DEMONS WIN IN THRILLING FINISH

By Mark Thornber

Round 15, Perth v South Fremantle

At Fremantle Oval, Saturday 29 June 2013

Perth                           4.1        8.6       11.11     16.17    113

South Fremantle        6.2       9.3       13.4      16.7      103

Perth recorded a thrilling 10 point win over the Bulldogs on Saturday at Fremantle Oval not sealing the match until well into time on at Fremantle Oval.

In perfect conditions for football Perth kicked to the prison end of the ground in the first term. The Bulldogs hit the scoreboard first before the returning Brennan Stack dribbled a through a clever goal at the 7 minute mark.

The match was very evenly poised early on with neither side able to break away. South Fremantle’s high leaping Paul Mugambwa was causing Perth’s defence a few headaches as South kicked away to a 2 goal lead. The Demons soon responded though and through some real tough play from Brett Hodge both Kyle Reimers and Stack converted important set shots at goal.

With a couple of late goals in time on the bulldogs went to quarter time with a 13 point lead. The second term saw Perth slowly gain the ascendancy around the stoppages as Julian Jacobs and Hodge continually drove the ball inside Perth’s forward 50 metres.

The Demons kicked a great goal through Reimers up against the boundary line and when big man Joel Houghton booted a long 50 metre goal on the run they had gained the lead. As was the trend of the match though whenever one side hit the front the other would respond.

South Fremantle again booted 2 late goals in time on to take a lead of 3 points into half time. The second half saw South’s Kris Miller pick up plenty of the ball as Sean Tighe was dominating in the ruck.

Perth would have been in far greater trouble if it wasn’t for the wonderful rebounding of Matthew Tedesco who was playing a tremendous game off half back. Again with South 12 points in front Perth hit back after Stack pulled down a great mark and then Moody snapped truly around his body.

At three quarter time the home side led by just 5 points. With the first goal always going to be vital it was the Demons who hit the front again after Jackson Sketcher just managed to get his quick kick away. With Mugambwa kicking his 4^th and then the hard working Dene White snapping a goal the match again was on level pegging.

Perth looked to gain the edge with Houghton running into an open goal to kick his third half way through the quarter, however South Fremantle kicked 2 quick goals through Ashton Hams to regain the lead during the time on period.

With the Bulldogs now in front by just 3 points and the match at the 25 minute mark they started to wind the clock down and chip the ball around their backline. Much to the delight of Perth fans the ball was turned over as the creative Moody swooped in and hit Bevan on the chest lace out about 40 metres out at the hospital end of the ground.

Perth supporters held their breath as Bevan calmly went back and slotted a pressure kick on goal to put the Demons 3 points in front in what was now a thrilling finish. The ball went from end to end in the next few minutes with both team’s missing shots at goal.

Perth worked the ball well out of the backline again through the composed Tedesco and when Stack pulled down a strong pack mark at the 31 minute mark Perth fans were delighted. Stack was aided with a 50 metre penalty to kick his 4^th and Perth’s 16^th major as they hung on to record a very important and exciting 10 point victory.

Perth had plenty of good players on the day but none better than Tedesco who continued his outstanding form to pick up a game high 30 possessions. Moody, Jacobs and Hodge all had excellent 4 quarter matches in the midfield and were well supported by Stack, Houghton and Reimers, who kicked 9 goals between them up forward.

Next week Perth plays another crucial game when they tackle the black and whites at Steel Blue Oval as they continue to cement a place in the top four.

Goals: Stack 4, Houghton 3, Reimers 2, Collard, Moody, Sketcher, Bevan, White, McInnes, Bateman 1.

Best: Tedesco, Moody, Hodge, Jacobs, Florio, Bevan.