A string of Peel Football and Netball League players shone as WA’s state country football side broke a five-year drought with a win over South Australia on the weekend.
Andrew Haydon (South Mandurah), Courtney Lakay (Waroona), Matt Buxton (Centrals) and Eddy Dann (Baldivis) all played key roles in securing a 40-point win for the black and gold, as they cruised past South Australia 15.14 (104) to 10.4 (64).
The first half started evenly with a tussle between the two.
WA did their best to break away from the Southerners but found themselves trailing by nine points at the long break.
But it was a totally different WA outfit that came out of the rooms for the second half.
The Black Swans took total control of the game after half time, keeping the away side scoreless in the third quarter and piling on eight unanswered goals to take a commanding 41-point lead into the final quarter.
From there they were able to cruise to a victory, their first since 2011.
The PFNL boys made up half of WA’s best players, with Buxton, Lakay and Haydon among their top six.
They were named next to South West Football League spearhead and former AFL player Brett Peake, who did the bulk of WA’s scoreboard damage with six goals.
Ruckman Blake Borrett (Avon Football Association) and steady defender Josh Bootsma (Upper Great Southern Football League) were also among WA’s finest.
GOALS
WA: Peake 6, Worthington, Johnston, Houghton 2, Harvey, Russell, Broughton, Waters.
SA: Kenny, Simounds 2, Warmington, Willson, Kelly, Yeomans, Martin, Elliott.
BEST
WA: Peake, Borrett, Buxton, Lakas, Bootsma, Haydon.
SA: Raikiwasa, Kelly, Combe, Fenton, Willson.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
