The Rockingham Rams stormed back into winning form with a crushing win over a flat Halls Head outfit at Anniversary Park on Sunday afternoon.
Five goals from Noah Hura and a further four with a best afield performance from Chris Oliver helped deliver the stunning 98-point win, as the Rams cruised to the 24.9 (153) to 8.7 (55) victory to see them back to the right side of the ledger after going down to Pinjarra the week prior.
Rockingham was on fire early with accuracy in front of goal helping them lock down a big lead in the opening term.
Tyler Sutton, Jakob Janzekovic and Hura all booted two goals in the opening term, while Oliver pitched in with one.
The Rams had posted six straight majors before the Lightning could conjure a response, going into quarter time with a comfortable 29-point buffer.
They put their foot down even more in the second term, with Hura bagging another pair while Brody Dalgetty and league-leading goal kicker Luke Dowling both scored a pair.
Rockingham was able to keep Halls Head to no goals in the period, while piling on eight of their own to extend their lead by 50 and take a commanding 79-point advantage into the long break.
To their credit the Lightning battled hard coming out of the half, with Cameron Gavin and Travis Williams helping produce a four-goal run.
But the Rams were still able to string together five of their, and finished off with four in the final term en route to a massive bounce-back win.
The victory comes as a reaffirming one to the Rams, following a loss in their top-two clash against Pinjarra.
"The boys were actually filthy on themselves after that game, they'd really built themselves up for it," Rams coach Scott Franklin said.
"I think they realised we only played one good quarter against Pinjarra and had a real opportunity to take the game, so we let ourselves down a bit.
"To bounce back the way we did against Halls Head shows how eager this group is to make amends and to play good footy.
"Now we just look to keep the ball rolling."
The Rams' ability to score heavily was on show once again, as they breached the 100-point barrier for the fourth time in five games (with the only exception being the Pinjarra clash).
They've also topped 140 points three times already, and lead the league in points scored with a total of 604 (82 points ahead of Baldivis in second).
"I think the unity and the chemistry between our midfield and forward line has been really good," Franklin said of his side's scoring prowess.
"In years past it would be just one or two blokes kicking our goals, but now we've got guys like Sutton, Janzekovic, Dowling, Oliver, Hura and a few more."
The Rams could keep their hot scoring trend on track with a clash against the seventh-placed Waroona at Parnell Street Oval looming this Sunday.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
