Five goals in the opening term and an inspiring performance from Zak Vergone led South Mandurah to a 101-point win over the Mandurah Mustangs in a derby showdown on Sunday afternoon.
The Falcons jumped into the top five and leveled their record at 5-5 on the back of the 17.14 (116) to 2.3 (15) drubbing, which got started early with a blitz in the opening quarter.
Kicking into the breeze did little to deter the home side, as they carried over the form that saw them topple league leaders Baldivis just a week earlier with a five-goal run.
Adam Norton nailed two of his four goals in the opening stanza, while Brad Holmes, Sam Evans and Rhys Price got on the board.
To the Mustangs’ credit, they fired back with two goals of their own in the second term through the boot Brad Hodge, but they couldn’t stem the flow as South Mandurah stretched its lead to 46 points at half time.
Mandurah’s performance around the ground remained admirable in the second half, but the scoring well and truly dried up as they went goalless in the third and fourth quarters.
Meanwhile Holmes bagged two of his four majors in the third term while Vergone rewarded himself on the scoreboard with a goal for his efforts around the ground.
Souths piled on a further five in the final term to put the icing on the cake that is a 101-point victory, with Brodie Hobson given the game ball.
The Falcons boasted nine separate goal kickers on the afternoon, a feat that left coach Paul Pannell rapt.
“To be honest that was the most pleasing thing for me, seeing a bunch of guys in the forward line getting on the board,” he said.
“We have plenty of guys in our front six that can make a real difference but we’ll often default to Brad (Holmes) as our one target, so to see the other guys getting rewards is a step forward.”
Despite notching a triple-figure win, Pannell said his side would look to improve on certain areas heading into the upcoming bye round.
“We start really well in games, but we need to make sure that form continues across four quarters,” he said.
“Full credit to Mandurah though, I know it looks like they struggled on the scoreboard but they’ve got some really good players who have a real crack,” he said.
South Mandurah now heads into their week off with a trip to Waroona looming upon their return, while Mandurah will be looking to upset Halls Head when they come back.
Goals
South Mandurah
B. Holmes 4, A. Norton 4, S. Evans 2, N. Davis 2, T. Wood, M. Doney, Z. Vergone, B. Hobson, R. Price
Mandurah
B. Hodge 2
Best
South Mandurah
Z. Vergone, J. Cullen, R. Price, M. Holmes, A. Norton
Mandurah
J. Walton, B. Hodge, K. Cunico, H. Free, M. White