West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 30 April 1934, page 14


WEST PERTH'S FINE SYSTEM.

Good Win from Victoria Park.

In excellent early-season, condition;, West Perth made an auspicious start to, the season, on Saturday when it 'defeated'Tictoria Park at the W.A.CA. ffromnrinr

36 points. Opposed by.a aide wnich, except in one quarter, worked like a pieceof' well-oiled machinery, Victoria Park played football which redounded to its credit,, and made a spirited bid for victory . in the second half of the game. It was without A. Shepherd, the centre-half-back, who was injured recently, ., and A. Brown, ? and- it lacked the system, of its opponents.' 'In the third quarter it fought back courageously,, but largely because of a weakness in attack it failed to- get within striking distance. Of West Perth ;it is perhaps Rufficient to say that almost the whole of its score was directly :the result -of, excellent judgment in passing, pate and 'sys-tematic play. The Eastern States men, j. Anderson, R. Kenna and R. Green,- played a notable part in the -victory. ?An-intelli-gent and liberal interpretation of tke holding-the-ball rule was given by- li. Peterkin. The teams' were:— i WEST PERTH.— Backs: McGucken. .Benton, Gregg1. Half-backs: O'Keefe, Tetley, P. Walih. Centres: Dalziell, Morgan, Mdfaughton. ' ,Halfforwards: Green, Anderson, L. Walsh; Forward*: N. McDiarmid, Tyson, Kenna. Followers: Martoio Ford, Hainoldi (rover). Nineteenth inan: Siviour (did not play). . VICTORIA. PARK. — Backs: O'Csllaghan, Crooks, W. Fitzgerald. Half-backs: -Bobinson, P. Fitzgerald. Hungerford. Centres: X Grigs, Lyons, Davey. Half-forwards: Warner, ^Wilson, uook. Forwards: Lucas, Hetfcerington, A. Donoghne. Followers: Johnston, 6. Davey. Keigfctlev (rover). Nineteenth man: JL Cooper (leplaeed Keightley in the last quarter). * UMPIRE.— B. Peterkin.

. Wild, scrambling play marked the opening minutes of the game, and West Perth made several fruitless thrusts at goal before Dalziell started a brilliant movement along the right wing, which resulted in» goal from Tyson. Victoria Part was Jiopc lessly at sea, and West Perth soon set ? a machine-like system in motion. ? Playing in a. forward pocket, Kenna led the Victoria Park defenders a. merry dance., and goaled twice. within -five minutes.- Forcing a passage through the:-rack,-'.where''cit'.'wib winning, Victoria Park': obtained .a .goal fronvHetherington^ West. Perthf holding a marked advantage on- the -ground vandnn the air; was almost continually in .'attack'. Victoria Park, was weak, at hajfiorward, and its kicking was poor.. West Perth:- led at quarter-time— ft.6 to -35.- \ ? = The N Victoria Park back division made heroic efforts,- Crooks in' goal 'being routstanding, but-time and again their -efforts were' wasted when forward 'moves iwere stopped , abruptly b'y-Lfumbling or- pbor-'dis-. posal of the- ball. Passing -with unerring accuracy, bow -winning in the ruck, and combining well,' West Perth' bombarded th'e Victoria Park goal .'for several minutes, and Green, who was playing coolly'and effectively at half-forward, added the ninth goal. Lyons, who was beating. Morgan at centre, Crooks and P- Fitzgerald started many movements, but they- rarely; advanced far beyond the centre line. West'Pefth, on the other hand, was never at & loss io.get the ball into- the open, and but for a temporary lapse in shooting for goal, it inust nave scored heavily in the closing stages of the quarter. ? The -scores at half-time were:— West Perth, 9.10; Victoria Park, Each side -scored a goal before Victoria Park's rally -was rewarded By another goal. Apparently without effort West Perth again scored. Victoria Park was beginning '.to play more systematically, but- foolish .mistakes handicapped it. Kenna was presented with a goal when the goalkeeper foolishly attempted a short pass. Victoria Park, however, continued to play- an improved game, despite its self-imposed' handicap of uncertain disposal,' and West Perth, found itself on the defensive. When -.it did advance, P. Fitzgerald stemmed the attack. Time and again he ? cleared, pTer venting Anderson's dangerous thrusts. . It was Victoria Park's quarter. But fpr-.pobr( shooting the home team would have-been in a fair position. As it was, the -term ended with Victoria Park in. a better position than at any previous stage of- the game, the scores being: — West Perth, 12.16; Victoria Park. 9.10. West Perth increased its lead ? to 30 points when Tyson fiung an opponent aside and goaled. Both teams appeared tired, but Victoria Park was finishing the stronger. Chances of scoring were allowed to pass until Wilson screw-kicked a goaL Although 24 points behind, the Victoria Park men threw themselves with vigour into their play. A semblance of system

appeared, m-eater pace was snown. and tne West Perth forwards were given little freelom. Ford, playing in defence, was a tower of strength for West Perth. With six minutes to go. Anderson marked high over a crowd of. players and kicked his fourth f oal. With all its backs playing brilliantly, West Perth staved off its fast-finishing opponents. Gregg goaled with a running shot, and the game ended with the scores: — WEST PERTH .... 15.19 (109 pts.). VICTORIA PARK .. 10.13 (73 pts). Goal-kickers.— West Perth: Kenna (4), Anderson (4). Tyson (31. N. McDiarmid, Green, Rainoldi. and Gregg. Victoria Park: Hetherington (3). Wilson (2). W. Fitzgerald, Keightley, Lucas, ? Donoghue, and Johnston. The performances of Kenna, Anderson and Green -were notable. Fast, clever on the ground, and an astute position player, Kenna was a busy rover and a dangerous forward. Many of the vital moves made by West Perth centred around Anderson, who showed himself to be a robust, hallmarking and long-kicking half-forward of outstanding ability. Less spectacular, but almost equally effective was Green, a. sound position player and an accurate kick. J. Ford, a follower and backman from Williams, was extraordinarily good for a new player. Benton, in goal, and Tetley at centre half-back were at the top oi their form, and Slarinko was a power in the ruck. In P. Fitzgerald, Crooks and A. Grigg, Victoria Park had three fine players. Although Anderson did a good deal of damage, Fitzgerald, who marked him. was a vital factor in Victoria Park's rally. Crooks, in goal, gave Tyson few opportunities, and Grigg, aided by Davey and Lyons (in the first half) held an advantage over the opposing centre line. Lucas showed . to best advantage when the game was fiercest, and W. Fitzgerald did more than his share of hard work. In his first league game. Hetherington played a ^ood deal of excellent football, which received only 6cant recognition. He kicked three goals, and showed unmistakably that he can get the ball for himself.