West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 18 June 1934, page 8


WEST PERTH ' IMPROVES.

Good Recovery bv Eut Perth.

In conditions which appealed, to footballers -to give of their best, West Perth and East Perth provided an interesting match' at Leederville Oval on Saturday,

although the last few minutes of play were disappointing after East Perth's keen £ght- bad roused the big crowd of spectators to a high pitch of excitement. West Perth'B all-round superiority in the first quarter which gave it a lead of six goals certainly waa no indication of the struggle to follow and it was not expected that East Perth; 'would press West Perth to six points at one. stage of the third term. West Perth. continued to play good football ^.and at. is a tribute to an untiring number' of East Perth's side that such a fine recovery was made. Had East Perth's forwards1 made use of their opportunities when the strong back lines were penetrated West Perth must have been froced to fight desperately for victory, and as it .was- East Perth looked dangerous until about eight minutes before time. All round, West Perth was -well served and there was noticeable improvement in teamwork. There were weak, links, but East Perth 'Was r badly served in key positions and : sheer determination and speed enabled it to fight back. West Perth's efficiency' in attack and accurate shooting were^ match-winning factors. Following, 'jrereithe teams:— . WEST PERTH;— Backa: Roberts, Benton,lTcCuckin. .yHalf^backB: . Ford,' P. . Watob, Tetley. Centres: %l)nrw, Morgan,' O'Connor. Half-^oiy wards: H..- Green, Anderson,' Ii. Walsh. Forwards: . If. JfcDiarmid, Tyson, Kenna, Suck: Marinkb, Gregj. Eainoldl (rover). Nineteenth man: Dal-. *iell (rsplaeed Bainoldl. injured- hip, alter h*Utime); ;;? , ' ? «? ? '-? ..;?; ,? ?;??; -'?? . -EAST- PERTH.— Backar Jtatson, 'Booth/ It »3«n.:~ 'HaK-bactarBoundy, .^OswaW.5 Bennett. Centrtw McOollougft, Cronin, . GuhL HaMtot?wards: -Mather. Down, Kin?. Forwards: E. Lawn, Crow, Gamaut Rack; Little, Wood, Bcreaigh (rover). Nineteenth man: Leeder (replaced Oswald, injured back,, after half-time). UMHRE.— r. Collins. * After Ford had saved, West Perth ?Corel's- behind and' for three minutes th'e-.play was even. Twice West' Perth's full'oacks shattered promising East Perth attacks, and at the other end M. Eyan ?was; in dashing form. West Perth was making its attacks: through Green and a toal resulted; Screaigh - was playing brilliantly and daring a brief period when West: Perth used short passes excessively East Forth was in. command. A good nark by Lawn resulted in a goal, and from then on the- home, team dominated . the play. From ihe boundary Une in the left -pocket Rainoldi scored a wonderful goal, and he quickly kicked another. No ?odner had the ball been bounced again than West Perth scored its fourth goal tad only half the quarter had been played. When- East Perth fought back its forwards were at fault, and with Drew playfag a fart, heady game on the wing. West Perth continued its fine play. In spite ?f Matson's solid defence, West Perth troke through again and added three' foals, giving it a lead of 7.4 to 1.4 at quarter; time. When East Perth changed about some ef its players, notably the taking of Guhl from Drew's wing, and played with more vim in the ruck, the play was much more even-; and faster. . There was some excellent football, but in most- cases poor kicking marred the attacks, especially when ?East 'Perth moved forward. East Perth was in the. ascendancy, but Crow's two foals; were not a .fitting reward. West 'erth players .were now inclined to maul their opponents and East Perth were picking UP; the crumbs when bunches of play' «rs' flew. lor the ?ball. Repeatedly East Perth kicked the ball out of bounds, while

West Perth kept up its high percentage of goals from limited opportunities, so that at half-time West Perth led with 10.5 to 58. Rainoldi (West Perth) and Oswald (East Perth) did not return to the field owing to injuries. West Perth's backs were coming through in great style, but East Perth reduced the leeway : to 2.1 in fairly juick time. Green, in the ruck was able to relieve the pressure and eventually Tyson goaled; In a vigorous passage of play East Perth obtained another goal from Screaigh, a potential match-winner, yet the backs failed to subdue Tyson, who kicked another goal. Cronin, now a halfforward, was improving and his goal left East Perth only six points in arrears. Up to this stage Anderson had not been playing well against Bennett, and it was a relief to West Perth supporters when be took a well-judged mark and kicked a goal with a long torpedo punt. The quarter ended with the scores at 13.6 to 10.13 in West Perth's favour. East Perth's forwards haying missed three good chances of scoring just before the bell. After L. Walsh had goaled for West Perth, East Perth played systematically, but four successive attacks were blocked by McGuckin, who was defending coolly. Wood's snapshot for a goal raised East Perth's hopes, but from a fierce scramble Kenna goaled with a neat screw-kick. The pace, was great and the ball- flashed to and fro as the backs on each side cleared. After two unsuccessful shots Screaigh, goaled and with 11 minutes to go the mar-' gin was 10 points. Morgan's dash and Drew's speed resulted in a goal from Anderson. Neat play by East Perth resulted in a goal with two minutes to go, but Tyson ? had been busy and West Perth's: backs, notably P. Walsh and Benton, had proved solid. The match ended with the scores as follows: — WEST PERTH ... .. 19. 7 (121 pts.) . EAST PERTH .... 13.15 ( 93 pts.) Goal-kickers— West Perth: Tyson (8), Anderson (4), Kenna (3), Rainoldi (2), Gregg and L. Walsh. East Perth: Crow (4), Lawn (3), Screaigh (2), Cronin, Mather, Garnaut and Wood. N. Drew, the West Perth wing man, gave his best display o_f the season, displaying exceptional pace and judgment and passing accurately. He played determinedly in a go-ahead style and he was always ready for Guhl's tricks. Green, in spite of his unusually poor kicking, was a great asset to the side. -At half-forward he led cleverly, and throughout the match strove hard to open up the play. L. Walsh was another good half-forward. Of the backs, Benton and P. Walsh were in great form and in the last quarter McGuckin was at his best. Morgan, who tore through in fine style, was of much assistance to the forwards. Marinko and Gregg were able followers, and Tyson worked nicely for some of his goals. Rainoldi was useful in the first half and Kenna showed improved form. For East Perth Screaigh was outstanding. He was almost invariably responsible for East Perth's forward moves and he gave a plucky- display, although his passing was not always good! On the wing McCullough showed that he will be a decided acquisition to the side. King, Lawn, Bennett, M. Ryan, Wood (although his kicking for goal was poor), Matson and Mather were the best of the others.