The Waroona Demons overcame a case of accuracy woes early to post an impressive win against a gritty Mandurah Mustangs side at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Mandurah played like a much better side than their two-win record on the season suggests, and challenged the Demons until deep in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough for the Mustangs to come away with the win as a super second half led Waroona to a 10.6 (66) to 10.21 (81) victory.
It was all Mustangs to start the game, with the red white opening the first term with an offensive assault.
Former Swan Districts and Perth midfielder Aaron Elari was prolific early and led a Mandurah side that applied pressure on the Demons in every contest.
Through the hard work of their in-and-under brigade, the Mustangs were able to post four goals to Waroona’s zip in the first quarter, with majors to Jason Brennan, Joel Ramsay, Daniel Cransberg and Zac Podmore.
Their forward line was causing headaches for Waroona defenders, and it was Cransberg kicking truly to open the second quarter and stretch Mandurah’s lead to five goals.
But Waroona found their footing from that point, booting three of the next four majors to steady and collect some momentum.
Chad Wrigley’s ability to find the football at different positions was astounding, while Courtney Lakay got involved in the play.
But it was a long-bomb after the siren from Mandurah’s Tyson Hodge that led gifted the Mustangs the momentum going into half time with a 14-point buffer.
The red and white jerseys carried that momentum into the opening stages of third quarter, booting a goal within 15 seconds of the first bounce and following up with another just minutes later.
But in a stinging blow for Mandurah, Elari limped from the ground with an injury in the third term, taking their top performer out of the game as momentum shifted to the Demons.
Waroona nailed five unanswered goals before the three quarter break, taking the lead for the for the first time and going into the final quarter one straight kick in front.
Alan Wilson was dominant in the Waroona forward line, and was crucial in the fourth quarter with a pair of goals, the Demons’ only majors for the term.
Mandurah threw everything they had at the Demons and ensured they didn’t go without a fight, but fell short of coming away with premiership points.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
