West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 25 May 1936, page 15


EXCITING SECOND HALF. East Perth Prevails at Leederville. Temporarily flustered by the shock tactics of West Perth at the start, worried again by the dashing play of its opponent immediately after half-time, and in constant danger of defeat from then till the end, when it made a desperate and successful effort to hold a slender lead, East Perth gained L meritorious victory at Leederville Oval on Saturday. It was a fast match in patches, but too much individual effort was noticed, and ultimately the team which tried harder for systematic -football held the upper hand. The caustic critic would level harsh criticism at the teams for their wasting of scoring chances and for unnecessary fumbling and irritating wish to have that little bounce of the ball, but even he would have to give praise for some of the brilliant high marking by back men, whose finger-tip saves evoked applause from the excited crowd. Dashing runs and pretty passing movements also were attractive features and the scores were always close enough for the play to demand the spectators' closest attention. West Perth made a good fight back and was unfortunate that ,the field -umpire's leaving the field occurred when the side was pressing hard and: necessitated a stoppage of the game. Nevertheless, East Perth deserved its win for steady play, and it might easily have wavered before the West Perth dashes in the -last term. As a matter of fact, East Perth lost its lead early in the last quarter, regained it, and not long afterwards saw-West Perth level the scores. For the last 12 minutes the struggle was very keen and the result was always in doubt. Following were the teams:EAST PERTH.-Backs: Crow. .1. King. Ward. Half-backs: Mussman, Starr. Oswald. Centres: Miller, Thomas, Guhl. Half-forwards: Cr-.in. l;:effe, Menhennett. Forwards: Fogarty. McA!!lla, Parri. Ruck: Graham. Golding, Screaigi: (rover) Nineteenth man: Campbell (replaced ('any. injured leg, in last quarter). WEST PERTi.-Backs: Flemmamg. Benton. Jeavons. Half-hacks: Forbes, O'KEwffe, Tel Icy. Centres: L. Walsh, Gregg, Coward. Half-fltvwards: Buttsworth, Lewis. Andirson. Ferwards: Ford. T7son, Poda. Ruck: Marinko. Beveridge, Rainoldi (rover). Nineteenth manr: Sheridan (did not play). UMPIRES.-H. Hooper and F. Ryan. Dominating the ruck and marking surely, West Perth began in irresistible style, and for about five minutes the East Perth defence was taxed to the utmost. Several shots just missed, however, and East Perth's small men, fast and clever, eased the tension, with the result that East Perth soot. had established a lead. Screaigh, who kicked three goals, was an outstanding player. Hand-ball was then used excessively, and, hard

though it tried, West Perth frequently broke down through poor kicking to the forwards. At quarter-time East Perth led with 4.2 to 2.4. A chain of marks and accurate passes, in which Miller was the connecting link, enabled East Perth to increase its lead with a goal. Menhennett and Graham were solid, but East Perth's kicks were frequently made without thought, and the side failed to ram home an advantage when West Perth looked rattled. Through it all, Benton, the West Perth full back, was the essence of coolness. Beveridge began to take a hand in the centre, but East Perth forged ahead with the ruck men, Starr and Guhl most prominent. East Perth was 5.1 ahead before West Perth managed to score a point, and another goal to East Perth made the home team's position precarious. Two goals by Tyson from free-kicks improved matters, however, and at half-time the scores were 8.7 to 4.5. After the interval, Buttsworth was centre-half back for West Perth, with O'Keeffe in the ruck. West Perth resumed strongly and its half-back line kept East Perth back. About ten minutes had elapsed and the scores were 8.7 to 6.9 when the umpire had to leave the field. While play was held up, East Perth was able to pull itself together, and, with Thomas playing nicely in the centre, it attacked time after time, but for points only. The succession of behinds was broken at last when Pola goaled, leaving West Perth five points in arrears at the bell-7.11 to 8.10. Once again West Perth took the offensive, and after a hard struggle Tyson marked and placed his side in front. Starr set East Perth in motion, and the opposing backs had an anxious time in the very goal square, as they bustled the forwards about. An excellent shot by Cronin from an acute angle gave East Perth a much-needed goal. From end to end the ball swung, as each side tried to break through, and errors were numerous. With 13 minutes to go, Tyson goaled from a free-kick, and the scores were level. Finger-tip marks by Tetley and O'Keeffe enabled West Perth to fight on, but at a critical point Ward passed to Guhl, who coolly put Thomas in pessession. Then from a scramble, Screaigh goaled with a left-foot shot. Back men saved excellently at each end, but six minutes from the end Pola added a goal for West Perth. East Perth was only two points in front and each side scored a point before Menhennett goaled. With

renewed vigour, but with less co-ordination than determination, West Perth fought back. Tyson's shot from a freekick resulted only in a behind and a mark by Starr made East Perth safe. The final scores were:EAST PERTH ...... 11.14 (80pts.) WEST PERTH .. .. 10.13 (73 pts.) Goal-kickers.--East Perth: Screaigh (4), McAllan (2), Menhennett, Cronin, Golding, Graham and Keeffe. West Perth: Tyson .(5), Ford (2), Pola (2). and Rainoldi During the game no one player stood out brilliantly from the rest, although several performed capably. Useful in the first quarter, Guhl warmed up to his work and in the last quarter was. a match'winner. Ae beat his immediate opponent pointless.. Menhennett was a power in the ruck and in attack, using his weight and dash well, and marking as well as any other player on the ground. Starr, at centre half-back, was solid from start to finish, marking brilliantly throughout. Screaigh roved very cleverly and scouted nicely in the first half, but was not so prominent later. ham played surprisingly well in his first match of the season. Miller (who always passed the ball to advantage and was, therefore, most valuable), Golding, Fogarty, Ward, Mussman and Parry were the best of the others. Cronin did some nice things, although handicapped by an ankle injury, and Keeffe, the recruit from Mullewa, shaped promisingly. West Perth had several "passengers" and for that reason did well to make such a close game of it. For consistent effort and reliability, Benton was probably the best. Tetley began unostentatiously, but was hard to pass, and he worked heroically in defence in the critical stages. Coward was in good form on the wing against Miller, both players doing a number of fine pieces of work. Marinko, in the ruck and at half-forward, played his best game of the season. O'Keeffe was seen in the new role of follower after half-time, and he was prominent. Towards the end some of his marks were beautiful, but too often his kicking was astray. Buttsworth worked hard and was particularly effective at centre half-back in the third quarter. Tyson battled hard to get the ball, but his kicking for goal was below his usual high standard. Beveridge did not finish strongly, but Pola, who is most promising, did his best roving in the second half. Jeavons was fair.