Bulldogs defy short break to run over top of Demons

SOUTH Fremantle showed that backing up Monday’s derby win was no concern on a short break with the Bulldogs booting seven goals to one in a scintillating final quarter to beat Perth by 38 points at Fremantle Oval on Saturday.

The Bulldogs put in a terrific performance on Monday to win the WA Day Foundation Derby over East Fremantle, but backing up five days later against a Perth outfit with a seven-day break was never going to be an easy task.

And it was a tight contest for three quarters with South Fremantle only leading by one straight kick at three quarter-time, but the Bulldogs then ran rampant in the fourth quarter with seven goals to one to end up winning 17.10 (112) to 11.8 (74).

Not only was South Fremantle coming off a short break, but was also without its first choice midfield of Haiden Schloithe, Jacob Martinez and Tim Kelly while full-forward Ben Saunders returned in the reserves from an ankle injury and hurt a hamstring.

In the absence of Schloithe, Martinez and Kelly, South Fremantle coach Todd Curley put Steve Verrier onto the ball with outstanding results with him finishing with a team-high 27 possessions to go with eight marks, four tackles and four inside-50 entries.

Ashton Hams continued his terrific form with another 23 disposals and two goals despite having Perth’s Michael Sinclair running with him for much of the afternoon. Jarrod Parry also had 18 touches and Toby Bairstow 17 in the midfield.

South Fremantle’s forward-line looked dangerous and combined for 17 goals despite the absence of Saunders and with James Sellar quiet. Josh Pullman was the star with the hard working big man finishing with four goals from 16 possessions and six marks.

Cory Dell’Olio, Paul Mugambwa, Jacob Dragovich, Shaun Bewick and Craig White all kicked two goals apiece for the Bulldogs with 182-game dual premiership veteran White returning to the league side after a month in the reserves.

South Fremantle’s back-line held up well also with Adam Guglielmana doing well holding AFL premiership player Mitch Morton to just five kicks and one goal while Adam McIntosh finished with 20 possessions, Kyle Hams 19, Blayne Wilson 16, Matthew Gundry and Marlion Pickett 15.

Perth got off to a flying start with the first two goals in the opening four minutes but South Fremantle steadied and got the next two on the board thanks to Dell’Olio and Ashton Hams to claim a narrow lead.

However, the Demons made the most of their forays forward and were kicking straight with Jarryd Morton nailing two before quarter-time, and Leggett another to see them hold a one-point advantage despite Dell’Olio nailing his second in style with a dribble kick from the boundary for the Bulldogs and Mugambwa taking a strong mark, and kicking truly on the siren.

Mitch Morton got the benefit of a free-kick against his opponent Guglielmana, and then snapped the opening goal of the second quarter before South Fremantle really got on a roll.

Pullman nailed his first to cut Perth’s lead to a point and then when he dished off a handball to the waiting Mugambwa in the goal square, he nailed his second and the Bulldogs hit the front.

Sellar, Bewick and then Pullman with his second all added majors as well to give the Bulldogs a 23-point advantage but the Demons managed to get two late just before half-time to cut South Fremantle’s lead to just 10 points at the main break.

Two quick goals to start the third quarter from Cody Leggett for Perth then saw the visitors lead for the first time since early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs managed just one goal for the third quarter and that was from Dragovich as they held a six-point advantage at the last change.

With South Fremantle coming off the five-day break, it certainly wasn’t a given of a strong finish against a fresher Perth, but the Bulldogs delivered a tremendous final quarter to secure the comfortable 38-point win in the finish.

The first two goals came courtesy of Pullman as the big forward nailed his third and fourth majors of the afternoon, and then set the scene for the Bulldogs to run rampant and the returning White kicked two goals in the space of a couple of minutes to seal the victory.

Goals in time-on to Ashton Hams, Dragovich and then Bewick after the final siren were then icing on the cake for the Bulldogs.

South Fremantle’s reserves maintained its hold on top spot on the ladder thanks to a 16.10 (106) to 11.7 (73) victory on Saturday at Fremantle Oval.

Lachie Harris played his first game of the season for the Bulldogs and was impressive with three goals from 11 possessions with John Sgherza continuing his goalkicking form with five majors. Kaiden Matera also kicked two goals for South Fremantle.

Ben Saunders made his return from an ankle injury and kicked two goals early, but then injured a hamstring ending his day and leaving him needing several more weeks on the sidelines.

Haiden Schloithe and Jacob Martinez both got through their second matches back from injury with Schloithe gathering 21 disposals and kicking a goal while Martinez had 16 touches and nine mark tackles.

Ben Sokol finished with 24 possessions and 10 marks for the Bulldogs with Anthony Collica amassing 22 touches, Jason Maskos 21 and James Laurino 19.

It was a thrilling start to the day at Fremantle Oval with Perth winning a nail-biter 8.10 (58) to 7.15 (57).

Nicholas Bretag and Mitchell Dzelebdzic kicked two goals each for South Fremantle’s colts with Jesse Musika racking up 31 possessions, Daniel Burke 24, Jamie Foster 22, Brandon Donaldson 21 and Kade Stewart 20.

SOUTH FREMANTLE        4.5    9.7    10.10    17.10    (112)
PERTH                5.0    8.3    10.4    11.8    (74)

SOUTH FREMANTLE – Goals: Pullman 4; Bewick, Dragovich, White, Mugambwa, Dell’Olio, A Hams 2; Sellar.
Best: Verrier, A Hams, Pullman, Guglielmana, McIntosh, K Hams, Parry.
PERTH – Goals: J Morton, Leggett 3; Payne 2; White, M Morton, Dennis.
Best: Tropiano, Sinclair, Gianatti, McKenna, O’Sullivan, J Morton, Billings.