West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 10 July 1939, page 16


SUPERIOR COMBINATION. East Perth's 58-point Victory. Handling the ball with more sureness, and with its players backing each other up better, East Perth defeated West Perth by 58 points at Leederville Oval on Saturday-17.23 to 9.13. In the early stages it appeared that West Perth might win, or at least seriously trouble East Perth, for it was holding its opponent in the ruck and the side was playing with plenty of dash. Full use was not made of the opportunities offering, however, and frequently the West Perth players were penalised for dropping the ball when tackled, instead of endeavouring to pass it. Then Cronin stuck form in the centre and East

Perth's play improved: the team's handling of the ball improved, and more dash and system was infused into its play, with its men backing up well. West Perth fought it out to the bitter end, and although at no stage from then on did the side look really dangerous there was not the margin in the play that the scores would indicate. The teams were:WEST PERTH.-Backs: Caplin. Tetler. Sampson. Hall-backs: Moran, P. Walsh. Davies. Centres: Bridges, W. Kingsbury, R. Screaigh. Half-forwards: Marinko, McDiarmid. Shuttleworth. Forwards: Lemon. Tyson. Pols. Ruck: O'Keefe. Golding. Rainoldi (rover). Nineteenth man: Cook (did not play). EAST PERT.--Backs: Stent, Lockyer, Thomas. Half-backs: H. Smith. Mussman. Rowland. Centres: Miller. Cronin. E. Sweet. Half-forwards: J. Campbell. Neeson. J. Sweet. Forwards: B. Ryan Gardiner. F. Patterson. Rock: Fogarty. L. Graham. A. Campbell (rover). Nineteenth man: Steele (replaced A. Campbell, dislocated shoulder, at halftime I.UMPIRE.-C. UMPIRE.-C. Black. Kingsbury sent West Perth into attack with a 60-yard punt, and Tyson from a mark goaled in the first few seconds. Although kicking against the wind, East Perth had more of the early play, but encountered a stubborn defence in which Caplin and Sampson were outstanding, and after about ten minutes Tyson again goaled after receiving a pass from Kingsbury, who was playing well in the centre. Play was fast and the marking attractive, and A. Campbell raised East Perth's first goal a quarter of an hour after the start. O'Keefe was following strongly, but West Perth was unable to make the best use of its opportunities, although at this stage it looked the better side, and in the last minutes goals from A. Campbell and Smith (on the ball) gave East Perth the lead by 3. to 2.4 at quarter-time. Cronin struck form in the centre in the second term, and East Perth quickly lengthened its lead; there was now more system in its play, with A. Campbell making many openings, and had it not been for the strong defence of Sampson, Caplin and Tetley, would have gone further ahead. Towards.the end of the quarter, two goals by West Perth left it with a 25-point deficit (4.4 to 7.11) at halftime. Goals from O'Keefe and Tyson heartened West Perth, but some of its players were inclined to stray from their posttions and chances were missed. East Perth was now using Miller as a rover, Steele (19th man) being on a wing, and with Cronin now dominating the centre and co-operating well with E. Sweet, East Perth drew further ahead to lead by 14.15 to 7.9 at three-quarter time. Inaccuracy resulted in East Perth kicking seven behinds in succession before Gardiner goaled. West Perth, although faced with a hopeless task, did not let up, and goaled twice before the end, the final scores being: PERTH .. .1 17.23 (125 pts.) WEST PERTH .. 9.13 (67 pts.) Scorers.-East Perth: Gardiner, 5.3; Neeson, 4.6; A. Campbell, 2.1; Miller, 2.0; Patterson, 1.6; Cronin, E. Sweet and Smith, 1.1; J. Campbell. Ryan and J. Sweet, 0.1; one behind forced through. West Perth: Tyson, 5.4; Golding, 1.4; O'Keefe, 1.1; Kingsbury and Shuttleworth, 1.0; Lemon, 0.2; Pola and Marinko, 0.1. After a slow start, Cronin dominated the centre for East Perth, his faultless' disposal being one of the features of the I game. A. Campbell, whether roving or placed, was the best on the ground in the first half, E. Sweet was again prominent on a wing, and Miller, after an attractive showing on a wing in the first half, did well when used as a rover. Smith and L. Graham were the best of the rucks, J. Sweet showed promise on a half-forward flank, and of the others, Gardiner, Rowland, Mussman and Neeson did best. Following strongly and marking brilliantly, O'Keefe was West Perth's most useful man; his kicking was longer and more accurate than usual. Sampson and Caplin battled tirelessly in the back lines, and Marinko, with safe marking and neat passing showed signs of returning form. Bridges and Screaigh did well on the, wings, and Tetley was safe in goal. Kingsbury started well in the centre, but was inclined to wander a little, the most useful of the,others being Tyson and Goldmg.