Colts Report – Round 16

SOUTH Fremantle’s colts side recorded its first win since Round 12 on Saturday against an in-form Perth outfit looking for a sixth straight victory. A scrappy first half and countless mistakes marred the contest as both sides struggled early. The come from behind win enabled the South Fremantle team to hold on to its second place on the ladder. With all the luck, and run of play early, the Demons looked to have the better of the out of form Bulldogs.

It was the likes of best player Mathew Ah Siu and Kade Stewart that kept the Bulldogs in touch and the scoreboard never looked too threatening for the Bulldogs. Unlike the last few weeks the Southerners were able to limit the opposition’s scoring opportunities. Uncharacteristic errors, from a usually safe back-line, let Perth take a slight lead into quarter-time.

Three goals apiece in a tight second quarter saw Perth maintain a slender lead at the main break. With the ground at Lathlain Park drying up and a few choice words from the coaching staff, the Bulldogs finally awoke from their winter break and showed why they still are a force in the competition.

An eight-goal to one second half put away any doubt that they will struggle for much longer. The team showed they still possess some of the best talent in the state.

Billy Frampton started to dominate the ruck and found the ball easily around the ground. He and Dan Moore look set to be the best combination in the league and will cause opposition ruckmen many headaches.

This released Cameron Loersch to go forward and cause all sorts of problems for the multiple opponents he finds with him each contest.

The confidence in the rest of the side rose with the three talls and better players were starting to appear all over the ground.

Jye Depane continued his recent great form on the wing. He combined with Brandon Truss and Grant McLeod to find plenty of space on the wide oval and ran the lines to carry the ball deep into the forward-line.

Jake Florenca and Corey Salmon made sure Loersch received plenty of support as the ball hit the ground and made the most of their chances to post a winning score.

Backmen Jesse Mirco and captain Brad McPhail enjoyed the dominance of the midfield and started to repel most of the Demons forward moves.

With the game in safe keeping early in the last term the side were able to display many team oriented passages that gladdened the small crowd of family and loyal supporters.

It was just the tonic the program needed leading into this week’s bye. The boys will now reassess their targets for the coming weeks and I am sure they will enjoy the break.

Thank you to all the support staff for their efforts over the last month as we struggled as a team to capitalise on our great start to the season.

Arthur Maskos
SFFC Colts Coach