DEMONS LOSE IN LAST KICK THRILLER

Article By Mark Thornber

Photos By Gemma Boys

Round 5, Perth v East Fremantle

At Brownes Stadium, 14 April 2013 Sunday  2013

Perth                           5.4       8.4       11.8      16.10    106

East Fremantle          4.3       8.9       9.15      15.18    108

A week is certainly a long time in football just ask any Perth supporter? After a heart stopping 2 point win last week the result went the other way for a brave Perth side as the Shark’s snatched a thriller by 2 points in the dying seconds of the match at Brownes Stadium on Sunday.

In humid conditions and with Perth holding their Annual District Junior Day the Sharks hit the scoreboard first through Fremantle’s Joshua Simpson at the 2 minute mark of the match. Perth soon responded with a goal shortly after when Wingman Michael Florio snapped truly.

The match was very competitive early on with both midfields using the ball well. Perth kicked a clever goal through big man Daniel Murray resting up forward and this was soon followed by another to the exciting Brennan Stack. A couple of late goals to the Sharks though saw Perth hold a 6 point lead at the first change.

The second term slowly saw East Fremantle gain control in the midfield largely through Brad Dalziell and Rory O’Brien. It was West Coast player Brad Dick however that was doing all the damage up forward and kicked 2 quick goals to give the visitors back the lead.

A Kyle Reimers goal seconds from half time saw East Fremantle take a 5 point lead into the main break. The second half saw Murray kick his 3^rd goal as he was proving a difficult player to match up on inside Perth’s forward 50 metres for the Sharks. Dene White along with Alistair Smith was in and under picking up plenty of touches for their side.

The highlight of the third quarter was certainly a spectacular mark taken by Stack right in front of the Perth grandstand.  Whenever the Demons hit the front though the Sharks responded with goals of their own as the match was evenly poised. After a more effective quarter on the scoreboard though it was the home side kicking 3 goals to 1 for the term that went into three quarter time holding a narrow 5 point lead.

In what always promised to be a torrid last quarter it was the Demons that started well with Stack kicking his 3^rd goal to give Perth a 7 point lead. The Sharks responded straight back as both sides began to tire in the warm conditions.

Suddenly East Fremantle had hit the front by the half way mark of the last term and appeared to have a bit more run than Perth. The creative Matthew Moody came off the bench to kick Perth’s 15^th major just entering time on as the match was again on a knives edge. The ball went from end to end for the next few minutes as East Fremantle continued to hold a narrow lead of 2 points. Once again though Moody showed his class and experience to swoop on a loose ball at the 27 minute mark to kick a wonderful goal to the delight of all Perth fans.

With only a couple of minutes surely remaining Perth desperately tried to cling to the lead and slowly use up some valuable time deep in the Shark’s forward line. After a couple of strong pack marks firstly to Murray and then to Eyres the Demons now surely looked home.

However just when Eyres went to play on his kick was smothered by East Fremantle and Josh Simpson took a mark 30 metres out from goal. The goal was converted as the Shark’s recorded a thrilling 2 point win against an unlucky Perth side that showed some great fighting character.

As much as the loss was heart breaking it should certainly hold the club in good stead as they continue to show great improvement from last season, and still remain in the top four. Dene White continued his rich vein of form by picking up 25 tough possessions, and was well supported by the returning Jacobs with 27 touches.

McInnes played his best match for the year with 23 touches including 9 marks and 2 goals. Bevan played a tremendous Captains game and Murray proved his worth up forward with 4 important goals.

Next week Perth has a bye and then plays arch rivals East Perth at Brownes Stadium on Anzac Day.

Goals: Murray 4, Stack 3, McInnes, Bevan, Moody 2, Florio, Boyle, Reimers 1.

Best: White, Jacobs, Murray, Bevan, Stack, McInnes.