West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 14 June 1937, page 17


A STIRRING FINISH. South Fremantle Narrowly Beaten. Rallying strongly in the closing minutes of the game after being outplayed in the first part of the last quarter, Swan Districts snatched victory from South Fremantle by two points at Bassendean Oval on Saturday. It was an even contest, and only Swan Districts' great heart and slightly superior pace in the last half enabled it to win. South Premantle offered strong opposition throughout the game and played much good football. A more accurate kick at goal in the last two minutes of play might have given it victory but the shot went through the behind post and Swan Districts swept the ball forward and it was close to the goal when the game ended. The teams were: SOUTH F'AnTLE.-Back: Dodd, Noble, Brown. Half-backs: White, D. Doig, Back Centres: Miller, Lewington. Bradford. Halfforwards: Smith, Jenkins. Prosser. Forwards: Reilly, Poole, Orr. Ruack: Richardson, Hugall, E. Hayward (rover). Nineteenth man: Lee (replaced Richardson, lnred knee, in last quarter). sWAN DISTRICTrS.Baciks: Jones, Avery, il'ko. Half-backs: Murray, Sinclair, Burchal entr: Hrepp d, Darmasdy, Mosey. Half-for. wirds: Moiler, Ditchburn, Penberthy. Forwards. Randall, Holdsworth, Gor. Buck: Bravo, McInerney, Sweetapple (rover). Nineteenth man: Bastow (replaced Burchall, injured leg, at halftime). Umpire: L. MComish. Playing rugged, fast football, with Jenkins forming a highly efficient spearhead to the attack South Prenantle quickly scored three goals, Poole, the goalsneak kicking them all. Swan Districts had great difficulty in handling the wet ball and it lacked its usual pace. Murray at half-back played brilliantly, but South Premantle's rack was superior. By clever leading, Swan Districts drew level. It was not meeting with its usual success at forward, Holdsworth being closely watched. It fared well when it resorted to handball but it frequently mishandled the ball. Quarter time scores were:-Swan Districts, 5.5; South Premantle, 5.1. With Murray and Bravo on the ball, Swan Districts won in the ruck in the second quarter. Its pace increased and it handled the ball more certainly. Makina position cleverly, Holdsworth goaled twice, but South Fremantle. fighting back hard, got the ball to Poole, who was in fine form. He kicked his fifth goal early in the quarter. Swan Districts held a lead of six points for 15 minutes, during which the play swung up and down the ground without a score being registered. A forced point and then a good goal by Jenkins gave South Fremantle the lead. Swan Districts' errors in handball and foot-passing cost it dearly and some of its players failed to back up adequately. Hard, effective play by Sinclair. Ditchburn and Krepp enabled it to force its way to the front by half-time when the scores were:--Swan Districts. 9.7; South Premantle, 8.3. Playing into the open, Swan Districts went further ahead at the start of the third quarter. At centre half-back Sinclair kept Jenkins in check and was the main factor in the team's grasp of the game at this stage. It was largely a game of gaining possession and kicking with the free use of weight. Swan Districts was superior in the run, across the centre and in position play, but hurried, ragged play in the forward lines nullified much of the good work. An outstanding fault was bad crowding in front of goal which aided the South Fremantle backs, who were paying close attention to Holdsworth. The scores at the close of the quarter were:-Swan Districts, 11.10: South Fremantle, 10.5. Scoring two goals in two minutes South Fremantle took the lead in the last quarter. A third goal was kicked in the next minute. Swan Districts- was overwhelmed. From a great mark Reilly goaled--85 points in five minutes, and Swan Districtsi 15 points down. When Swan Districts attacked a strong sun shone straight into the forwards' faces. Breaking clear from a scrimmage Holdsworth goaled. Swan Districts swept again into attack. A point and then a magnificent left-foot goal by Holdsworth reduced the lead to' three points. Darmody smashed through to send the ball to Holdsworth--another goal. At four minutes from time Swan Districts led by three points. Smith (South Fremantle) missed a shot in front of goal. Penberthy held back South Fremantle single-handed and the bell rang with Swan Districts in attack. Final scores: DISTRICTS . 14.11 (95 pts.) S. FREMANTLE . 14.9 (93 pts.) Scorers:-Swan Districts: Holdsworth, 8.3; Sweetapple, 2.0; Randall, 2.0; Gorn, 1.2; Moiler, 1.1; Mosey, 0.3; McInerney, 0.1; Ditchburn, 0.1. South Fremantle: Poole, 7.0; Reilly, 2.1; Smith, 1.2: Richardson, 1.2; Jenkins, 1.2; Prosser. 1.1; Orr, 1.1. In the ruck and in defence Murray played match-winning football for Swan Districts and he was the best player in the game. He handled the wet ball well, kicked strongly and infused great pace into. the game. Although nursing an inJured shin, Krepp played particularly well and Penberthy, who played despite an attack of influenza, worked hard in three quarters and rose to great heights in the final quarter. Randall was an invaluable player throughout and Moller and Holdsworth were outstanding in an attack which had to earn every kick it gained. Sinclair played a big part in the team's victory by solid play in the first half, and by checking Jenkins after half-time. Zilko was sound in defence and McInerney gave good service. The South Fremantle goalsneak. S. Poole, was a model of accuracy and clever position player. He led cleverly and kicked very well In defence Brown scarcely made a mistake, while Lewington, placed at centre. played effective football in every quarter. Although checked in the second half Jenkins, in a strange position at centre-half-forward, played the game of an accomplished footballer, his pace, sure handling and long kicking being responsible for many of the team's successful attacking moves. Orr and E. Hayward, the rovers, both did well, the former particularly being effective in opening up the play. W. Smith and Reilly were prominent at times and Richardson followed strongly.