Sharks History Made- Six Wins on the Weekend

East Fremantle returned to the winners’ circle on Saturday, winning all three grades for the first time since round 5, against the Perth Demons at Lathlain Park on Saturday. In addition, all three Women's grades, including the East Fremantle Youth Girls team playing in their first game*, recorded wins against South Fremantle and SNESA.

Colts

The Colts started the day with a nail-biting 6 point win.  With the game all tied up with less than a minute to go we received a free kick on the wing, one which a Perth player wasn’t happy with.  As it turned out the 100m penalty was just what the doctor ordered to ensure victory for the Colts boys, especially after the loss against Swans the previous weeks. 

The game was a tough slog early, with both sides struggling to handle the very slippery conditions, and it was Perth though that handled them better and they had soon skipped out to a 2 goal lead.  From that point on it was an arm wrestle with both sides scoring three goals apiece in each of the second and third quarters, before our boys found some composure to play their best quarter for the day in kicking three goals and holding Perth scoreless.  The win now puts the Colts in equal fourth position with a 4-4 record. 

Oliver Parish, arguably the smallest player on the field, was outstanding throughout the game, often throwing his body to the bottom of packs and dropping back in the hole to finish with 25 possessions, 3 tackles, 6 I50’s and a goal.  Jordan Snadden and Tom Bennett were also fantastic and Jacob Gittos bagged 5 goals to take his season tally to 14: 6^th on the leading goal kickers tally. In another sign of the future Liam Rajanayagam (who turns 16 in July) showed excellent skills and composure in the backline.

East Fremantle                  10.5 (65)              def         Perth     9.5 (59)

Development

The Development League team continued on their merry way, convincingly defeating the Demon by 54 points, their fifth straight win that sees them sitting second on the ladder.

After a tight first quarter the boys turned up the heat on the Demons in second, kicking 4 goals to 2, then scorched them in the third, holding them scoreless while pouring on another 4 goals.  With the game over by three quarter time, the last quarter became a bit of a shootout, with both sides kicking 4 goals. 

Aidan Tropiano was outstanding through the midfield racking up 32 possessions even though he had to sit out 20 minutes in the third quarter after receiving a knock to the head.  Tom Hooker continued to put up his hand after another hard running game.  Richie Bourne responded the best possible way to being dropped back by looking lively and kicking 4 goals, as did Michael Edwards in kicking 2.  Boston Williamson, close to selection in the League side on Thursday, also played well, racking up 22 possessions, 8 marks, 8 inside 50’s and a couple of goals.

East Fremantle                  15.14 (104)          def         Perth     7.8 (50)

League

The League side, in much need of a win, ensured Club favourite, Andrew Stephen, was able to celebrate his 100^th game for the Sharks with a come-from-behind win, in a topsy-turvy game Saturday afternoon.  Tim Bristow came in to the side for his debut, hoping that the energy he has brought to the Club since arriving from Launceston would rub off on everyone else, but it was the Demons who got off to a fast start, with Mitch Morton dominating early.  The Sharks were under the pump and by midway through the first quarter found themselves down by four goals.  But our boys fought back, kicking the last three to trail by just 4 points at the first break.  The second was almost a mirror image of the first, with Perth getting the jump but again our boys showed some grit to kick the last couple and head in to the half time break 3 points in front.  From that point on it was an arm wrestle, with both sides at various times looking as though they could break the game open.  At three quarter time Stephen Malaxos and Jamie McNamara pleaded for one huge last quarter effort, not only for “Stevo” but for all the hard work that had gone into the week leading in. The boys responded accordingly.  With the Sharks behind with less than 10 minutes to go, the boys dug deep, kicking a couple of goals to secure a 9 point win, one that certainly keeps us on the tails of the top four.

All grades can now enjoy a well-deserved break with the State game bye this weekend, before heading into the WA Day Derby against South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval on June 2nd.

East Fremantle                  13.12 (90)         def         Perth     12.9 (81)

GOALS: 4 B.Peake, 2 B.Dalziell, R.Young, 1 M.McGough, J.McNamara, J.Bristow, R.O'brien, T.Bristow

BEST: B.O'Brien, S.Dodd, B.Dalziell, R.Young, T.Bristow, R.O’Brien

*In 2013 East Fremantle had a joint Youth Girls team with Claremont.