Bulldogs end dominant reserves season with premiership

SOUTH Fremantle’s reserves were the dominant team all season and didn’t trip up in the Grand Final at Domain Stadium on Sunday beating Swan Districts by 71 points for a second premiership in three years.

South Fremantle lost just two games all season long in the reserves and had won its last eight straight matches coming into the grand final, but it was Swan Districts who handed the Bulldogs their last defeat back in Round 14.

And Swans came into the grand final in good form following finals victories over West Perth and Subiaco, but come the decider it was a fresher and stronger South Fremantle line-up that was in control most of the contest despite the black-and-whites booting the first goal.

Swan Districts did cut South Fremantle’s lead to three points early in the second quarter, but Swans didn’t kick another goal from that point on with South Fremantle kicking the last seven goals of the game to end up winning 15.19 (109) to 5.8 (38).

South Fremantle has now won 12 reserves premierships with two of them now coming in the past three years with Tony Walters as coach.

Shaun Bewick, Jason Maskos, James Laurino, Zac Strom, Brendan Verrier and Simon Panizza are the players to have been there for both premiership victories.

The win also served as a terrific finish to the career of 2009 premiership player Paul Mugambwa who captained South Fremantle to the victory following 143 league matches with the Bulldogs since making his debut in 2005.

South Fremantle midfielder Anthony Collica was awarded the Merv McIntosh Medal after finishing the game with 34 possessions, 10 marks, six inside-50 entries and a goal.

Jacob Dragovich was also terrific for the Bulldogs with 24 touches and three goals while John Sgherza kicked another three majors and Kade Stewart two.

The Bulldogs ended up with 129 more disposals with Tim Stewart having 26 touches, Brendan Verrier 26, Bailey Matera 25, James Laurino 24, Shaun Bewick 23, Dylan Ross 21 (10 marks), Mitch Carter 21 and Ben Sokol 20 (10 marks, seven tackles).

Jacob Burnham has played good football for Swan Districts in the league side and had another strong grand final with 25 possessions and seven marks while Albert Dean gathered 25 disposals, David McKay 20, Warrick Wilson 19, Jackson Slater 18 and Sean Fletcher 17.

Swan Districts made the perfect start to the grand final with the reserves attempting to make up for the colts losing to Claremont to start the day, and it was big man Jake Nuich who opened the scoring with the first goal five minutes in.

South Fremantle soon steadied with Bailey Matera kicking truly to put the Bulldogs in front to make the most of his chance as one of two inclusions for the grand final for the team that won the second semi-final over Subiaco – the other being Dom Warrell.

While South Fremantle did lead by nine points at quarter-time following goals to Sgherza and Sokol either side of one for Swans by Roderick Manton, the black-and-whites were right in the game trailing by just three points early in the second term after a goal to Ben Whitsed.

However, from there South Fremantle began to dominate with goals to Mugambwa, Sgherza, Adam Carter and Collica before half-time to see the Bulldogs lead by 30 points.

Kade Stewart then provided a perfect start to the second half with a goal inside two minutes and then when Dragovich soccered a goal from mid-air shortly before three quarter-time, South Fremantle’s lead ballooned to 47 points.

Swan Districts’ broke its goal drought from early in the second quarter with two goals in three minutes in the last term to cut the deficit to 40 points, but it was only a short-lived revival.

The final 10 minutes was party time for South Fremantle with goals two more goals to Dragovich and one each to Verrier, Billy Collier, Sgherza and Kade Stewart.

SOUTH FREMANTLE        3.3    7.10    9.16    15.19    (109)
SWAN DISTRICTS        2.0    3.4    3.5    5.8    (38)

SOUTH FREMANTLE – Goals: Dragovich, Sgherza 3; K Stewart 2; Collica, Verrier, Collier, A Carter, Mugambwa, Sokol, B Matera.
Best: Collica, Dragovich, Verrier, T Stewart, Ross, B Matera, Sokol, Bewick.
SWAN DISTRICTS – Goals: Slater, Fletcher, Whitsed, Manton, Nuich.
Best: Burnham, Dean, McKay, Wilson, Slater.

MERV McINTOSH MEDAL: Anthony Collica (South Fremantle).