The Rockingham Rams continued their run of percentage-boosting victories when they scored a 9.7 (61) to 21.14 (140) win in a thumping of the Mandurah Mustangs on Saturday night.
A purple patch in the third quarter saw the Mustangs firing on all cylinders, but it wasn’t enough to drag them back into the contest after Rockingham blew them out of the water in the first term.
The league’s hottest scoring side showed they are exactly that in the opening stages, registering three goals in the opening three minutes before Mandurah had even entered their forward half.
Luke Dowling nailed the first of the night in a matter of seconds, followed by majors to Fraser Millar (who enjoyed a day out) and Rocky Collins, who impressed on return from injury.
It wasn’t until Mitch White put one through the sticks from outside the 50m arch that Mandurah was on the board and back in the contest, but that failed to last as Rockingham piled up another four straight goals to end the quarter with a 46-point lead.
The Rams did little to ease up in the second term, bullying their way to another four straight goals as they led by a whopping 70 points midway through the quarter.
Zac Podmore had been admirable for the Mustangs and helped them goal through Tim Read, but Dowling and Millar were able to stretch Rockingham’s lead to 76 by half time.
Mandurah could have been forgiven for laying down meekly in the second half, but an inspired display saw them take the game up to the second-placed Rams coming out of the break.
White worked tirelessly across the entirety of the match, and it was his crafty major that saw the ball rolling on a six-goal quarter for the Mustangs.
They booted the first four of those six straight out of the blocks, with Stuart Puls following White and Read adding a further two.
But for all their hard work the Mustangs remained 52 points down after their run of four straight, and Dowling was able to nab a settler for the Rams before Andrew Walsh pushed the margin back beyond 10 goals.
Podmore and Damien Gray pinched two goals back before three-quarter time, but it did little to change the result as the Rams went back to being the dominant team in the final term.
Michael Grainger celebrated his 200th club game for the Mustangs with a gutsy effort, but it wasn’t to be a win as Rockingham finished with a 79-point victory.
Millar finished the night with six goals next to his name.
The win is Rockingham’s sixth on the year and continues to push them far and above any opposing team on percentage.
Mandurah will look to break its run of seven straight losses when it faces Waroona next weekend.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
