South Mandurah all but assured themselves a 2018 finals berth when Sam Evans and Brad Holmes nailed bags of seven in a tremendous win over Halls Head at Falcon Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The two sides went into the clash separated by just two premiership points with the victor likely to feature in the finals, but the Falcons were the superior team notching a booming 20.11 (131) to 5.14 (44) victory.
Evans and Holmes proved the catalysts for the win, as the pair combined for a stunning 14 goals to dominate the Lightning’s defenders and lead the home side to the victory.
South Mandurah was off to a fast start with five goals to Halls Head’s one in the opening term, and they refused to let up all day.
By quarter time they led by 23 points, a margin that was stretched to a whopping 54 at half time as they kept their guests goalless in the second term.
That trend continued in the third with Halls Head once again failing to boot a major, as the Falcons soared to an enormous 14-goal lead heading into the final quarter.
The Lightning broke their drought with four goals late in the game, but the damage had well and truly been done as Ayden Daniels and Chris Swarts put in impressive outings for the Falcons on their way to a big win.
Holmes’ seven-goal bag was a stylish celebration for his 150th club game.
Mathew Allen booted three of Halls Head’s five goals to provide a bright spot up front for the Lightning, while Thomas Smith and James Boardman were among their best.
The win is likely to assure South Mandurah a finals berth, with a victory in their upcoming match against the lowly Mandurah Mustangs enough to pencil them in to the post-season.
Meanwhile Halls Head would need all the chips to fall their way from here, as they depend on South Mandurah to drop both of their remaining games while they themselves would need to beat both Rockingham and Waroona.
Goals
South Mandurah
B. Holmes 7, S. Evans 7, R. Price 2, B. Penny 2, A. Zucconi, A. Haydon
Halls Head
M. Allen 3, R. Storer, J. Evans
Best
South Mandurah
S. Evans, B. Holmes, A. Daniels, R. Price, C. Swarts
Halls Head
T. Smith, B. Constantine, J. Boardman, R. Dillon, M. Beeton, M. Allen
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
