West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 11 June 1934, page 10


WON IN LAST QUARTER,

Chremont-Cottesloe FifU Hard.

- . Having held' East ' Perth in the first two Quarters and .'established, a' lead in the third term, .GlarembntrCotteslbe. weakened in the closinjr stages of the trame at 'Perth

Dval and was beaten by 35 points. Until it gave- way beneath' a series' of vigorous attacks Claremont-Cottesloe appeared to have an excellent chance of winning, but it was! outplayed, in .the last, quarter. On a ground which was almost wholly- covered with water before- the- close- of the game both teams produced passages of spirited football, but the game for 'the most part was a muddling, scrambling affair, in which: vigour and' long kicking counted for ft! great deal. Claremont-Cottesloe showed a marked improvement in form. . East Perth made a drastic but successful change uTplacings; the captain (R. Bennett), who is a half-back, being. placed at centre. Fol-lowing were the 'teams :r—. . EAST PERTH.— Backs : M. Ryan, R. Ryan, Booth;- half-backs: -Oswald, Boundy, Uatson; centres: - McCullough, Bennett, Guhl; halfforwards: /King, Dolan, Crow; ' forwards: Lawn, Crohini'-. Garnaut; ruck: Littler Woodi --Screaigh (rover);/' 19th' man: L. Orr (replaced R. Ryan eye injury,- at- half-time). ? ?? ? . CLAREM6NT.COtTESLOE.— Backs: . White, Batt,;- Dingwall; ' half-backs: Hough, Clarke, Birch; .centres: Neilson,. Oliver, Edmeades; halfforwards: Regan, 'R. Moloney, O'Reilly; forwards: S. Molopey, .Skinner., Lovegrove; ruck: Growcott, Deans, Steward (rover)! 19th' man: Williams (replaced Clarke, injured leg, in- third quarter). , Umpire: F. Collins. ? ' Playing with a stiff breeze, East Perth gqaled-twice in the first three minutes of play. The 'wind and the state of the ground 'made good football difficult, and players found it impossible to pick up the ball.. Claremont-Cotteslqe could make little headway against the wind and East Perth was ? in attack for 'the greater -part of the quarter. The, play for the most part was of a wild, scrambling nature, and accurate' shooting at goal was out of the question. East Perth goaled only twice in seven direct shots. As the quarter drew to a close Skinner kicked ClaremontCottesloe's first goal, and Lovegrove scored the second a minute later. When the wind dropped in the closing minutes of the term Claremont-Cottesloe rallied, and O'Reilly and Steward goaied, placing ClaremontCottesloe in a sound position at the bell, when the scores were: — East Perth, 4.6; Claremont-Cottesloe, 4.1. Claremont-Cottesloe led soon after the start of the second term, when S. Moloney goaled from a mark. The wind had dropped temporarily and the play improved considerably. Claremont-Cottesloe adopted the long kicking' game, but could score only points. The East Perth backs, led 'by Oswald, stood up well under pressure, and their task was made more difficult, when the wind rose as the quarter progressed. After ten minutes' hard battling ' Claremont-Cottesloe goaled again, Skinner scoring with ' a remarkable screw kick. Other shots went' badly astray. Had Claremont-Cottesloe kicked accurately at this stage it must have established a substantial lead. Four consecutive, shots at goal went out of bounds, enabling East Perth to steady. It battled forward and, after several fruitless attacks, Garnaut scored close to the posts. It was hard, slugging football, and Claremont-Obttesloe acquitted itself well against its fast, vig orous opponents. It held the lead at half-time, the quarter ending in a downpour with the scores at: — Claremont-Cot-tesloe, 7.7; East Perth, 6.7. In driving rain and with a greasy ball East Perth forged forward at the opening of the third term, and King, who had been an outstanding player, scored his second, and the team's seventh goal. The ground had become a quagmire and players threw up water as they ran. The ClaremontCottesloe half-back^ S. Clarke, was forced to retire with an injured leg. but the team continued to play with great spirit. It regained the lead when Lovegrove goaled with a long punt. East Perth, playinjr with a rapidly drying wind, couid make little progress, its centre line and forwards being held by the opposing lines. Heavy rain fell for ten minutes, and' East Perth, taking advantage of the shocking conditions, pressed forward to the attack. Crow goaled, but Deans, marking close to the posts, scored similarly for ClaremontCottesloe, and the quarter ended with the scores at: — Claremont-Cottesloe, 9.8; East Perth, 8.12. Following a desperate rally by East Perth as the final term opened, Lawn goaled, and the team led by four points. By this time the whole of the eastern half of the ground was under water, and players were chasing the ball through inches of water in batches of 10 or 12. ClaremontCottesloe stood up under a hard, slogging attack, in which the ball was taken for long distances along the ground, but East Perth, adapting itself better to the condi

tions, was not to be denied, and King jicked up in a puddle and goaled. The -'laremont-Cottesloe back line, which had -een a bulwark, weakened slightly, but the East Perth forwards were seriously inconvenienced by the sheets of water hrough which they had to plough to reach the goals. Eleven points in the lead and with its . defenders playing surely, East Perth seemed certain to win at ten minutes from the final bell. Goals by Lawn and Crow put the game beyond doubt. Claremont-Cottesloe fought hard to the end, but it was unable to make up the leeway. Screaigh goaled before the bell, which rang with the scores at: — EAST PERTH .. .. 14.13 (97 pts.) C'MONT-COTTESLOE 9. 8 (62 pts.) There was no better player in the East Perth team than King. Following and at half-forward he handled the ball a great deal and was sure and effective in disposing of it. On the left wing Guhl played excellently, his passing being of a high standard, despite the state of the ground. Bennett was a tower of strength in the centre, and Cronin, G. Matson, Iioundy, R. Ryan (until injured), and R. Lawn were others who were outstanding. ClaremontCottesloe had the player of the game in Batt, who kept goals like a champion. He was closely followed by Neilson, on a wing, and O'Reilly at half-forward. Hough and Clarke again did a tremendous amount of work almost faultlessly, and Growcott and Steward 'battled hard in a losing cause..