The Baldivis Brumbies got off to the hot start they were looking for when they broke away from Rockingham in the final quarter to post a round one victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Brumbies were desperate to avoid starting the season out of form as they did in 2017, and were able to get motoring late in their round one game to take home the four points with a 13.9 (87) to 8.11 (59) victory.
Brieghton Shea’s four goals were the key instigator for Baldivis, as the talented forward helped them overcome some first half struggles.
Eager to show they are to be taken seriously as finals contenders, Rockingham started the game with intent and took a one-point lead into the first change.
The to-and-fro between the sides continued in the second, as Rockingham maintained their buffer and stretched the margin to four points at the half-time break.
Brendon Tingey and Sam Barndon got to work as Baldivis took the lead in the third quarter, but some strong play from Zayne Selkirk and Tim Taylor allowed the Rams to stay within eight points at the final change.
Unfortunately for the young Rockingham outfit, they couldn’t maintain the pace, as the Brumbies galloped away with a stunning five-goal-to-none final quarter.
Captain Emmanuel Collard, Eddy Dann and Tingey each finished the day with a pair of goals for the Brumbies, while Jacob Brownley impressed mightily taking over ruck duties from the departed Kyle Westwood.
Baldivis coach Craig Hamersley said his side was rapt to come away with the early win.
“It’s only round one but it almost felt like we shook the monkey off our backs given how we started last season,” he said.
“This is a close competition, so if you can get the ball rolling early in the season then that gives you some breathing space, so we’re really happy with the win.”
But the second-year coach said his side wouldn’t be resting on its laurels ahead of a clash with Waroona in round two.
“We were pretty down on ourselves with how we played in the first half – we were really scrappy with some bad skill errors,” he said.
“Thankfully we cleaned it up quite a bit in the second half, but we’ll definitely work on a few things ahead of the Waroona game.”
Rockingham will continue looking for their first win when they host Mandurah in round two.
Best
Baldivis
B. Shea, S. Barndon, J. Brownley, B. Tingey, C. Strange
Rockingham
Z. Selkirk, T. Taylor, C. Oliver, K. Baskerville, J. Janzekovic, M. Curnow
Goals
Baldivis
B. Shea 4, E. Collard 2, B. Tingey 2, E. Dann 2, J. Ritchie, B. Copeland, C. Schnaars
Rockingham
T. Sutton 2, F. Millar 2, C. Oliver, J. Janzekovic, Z. Selkirk, M. Yeates
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
