Pinjarra moved to the top of the ladder and showed they mean business this season with a crushing win over a re-building Halls Head outfit on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers were forced to work for their lead early but eventually broke away and, to coach Troy Vidovich’s pleasure, kept their foot on the pedal in a statement win over the Lightning.
Halls Head began the game with a few little wins around the ground and were able to enter their forward 50 as often as Pinjarra.
But conversion became the problem as the Tigers took the opportunities Halls Head missed.
Pinjarra’s forward line impressed early and continued the trend throughout the game.
Their smaller forwards were able to create space for target man Riese Wilkey, and double back effectively to win the ball if it hit the ground.
The successful structure put the Tigers up three straight kicks at the first change.
Halls Head would kick their only goal for the game in the second term, but coughing up seven at the other end allowed the Tigers to stretch their lead to 56 at the main break.
From there, Pinjarra refused to ease up on the Lightning, going full throttle for the entire four quarters and finishing the game with a 24.13 (157) to 1.5 (11) victory.
Former West Perth midfielder Rohan Kerr gave his new club everything to smile about, tallying three goals in a best-on-ground performance for the Tigers.
Wilkey was again dominant in front of goal, booting five majors to lift his total from the first two rounds to 12. He sits atop the league’s goal scorers, one goal ahead of Centrals’ Mitch Clark who booted eight on the weekend.
Vidovich said he was pleased with his side’s ability to run out the entire game.
“I thought the boys showed a lot of discipline sticking to their structures and keeping the pressure on even though we were up by a fair bit,” he said.
“Halls Head are obviously going through a re-build but I was happy with the way our boys finished off.
“I think our fitness is one of our strongest assets. We had 90 per cent of our guys do a full pre-season and I think that will show in games as the season goes on.”
The second-year coach praised his midfield, but said it was hard to fault any of his 22.
“I think our midfield is one of our strengths but overall we had contributors everywhere,” he said.
“Everyone played their role and we’ll need to keep that form when we come back from the week off against Rockingham.
“Scotty (Franklin) has them playing some really good footy.”
Around the league
Waroona stunned Baldivis when they came back from 37 points down at quarter time to win their grand final rematch.
The Brumbies stampeded to an early lead with six goals to none in the first term, but Waroona reeled them in quickly and took a two-point lead into half time.
Baldivis regained a 14-point advantage at the final change, but momentum swayed with the wind and Waroona ran the game out 17.11 (113) to 13.13 (91) victors.
The Rockingham Rams continued their impressive start to 2017 with a 51-point victory over South Mandurah.
The Falcons were blown away early as the Rams got the jump with an 11-goal first term. The margin remained similar for most of the game with Rockingham finishing ahead 12.8 (80) to 21.5 (131).
Tyler Sutton finished with eight goals.
Much like the Rams, Centrals backed up their round one win with a round two shellacking, theirs’ coming at the expense of the Mandurah Mustangs.
Mitch Clark booted eight as Centrals smashed their way to a 26.16 (172) to 4.6 (30).
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