Bulldogs dominate second half against Swans

SOUTH Fremantle delivered a strong second half to beat Swan Districts by 30 points at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday with the Bulldogs now in prime position to remain in second position and earn a home qualifying final.

 

Swan Districts started the game strongly needing the win to stay in the finals race for 2018 and the black-and-whites came out at Steel Blue Oval kicking the first three goals in an entertaining opening.

 

The home team still led by a goal at quarter-time but would only kick three goals the rest of the afternoon despite being nine points to the good at half-time.

 

South Fremantle kicked the first four goals of the second half and ended up going eight to two to come away with the 12.7 (79) to 7.7 (49) victory.

 

It was a fourth successive win for the Bulldogs against Swans and moved South Fremantle back into second position on the ladder with an 11-5 record. 

 

They look set to stay there and host West Perth in a qualifying final at Fremantle Community Bank Oval unless they lose both remaining matches to Perth and East Fremantle, and the Falcons beat East Perth this week.

 

Coming off a career-best performance last week in the win over West Perth, South Fremantle midfielder Shane Hockey backed up with another best on ground display made up of 38 possessions, eight marks, five tackles and three inside-50 entries.

 

Fellow experienced midfielders Nick Suban (28 possessions, six marks) and Ryan Cook (28 disposals, 15 marks) were also tremendous for the Bulldogs while reigning Sandover Medallist Haiden Schloithe finished with 22 touches, 11 marks and two goals.

 

Brock Higgins battled hard in the ruck for South Fremantle with 48 hit outs while Jacob Dragovich also had 18 possessions, five marks and five tackles, and Brandon Donaldson 17 disposals and seven inside-50 entries.

 

South Fremantle's back-line stood firm led by Noah Strom continuing his tremendous form holding Tony Notte scoreless when the Swans' veteran was playing deep forward.

 

Chad Pearson (16 possessions, 11 marks) and Blayne Wilson (18 disposals, nine marks) were also strong while Steven Edwards not only kept Kirk Ugle quiet but had 18 possessions and six marks himself.

 

Fellow small defenders Kyle Russell (22 possessions, 11 marks) and Jason Maskos (20 disposals, nine marks) and Shaun Bewick (18 touches, five marks, five tackles) were all impressive performers for South Fremantle too.

Meanwhile, in a forward-line missing Ben Saunders, Matthew Parker and Blaine Johnson, Cory Dell'Olio kicked four goals to take his season tally to 25 from nine games in 2018.

 

Swan Districts' season was on the line and the black-and-whites started well with the first three goals of the contest as Nathan Blakely wobbled one through from 50 before Ethan Maguire and David Ellard also kicked truly.

 

South Fremantle answered back with the next three goals with the first coming from debutant Zac De San Miguel who dribbled one through with his first kick in league football. Cory Dell'Olio then kicked the next two but Swans steadied through Mitch Mackenzie to lead by a goal at the first break.

 

It was then tough going for both teams in the second quarter with just the one goal apiece as Swan Districts went into the long break leading by nine points.

 

It took only 17 minutes of the third quarter for South Fremantle to turn that half-time deficit into a handy lead after Dell'Olio kicked his fourth goal of the day and then Mason Shaw ran into an open goal, Shaun Bewick converted after a strong tackle and Ryan Cook kicked truly from a set shot.

 

Swans did get one goal back before three quarter-time through Matt Riggio but the Bulldogs still held an 11-point advantage at the last change.

 

Early last quarter goals to Brandon Donaldson and Ashton Hams sealed the win for South Fremantle before Haiden Schloithe went forward to kick two also with good build-up work from Marlion Pickett.

 

That saw the Bulldogs lead by as much as 36 points before Swan Districts' 100-game milestone man Kirk Ugle finished the game with a good goal on his trademark left boot.

 

Swan Districts kept its good form in the reserves going and stayed right in the race for a finals position with a 7.8 (50) to 5.13 (43) victory over South Fremantle at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday.

 

Swans began with three goals to two in the first term but then scores were all tied by half-time. Swans began to pull away in the third quarter with two goals to one and they did the same in the fourth term to end up winning by seven points and stay in touch of a finals berth.

 

Triple Bernie Naylor Medallist Ben Saunders returned for South Fremantle in the reserves from a hamstring injury and kicked three goals from 11 kicks and six marks.

 

Jarrod Parry collected 28 possessions for the Bulldogs, Josh Collard 27, Matthew Ward 19, Andre Coutinho 18 and Caleb Datson 18.

 

South Fremantle took a significant step towards guaranteeing a place in the WAFL colts finals for 2018 with Saturday's 26-point win over the fourth placed Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval.

 

Swans are already locked in to play finals for 2018, but they missed a chance to keep their hopes alive of earning a double chance still with a top three finish with Saturday's result on home turf.

 

In the end, the 8.7 (55) to 3.11 (29) win for South Fremantle could just about lock away the top five positions and mean that the two teams meet again in the first week of the finals in an elimination final.

 

Swans remain in fourth position with a 9-8 record and the bye to come in Round 20 before a clash with Claremont in the final round. Already a game and percentage behind the third placed East Fremantle, they now look destined to finish in that spot.

 

Meanwhile, South Fremantle improved to a 7-9 record to now be a game and significant percentage clear of the chasing pack of West Perth, Perth and Claremont with games to finish against the Demons and East Fremantle.

 

It was just a goal apiece for both teams in the opening quarter before South Fremantle managed the only two goals of the second term to head into half-time leading by nine points.

 

Again the Bulldogs kicked the only two goals of the third quarter to hold a 22-point lead at three quarter-time and then with three goals to two in the final stanza go on to win by 26 points.

 

Lachlan Feeney kicked two goals for South Fremantle to go with 13 possessions and three entries inside the forward 50.

 

Enrique Aiken-Featherstone amassed 27 possessions for the Bulldogs while laying eight tackles with Manfred Kelly collecting 21 disposals, Toby McQuilkin 18, James Russell 18, Tom Blechynden 18, Jack Redman 17 and Jack Fenton 17 to go with 11 hit outs and five inside 50s.

 

South Fremantle will now play its last game of the home and away season at Fremantle Community Bank Oval against a desperate Perth before finishing the season away to East Fremantle.

 

 

SOUTH FREMANTLE – Goals: Dell'Olio 4; Schloithe 2; Bewick, Donaldson, Shaw, Cook, Hams, De San Miguel.

Best: Hockey, Suban, Cook, Schloithe, Edwards, Dell'Olio, N Strom, Russell.

SWAN DISTRICTS – Goals: Ellard 2; Ugle, Mackenzie, Riggio, Blakely, Maguire.

Best: Gault, Erceg, Howard, Turner, Blakely, Payne, Dean.