West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 11 May 1925, page 10


EAST PERTH'S NARROW WIN.

AN EXCITING FINISH.

When East Perth met Perth in the opening round of matches, they were defeated after having gained a commanding lead in. the earlv states. On Satur

day afternoon, against West Perth on the Perth Oval, although well in front at half time, they were pressed to the utmost towards the finish, but on this occasion their comliticra served thorn better, and the final hell found them ten points in front. Although East Perth ha-! the ?better of the scoring in the ci-rHor stages, the match was evenly contoured. the West Perth men being superior in the air, and producing flashes i«f brilliant open football. The splendid w.7rk of the half-tacks and wing Tr.en. however, was brought to naujrht by the failore of the forwards. Time after time the ball was brought down tbe field by fast exchanges only to have the- attacks fizzle out because the forwards were rut in position. East Perth. -m the other band, although not so brilliant, were much more evenly balanced, and were splendidly served by tlieir forward.*, who eeized almost every opportunity. WTien the teams drew level with only 7 minutes to play, and East Perth ma.le n final spurt, Campbell, alwa.ns in p.is:t!nn. and battling hs:ni, succeeded in adding two singles. The result from tlmt on never seemed ind'oubt. East Pf-r:!i won the game in the- ground play whk-Ii was visorous and gruelling, and into whi.-li they flung themselves wholeheartedly BrentnaU, revelling in hard knocks. w:i-s tried at centre, a position which he filled ably, having the bntter of Sinn-lair and Parka, who were ea--h tried in Uiat pivot, although GosnelL, who occupied the position in the final term did sp-n«.!id!y. The latter player, who played' half-back, centre, and hs-if-forward. was one of the stars of tile game, his narking and kiekdng being excellent, whue he showed rare dash. Owens returned to tbe rank* of the royal 'blues and showed his oM f rra. particularly in the fiivrt term, while a splendid exhibition was given by Sherlock as custodian. Boyd and Craig, as usual, overshadowed everyone in tbe air. but Sharp and Gaynor brought off some spectacular marks for the winners. Tap game wsus played at a particularly fast rate throughout, and Cassey, who umpired, performed creditably, although he appeared on several occasions to have forgotten the new handball rule. There ?was much more wing play than in the opening matches, and consequently the out of bounds rule was frequency enforced. Several ludicrous situations arose in wnsequence. and a desire for tome modification was freely expressed. On one occasion Owens, dashing down the wing, ran right up to an opponent before kicking. Tie ball rebounded from.

the West Perth man and went out of play, with the result that Owens obtained a kick which he certainly did not deserve East Perth's initial rush yielded a point, followed immediately by a goal from a snap by Hebbard. A AVest Perth attack penetrated right to the goal mouth, where Sherlock saved. Up and down travelled the ball in fast open exchanges, until Ea«t Perth again goaled. Owens finding the opening with a lightning-like tnap. Brentnall engineered a further attack, a point resulting, and then Owens, marking the kick-in, sen& the ball via J. Mitchell to Hebbard. who made n» mistake. Spectacular and dashing football by West Perth carried the ball to the other end, but blundering forward work spoEt a good chance, and Woodthorpe cleared. Another attack surged forward, but the bell found the scores East Perth. 3.2, West Perth, nil. The cardinals commenced the second quarter determinedly and a free to Parks gave them their first score — a minor. From end bo end the ball was carried by swift exchanges, and East Perth caused one flag to wave. BrentnaE, following a brilliant passage in the centre, aided Owens 'to send the leather right down, and Campbell, from a free, punted the home teaia's fourtb goaL Gosnoll and Denton. by fine marking, turned the tide of another attack, but Campbell, receiving from O'Meara. who wa? conspicuous, put on another major. Once more East Perth attacked, and- this time Owens found the big opening. West Perth now pulled themselves together, and, aided by a series of free kicks, engineered the ball to their scoring end, where MeDiarinid opened their tally of majors with a^ running drop kick. A fine mark by Sparrow and a free to Owens preceded East Perth's seventh goal, which came from a screw kick by Western. West Perth broke away for a single, and at half time the scores were: East Perth, 7.3; West Perth, 1.2. A point by East Perth opened the scoring for the third term, but West Perth obtained the first goal from Denjon. who received from Soutar. Immediately Gosne-H put on a lonjf drop kick, which was finely marked by Moylo and converted into full points. East Perth retaliated with a concerted rush, culminating in a goal from Hebbard, who punted from 50 yards out. A dazzling dash by Sinclair, Soutar and Gosnefl enabled Reardon to goal, but Sherlock brilliantly turned a following attempt. East Perth getting away for a minor. For the remainder of the term there was no scoring until West Perth managed a point just before the bell, when the scores stood: East Perth, 8.5; West Perth. 4.4. The final term commenced with a single to East Perth, but West Perth, playing beautifully, assumed the upper hand immediately and Moyle, grabbing from the ruck, snapshotted their fifth goal. Again West Perth came through, and a shot by Moyle added a point, Sherlock touching it in 'tran-sit. A spectacular mark by Gaynor brought temporary reHef, but Moore, marking splendidly, .obtained full points. Again Gaynor marked high above the crowd. West Perth were too good, and M-eDrarmid to Moore meant another goal. Another rush yielded a -single, making th'e difference a goal, and this margin was quickly wiped out, Parks to Soutar giving a major. With the 'scores level and only seven minutes to go, East Perth took a hand, Hebbard and Western forwarding. Campbell shot true, but the tall was touched, and EsBt Perth were a point ahead. Sparrow to Campbell raised one flag again. The same player then gat a further single, and Sparrow snapped a goal. foEowed by a minor from Hebbard. West Perth made a last attempt, but 'the bell rang leaving the final scores: — East Perth 9.10 (64 points). West Perth: S.t- (54 points). Goalkickers: — East Perth: Hebbard (3), Campbell (2). Owens (2). Sparrow and Western. West Perth: Moyle (2). Moore t2). Reardon, Soutar, Denton and McDiarmaid.