Waroona gave their finals aspirations a significant boost with a dominant showing against the Rockingham Rams on Sunday.
Going into the game the sides were separated by just one game with the Demons holding a handy percentage advantage, but Waroona dominated the Rams from start to finish to distance themselves with a two-game gap.
The Demons opened the game with a bang, piling on five goals to the Rams’ none in the first quarter.
A best-on-ground performance from Chad Wrigley saw him up and about early, as Waroona’s midfield won the vast majority of centre clearances.
Their early workload paved the way for forwards Alan Wilson (seven goals), Adam Clancy (four) and Kepler Bradley (three) to get on top of the Rockingham defenders and pile on the scoreboard pressure.
But the Rams were able to recoup from their first-quarter shellacking and level the contest in the second term.
Rocky Collins and Fraser Millar led the way for the Rams as they tried to strangle whatever momentum they could.
But the side was unable to bridge the gap, with each team scoring two goals in the second.
The Rams sprang into action in the third quarter and threatened to drag the margin back, but their four goals for the term failed to help them as Waroona piled on five of their own.
From there it was all Demons to end the game.
Waroona finished in a flurry with nine goals to one in the final period, sealing the 21.14 (140) to 7.4 (46) win.
Demons coach Dean Taylor praised his side for their impeccable finish.
“I was really happy with how we ended the game. Nine goals to one is pleasing at any point but it was a good way to end the match,” he said.
“It was great to see the boys working really hard in the middle of the ground as well. We’ve been working on that (clearances) for a while now so to see it pay off is rewarding.”
The result gives the Demons a serious boost in their hunt for a finals appearance in what has been a tight competition all season.
“Two games and percentage with seven games left is a pretty handy advantage at this stage,” Taylor said.
“We’d have to stuff things up pretty bad to miss finals from here, but we need to make sure we keep playing good footy.”
Waroona will take on Halls Head next week as they look to close the gap on opposing top-five outfits like Baldivis and Pinjarra, who will play each other next week.