West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 19 July 1937, page 7


EAST FREMANTLE VIGOROUS. Perth Fails to Finish On. East Fremantle gained a praiseworthy victory over Perth, by 17 points, at the W.A.C.A. ground on Saturday. It began raggedly, seriously troubled by weaknesses in front of goal and on the centrewings, and lacking pace and precision. Capitalising the strength of its followers and rovers, it minimised its faults by developing a powerful non-stop game, using plenty of weight and following up the play strongly. As it made headway, more men became effective and towards the end it was playing good football. The best football of the match came from Perth in the first half, when it looked like a winning team, its game alive with fine leading and foot-passing. Gook kicked eight goals to half-time, but then the team lost touch and could not find It made the mistake of playing East Premantle's game and then apparently gave up its own system completely In the last quarter, when it stopped building up its play to Gook as a brilliant centre-forward and used him as a mediocre centre-half-forward. The team's weak spots were the ruck (despite Oliphant's excellent play) and the halfforward line. The teams were:EAST FREMAE TLE.-Backs: N. Doig, Stingemore, Skeaban. Half-backs: Briggs, Wendt, C. Doig. Centres: J. Clarke, Hutchinson, lSeubert. Half-forwards: C. Western, Kingsbury, McGlimn. Forwards: Donegan, G. Doig, James. Tuck: Martiensen, Mann, Truscott (rover). Nineteenth man: Kilminiter (did not play). PERTH.-Backs: Fitzgerald, Love, Williams. Half-backs: Wormald, Brown, Harold. Centres: H. Davey, Puddey, Ransom. Half-forwards: Dewar, Hetherington. Toohey. Forwards: Lamp. Cook, A. Grigg. Ruck: Oliphant, Carrington. Keightley (rover). Nineteenth man: Whittaker (replaced Williams, broken bone in leg, in second quarter). UMPIRE.-McComish. East Fremantle kept getting the ball away from the bounce, but it was very weak in attack, the Perth defenders being much too alert for their marksmen. Perth thus went into attack from defence and it showed up much better than East Fremantle when it moved forward. Its long low passing was in firstclass style and the forwards were leading out smartly, a notable feature being the understanding between Oliphant and Gook. East Fremantle owed a lot to its backs. Oliphant did not have proper support on the ball and East Fremantle had a fair share of attacking through the persistence of its followers and rovers, but Western was the only placed man breaking through in the scoring area and East Premantle was lucky to lead with 4.0 to 3.2 at the first bell. East Premantle, kicking longer and with Clarke settling down on his centrewing, increased its lead by a goal, but it was too slow and uneven and Perth looked the stronger side.. Dewar and Hetherington changed places and, with Gook playing in sensational style, Perth took the lead. Getting more pace and kicking more accurately, with Kingsbury and Truscott striking form, East Fremantle regained the lead by seven points, but Perth retained its impressive form and ended a strong quarter leading with 9.6 to 8.7. East Fremantle was much brisker after half-time. With speed now as well as vigour and with the forwards leading better, It looked a much improved team and found the man with well-placed kicks in a bustling attack which gave it a onepoint lead. Perth seemed to be caught unawares and in replying to East Fremantle's vigour sacrificed accuracy, particularly in the foot-passing to the forwards. As a result, the standard of football fell off and in a less orderly game East Fremantle was on top. Love and Fitzgerald saved magnificently and East Fremantle felt the effects of centre-line1 weakness in a temporary relapse, Perth going to the front by two points. East Fremantle, however, was in determined mood. It took the Initiative again and but for poor shooting would have led at the bell by more than 11.11 to 9.11. Perth failed to finish on. It lost pace and had little thrust in its play. East Fremantle, on the other hand, was stronger than ever, with Hutchinson now a driving force. Perth did not watch the opposing men and East Fremantle Increased its lead. Gook and Dewar changed places and Oliphant led a Perth rally which reduced the margin to seven points, but the team had its goal-getter out of the way, and the issue was sealed by the time Gook returned to the goal-front, Oliphant going to centre-half-forward. It was now a slogging finish, with East Fremantle forging ahead. Chances given through East Fremantle's poor kicking could not be taken advantage of by the beaten Perth team and the final scores were: FREMANTLE 16.13 (109pts.). PERTH . . . . . . 13.14 (92pts.). Scorers.-East Fremantle: Western, 4.3; G. Doig, 3.2; Martlensen, 2.1; Mann, 2.1; Kingsbury, 2.0; Donegan, 1.1; McGlinn, 1.1; James, 1.0; Truscott, 0.3; Hutchinson, 0.1. Perth: Gook, 9.5; H. Davey, 2.0; Whittaker, 1.2; Hetherington, 1.0; A. Grigg, 0.2; Oliphant, 0.2; Dewar, 0.2; Ransom, 0.1. Martlensen, a great team man, gave East Premantle consistently good service in reck. Wepdt was in fine form at cenlre-half-back and played a big part in breaking Perth's system. After a quiet start, Kingsbury struck form at centrehalf-forward and was constantly under notice. Western was outstanding on a half-forward wing and McGllnn, both roving and half-forward, was one of the best players over the whole match. Donegan also was prominent C. Doig was In fine form on a half-back wing and Skeahan was the best of a solid back trio. Mann and Truscott (last half) did well. Hutchinson was solid but dull until he ran into form in the last quarter. Perth had In Oliphant. Its clever and dashing follower, the most prominent player afield. Gook gave an outstanding centre-forward display. The higher the standard of football the more brilliant he was, but the team could not play up to him in the last half. Love had a triumphant day in goat, giving G. Doig no chance. Fitzgerald, in a back pocket, was another In top form. Keightley, on the ball, was one of the team's keenest workers. Puddey did very well in the centre in the first half and H. pavey

stood out as a centre-wing player. Harold and Brown were prominent in defence and Whittaker was useful when he came on as nineteenth man.