Sharks Win Thriller

A last second goal to Sean Henson has seen East Fremantle win a tight encounter over Perth at Brownes Stadium.

The Sharks extended their winning streak to three games with the thrilling two point win over the in-form Demons 15.18 (108) to 16.10 (106).

With less than 30 seconds remaining in the match, Perth looked as if they had the four premiership points sewn up when ruckman Christian Eyres marked a clearing kick on the wing.

The giant Demon then attempted to stretch out cramp, in a bid to wind down the clock, before the umpire called play on forcing Eyres to kick hurriedly.

Eyres’ attempted kick was smothered by East Fremantle’s Ryan Lester-Smith and the resulted turnover allowed the Sharks an inside fifty and a mark to Henson, who then kicked the match winning goal.

The game had seesawed throughout the afternoon with both sides fighting hard to continue their winning streaks.

Perth had entered the game hoping to win their fourth straight game for the first time since 1991.

Young Shark Josh Simpson got the ball rolling when he kicked the first goal of the match in the second minute.

Perth hit back with three straight goals to Michael Florio, Daniel Murray and Brennan Stack establish a two goal lead.

East Fremantle hit back with three straight goals and regained the lead, but Perth finished the opening term with goals to Paul Bevan and Fraser McInnes to go into the first break seven points in front.

It was a tale of wayward kicking for East Fremantle in second term as they went on to kick 4.6.

Max Duffy was the main offender, registering three straight behinds for the quarter.

Despite the errant kicking, East Fremantle established an 11 point lead with goals to Brad Dick and Mitch Boyle, their biggest lead for the game.

A goal in the dying seconds to Perth recruit and former Essendon forward, Kyle Reimers, saw the margin reduced to five points at half time.

The third quarter continued to seesaw, with the both sides unable to establish a sufficient lead.

Bevan’s second goal saw Perth take the lead midway through the quarter and despite chances for East Fremantle to regain the lead, Demons entered the final break five points in front.

The even nature of the game continued into the final quarter, as East Fremantle regained the lead within the first three minutes thanks to goals from Simpson and Jayden Schofield.

Stack then exploded for the home side kicking two goals within in the space of two minutes to put Perth seven points up.

The quarter belonged to East Fremantle’s Ryan Lester-Smith as he collected seven disposals and kicked two goals midway through the final term to put the Sharks in front.

Mathew Moody kicked two quick goals to have the Perth crowd in a frenzy, before Lester-Smith effected the match winning smother on Eyre that set up Henson’s goal.

East Fremantle was well served by Bradd Dalziell in the midfield as he racked up 32 disposals, while Rory O’Brien continued his impressive run of form with 26 disposals.

Brad Dick made a successful return to league football for the Sharks kicking three goals, as Max Duffy had a day to forget kicking 1.5.

Lester-Smith and Mitch Boyle continued their good form in front of goal with three goals each, while ruckman Cameron Symonds was again dominant in the ruck with 26 hitouts.

- Ryan Miller

                                  Q1       Q2       Q3       Final

Perth                          5.4       8.4       11.8    16.10 (106)

Defeated by  

East Fremantle            4.3       8.9       9.15    15.18 (108)

Goals

EF: Dick, Lester-Smith, Boyle 3; Simpson 2; Peake, Henson, Schofield, Duffy 1.

P: Murray 4; Stack 3; Moody, Bevan, McInnes 2; Reimers, Florio, Boyle 1.

Best

EF: Dalziell, Lester-Smith, Bayliss, Cooper, O’Brien.

Reserves

East Fremantle          6.7 (43)

Def by.

Perth                          16.11 (107)

Goals: Ricciardello, Cronan 2; K. Tropiano, Stokes 1.

Colts

East Fremantle          11.7 (73)

Def.

Perth                          6.18 (54)

Goals: Rayner, C. Green, J. Cripps 2; Bourne, Regan, Beer, Stewart, Jansen 1.