanet Stadium on Saturday. Though both sides were depleted due to state Under 18 trials, the bottom-placed Swans can take stock from their victory having produced a five-goal turnaround in the final quarter.

We noted some of the top performers from that game, before taking a look around the grounds.

By: Hayden Narducci

WEST PERTH:

#3 Harry Cabalzar

With both sides heavily depleted of big names due to the state warm up game, it was Cabalzar who finished the top disposal getter for the Falcons with 23 disposals from half-back. As the Swans dominated the first half, Cabalzar found himself mopping up marking contests galore, showing great hands, composure and speed to cleanly pick the ball up and break away from the contest time and time again. As the rain cleared and West Perth began to take control, Cabalzar had less opposition inside 50s to deal with, but took the game on by pushing higher up the ground and using his speed to break the game open, and create opportunities for his side going forward.

#8 Byron Sherwood

Playing a combination of back pocket and inside midfielder, Sherwood was one of the more exciting players on the ground. Forming a great partnership with his ruck Riley Sprigg, Sherwood received many taps straight down his throat when in the centre, not wasting a single one, and continuing to lead the way for clearances for West Perth throughout the game. His ability to go back, shut his man down and rebound for his side was a feature of his game as he split his time between midfield and defence. The second half saw Sherwood up the ante for pressure in the game, laying eight tackles as his side gained momentum to take a lead going into three quarter time.

#42 Noah Farrow

Best afield for his side on the day, key forward Farrow rarely put a foot wrong. Finishing with four goals, Farrow booted his side’s first three majors of the game. He kicked things off for the Falcons with a great chase down of Swans defender Colin Skeen, which was rewarded with a free kick, and snapped around the body in the pocket for goal one. His next three goals were all from 40 metres out and further, taking some strong grabs on the lead and in the pack to give his side the lead in the third quarter. He finished with five marks for the day in extremely wet conditions and was the focal point of attack for West Perth.

SWAN DISTRICTS:

#6 Evan Smith

With number one ruck Tom Smith out on state duties, Evan Smith got a chance to take the mantle as primary ruck for the Swans, a role he played exquisitely. Having shown glimpses of his potential in previous rounds sharing said duties, Smith made the most of his opportunity coming up against over-ager Riley Sprigg, finishing with 16 disposals and 24 hitouts. The bottom-ager possesses an accurate tap down and a great ability to find the ball around the ground or in the centre. He always looks to move the ball forward and as a result finished second for inside 50s for this game.

#8 Jack Saunders

After stepping up last week in the absence of Darcy Jones, Saunders backed up his effort to finish as the leader for disposals in this game, racking up 30 touches. He twice won the first clearance of a quarter, setting the tone for his side and creating opportunity after opportunity for the Swans. One of his best moments came at the start of the game, getting the early clearance, then backing up this effort by crumbing a mark inside 50, breaking away from the contest and dishing off a left-foot snap to a teammate in the goal square for the opening goal of the game. Finishing the game leading the inside 50s and one of the top receivers of free kicks, Saunders has proved himself to be a leader for his side just three games into his Colts career.

#33 Brodyn Fitzgerald

Arguably the match winner for his side, Fitzgerald has been a consistent performer for the Swans this season and despite finishing with only 13 disposals, he found a way to make each and every touch impactful in this game. Using his penetrating kick to find teammates inside 50 and putting the pressure on opposition defenders with his tackling as they tried to rebound, Fitzgerald’s best moment in this game came in the fourth quarter. With his side trailing, Fitzgerald stood up to kick two goals from good range on the run within five minutes to take back the lead with which they finished.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

By: Michael Alvaro

Three of the weekend’s four fixtures were played in the same Saturday morning timeslot, and all three away sides came away with wins. Claremont was one of them, with the Tigers leading at every break against East Fremantle to take home an 18-point victory from the WACA Ground.

Midfielder Max Mumme lead all comers on the day with 30 disposals and two goals, with Brodie Ginbey (23 disposals), Mitchell Barron (22), and Fletcher Netherway (18) other prominent ball winners. The hosts had nearly the same amount of possession but made less of it, lead by Zac Petersen‘s 28 touches. Cameron Gillies and ruck Jayke Scott also stood up with 20 disposals and a goal each.

Over at Fremantle Oval, Perth took out a three-point thriller against South Fremantle despite inaccurate goalkicking. The Demons kept clear of last spot and were pushed all the way, earning their third win of the season on the back of eight more scoring shots (20-12).

South Fremantle boasted the higher accumulators having conceded 54 inside 50s, with the likes of Christian Wilson (34 disposals), Roan O’Hehir (29, two goals), and Chase Bourne (28, one goal) put to work in the Bulldogs’ narrow loss.

Perth’s Samuel Cameron (28 disposals, one goal) and Baxter Philip (26, three behinds) proved the most prominent Demons, while Quayden Roe and Michael Hall each snared two goals, with the latter doing so from five scoring shots.

Seeing out Round 9’s Colts action, East Perth became the fourth traveling side to take home premiership points after downing Peel Thunder by 14 points at Lane Group Stadium. Having streamed 29 points ahead at three quarter time, the Royals held firm to maintain their hold on second spot.

Alexio Yiannakis did the damage for East Perth with four goals, while Jordyn Baker and Daniel Moore both ticked up to 22 touches. Elsewhere, Sokaa Soka got on top in the ruck battle to earn 34 hitouts to go with his 15 disposals.

It was an almost kind of day for Byron Finch in Thunder colours, with the crafty small notching 1.5 from 20 touches. Michael Sellwood also booted a goal from his game-high 28 disposals, while usual suspects Scott Tuia, Jackson Klepzig, and Taj Wyburd (two goals) all contributed.

In the state Under 18s trial game against Subiaco’s reserves, the young guns came up trumps by 33 points in a 10.11 (71) to 5.8 (38) victory. Star inclusions Elijah Hewett and Steely Green made an impact in midfield, while Jedd Busslinger slotted into a strong looking defence with aplomb.