The Mandurah Mustangs stunned opposition and spectators in the Peel Football and Netball League when they blitzed past the perennial powerhouse Waroona Demons in a demolition job to open their season on Saturday night.
It had been almost a decade since the Mustangs had recorded a victory over the Demons, but they seemed to be making up for lost time when they rolled last year’s grand finalists 25.12 (162) to 6.4 (40).
Led by inspiring first-gamer Matthew Bennell, who notched an impressive five goals in his debut at the league level, the Mustangs jumped out of the blocks with 11 goals in the opening half leading them to a 40-point buffer at the main break.
But refusing to take their foot off the gas, Mandurah amped up their assault in the second half, keeping Waroona scoreless in the third quarter as they tallied a further give goals to stretch the margin to 82 at the final change.
From there Mandurah was relentless, piling on a further nine goals as they stampeded to the victory.
It’s unfamiliar territory for both sides.
The Mustangs have won just four games across the last three seasons, which included a winless campaign in 2016, while Waroona has finished finals as at least one of the league’s best three sides for the past 12 years.
But the result threw history out the window on Saturday night, as Mandurah took a huge step forward in its rebuilding effort.
While Waroona was slightly undermanned, the Mustangs debuted four players in the round one clash, with Blake Nella, Luke Vallence and Daniel Hinkley joining Bennell in their first games.
New Mustangs coach Mathew Aitchison said it was an emotional win for the club, but stressed it was just one game in what promises to be a long road back to finals contention.
“For the boys to get a win like that, it’s something most of them, if not all of them, haven’t experienced for a long time,” he said.
“Everyone applied themselves to the effort and it’s just great for the club to see some reward for all the hard work that’s been put in.
“Having said that, we need to recognise this is just one game, and I’m certain next time we play Waroona it’s going to be a whole different ball game.
“We want to be the premier club of this competition, but we have a long road ahead of us, so we need to continue working hard and hopefully more results like this can come our way.”
Mandurah will face a Rockingham side looking to bounce back after a round one loss next week, while Waroona will look to redeem themselves when they clash with Baldivis.
Best
Mandurah
M. Bennell, M. White, N. Gray, Z. Valenti, L. Bray, H. Free
Waroona
R. Mason, M. Thomas, Z. Moody, B. Wright, A. Clancy
Goals
Mandurah
M. Bennell 5, Z. Podmore 4, G. Nelson 3, M. White 3, J. Walton 2, J. Dowding 2, S. Puls 2, B. Nella, H. Free, J. Knight, M. Stevens
Waroona
L. Slater 2, M. Thomas, R. Mason, H. Hull, J. Vincent
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
