Pinjarra pinch a win in the dying stages against Halls Head to open season | photos

With less than two minutes remaining in the game the reigning premiers found themselves trailing by three points, until youngster Riley Vidovich was awarded a free kick directly in front of goal after Halls Head's James Boardman rushed a behind under what the umpire deemed to be insufficient pressure.

Vidovich slotted the ensuing set shot from point blank range to give the Tigers the lead, before a Paul Galloway major put the icing on the cake of the 10.4 (64) to 11.7 (73) win just moments later.

The Tigers were forced to overcome a first-quarter onslaught from the home side, as Halls Head booted six goals to their one in the opening term.

Robert Falkstrom and Cameron Gavin pieced together a pair of masterful performances for the Lightning and the former had them on the scoreboard early when he booted the season's first goal.

Brock O'Brien hit back for the visitors but back-to-back majors for young gun Mathew Allen and another for Falkstrom helped Halls Head out to a three-goal lead.

Cameron Gavin pulled off his best Jack Petrucelle imitation to end the quarter, showing off his wheels as he burnt off Dean Miller for an electrifying goal to cap a memorable first term for the Lightning.

But Pinjarra used the next three quarters to steadily claw their way back.

Gavin booted his second early in the second quarter, but new Pinjarra forward Nicholas Merritt was a force all day and registered his first goal for the response.

He nailed his second late in the term to cut the margin to just five points at half time.

Scoring dried up in the third quarter with Ben Dunbar and Mitch Warr attempting to will Halls Head back to life, but Pinjarra nailed the only two goals of the period to take a six-point lead into the final break.

The Tigers looked ready to run over the top of their hosts heading into the fourth but the Lightning responded with consecutive majors giving them a one-goal buffer early in the term.

It was the first of four lead changes for the quarter, with Merritt providing the second as he responded to give Pinjarra a one-point advantage.

Tyson Phillips provided the day's finest highlight when he flew for a spectacular mark on the wing, and Allen followed suit when he wrapped Jarrod Bowman up to earn a holding the ball free at a crucial stage.

But their efforts went for naught as Pinjarra continued to pepper the Lightning's defenders.

With the ball trapped deep in his defensive half Boardman sought a reprieve through a rushed behind, but was pinged by the umpire resulting in Vidovich kicking the match-winner.

Halls Head will look to bounce back when they take on Centrals next week, while Pinjarra host Baldivis in a blockbuster.

Nicholas Merritt

The ex-Peel Thunder player showed he's going to be a handful for opposing defenders this season.

Merritt was a match-up headache for the Lightning, competing both in the air and at ground level while notching his share of goals, including a crucial one in the fourth quarter.

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