DEMONS FAIL TO END SEASON ON WINNING NOTE

Round 23, Perth v East Fremantle

Atom Stadium , Saturday 29 August 2015

Perth                           1.2        2.5       4.7       7.10      52

East Fremantle          3.2       7.7       10.11    15.15    105

East Fremantle broke their losing run at the expense of Perth in difficult conditions at Atom Stadium on Saturday as they recorded a comfortable 53 point victory in the final match of the year for both clubs.

After a heavy rain shower before the match it was certainly the home side that handled the tricky playing conditions the better early on. With Shark’s Captain Rory O’Brien playing his 200^th match and Ruckman Rob Young his final match East Fremantle seemed keen to celebrate with a win.

Perth only kicked one goal in the first term and that came from back man Chris Billings as the Sharks headed into quarter time with a 2 goal lead after kicking 3 goals 2 to 1 goal 2.

The second quarter again saw the Demons struggle to enter inside their forward 50 metres, which was obviously proving frustrating for the likes of ball magnets in Dene White, Liam McKenna and Aidan Tropiano who simply had no key forward to spot in the forward line.

Perth could only manage a solidarity goal to Jarrod Morton for the term as again East Fremantle through Rob Young and Brock O’Brien extended the lead to the Sharks by 32 points at the main break.

The third quarter certainly saw Perth’s work rate improve significantly despite the fact they could not boot consecutive goals as East Fremantle kept their pressure on. The pacy Callum Walley broke free to kick a major for the Demons, however the trend of the match followed with the Sharks again outscoring Perth 3 goals to 2 for the quarter to lead by 40 points at three quarter time.

The final quarter was simply a case of how far the Sharks would win by as again they controlled the centre square despite Tropiano’s valiant efforts to stop many of his former team mates.

Perth’s backline had no match to stop the Shark’s sharp shooter Brock O’Brien as he kicked his 4^th and 5^th majors in a match winning effort. Perth did finish off the quarter with late goals to both Walley and Moore, however the final result was never in doubt.

Tropiano was again outstanding in a losing side collecting a game high 37 touches, and all Perth fans will be keeping a keen eye on the Sandover Meal to see if he can be rewarded by his magnificent season despite consistently playing in a losing side for most of the year.

McKenna continued to show he was an excellent pick up from Peel this season and was well supported by Perth’s hard working Captain White with them both picking up 27 possessions.

It was not a good way to finish off what has been a disappointing season producing just the two wins this year, however it has been well documented that the club will go in search of some key personnel especially in the form of an experienced Ruckman and key forward for next season.

Goals: Walley 2, Billings, Sinclair, Morton, Moore, Stevenson 1.

Best: Tropiano, White, McKenna, Latch Sinclair, Payne.