Select grade below

Rogers Cup Wrap - Round 11

Wednesday, May 24, 2023 - 11:20 AM
Road Trip time, no rain, little wind it was a little different from a usual trip to Mandurah. Our young Falcons who are getting used to being the hunted, given they have yet to drop a game in the 2023 Season, regardless of who the opposition side is they can get reminded what that means and that is precisely what the game against Peel taught them.
Peel did a great job of bringing the heat early and it did put West Perth back on their heels, but the coaching team have also instilled a no panic approach and the Falcons were able to absorb the pressure and then turn the tides, which Peel were not able to sustain, allowing West Perth to run away with a 28 point win, which could have been a little bigger if not for inaccuracy in front of goals. Final Score 5.11 (41) to 2.1 (13).
Right from the first bounce Peel were ‘on’ and even though West Perth won the first clearance, Peel created a turnover drive forward and score the opening goal very quickly. The Falcons were quite unsure early fumbling and second guessing where they wanted to go, Jekylah Garlett and Mia Russo were the only two that were clean handed and supported by Chloe Smoker, who was still composed and able to break away from the Peel forwards.
A defensive error with a switch across goals led to a Peel mark and goal. Thunder’s good pressure had thrown Falcons off their game and were all over West Perth and got the reward with a 2-goal advantage, holding West Perth scoreless.
A quick reset at quarter time break seemed to work with first clearance going to West Perth and this time it went forward with purpose, the forward pressure from Hayley Bidefeld was too much for Peel who turned it over to Mia Russo, who centred to Chloe Shearing, but Hayley’s ability to get back onto the loose ball paid dividends and she kicked the Falcons first for the day.
The two teams then locked horns in a tight contested game that was played between the arcs, but after 12 minutes West Perth’s forward pressure again results in a turnover and it was the ever-present Hayley Bidefeld who found the loose ball again and ran in for her second goal.
Abbey Brimson was using her pace to great effect and was influential in lifting the intensity of the whole team, she created turnover at the top of 50-metre arc and then ran forward to kick over the top for Molly Conroy to gather and run on and goal, which put the Falcons on top and back in control.
It was a good response from Falcons who returned the pressure and started to control the ball and territory with 8 scoring shots to 1.
Peel came out of the long break with good pressure, but West Perth quickly matched it with numbers to the contest and long handballs which were effective driving forward. Mia Russo intercepted a Thunder attempt to clear, she drilled it back long where Kyra Abbott added a goal reading an off the pack ball.
Abbey Brimson who had really lifted drove from midfield to half forward, Leuca Krmpotic forced her way through the pack to hit Elli van den Broeke with a long kick, whose quick hands to Tayla Anthony allowed her to straighten and kick another goal to West Perth.
Kaitlyn Roper put in an excellent quarter with her strength fully on show as broke through several heavy tackles to set up Falcons to drive forward, although some fantastic, contested marks by Peel deep in defence were holding Falcons from scoring. The lead had stretched out to 24 points as Peel were unable to score a goal since the first quarter.
West Perth were able to maintain pressure across midfield and in forward 50 but Peel were able to hold together on the last line. Ella Feist played a great quarter, she took a massive front on hit early in the quarter but got up and was still able to have an effect both across the midfield and half back. Zara Deschamps played a very good attacking game reading the play extremely well hitting the ball at pace and clearing with ease on multiple occasions.
All up, while West Perth got an early scare and were thrown off their game, once they settled and got the game back on their terms they were able to run away with the win.

Next Game - League

Round 6
Saturday, 04 May
V
2:10 PM at Lane Group Stadium
Game Preview

2024 Membership

Currently at
156
Click to Join

Current / Target

3920 / 2500

Upcoming Events

  • 2024 Hall of Fame Dinner

    Wednesday July 24 at 6:30am

    Function Room, Pentanet Stadium

    Event Information

OUR PARTNERS

2024 Corporate Classic

Proud to Belong

Next Game - WAFLW

Round 11
Saturday, 11 May
V
12:10 PM at East Fremantle Oval
Game Preview

BGC Housing Group Partnership