The Mandurah Mustangs rebounded from back-to-back losses in emphatic fashion when they handed Halls Head a whopping 113-point loss at Rushton Park on Sunday.
Alex McLeod (seven), Alex Cohen (six) and Kobe Farmer (five) combined for 18 goals in the monumental victory, while Matthew Bennell and Michael Stevens both chipped in four apiece as the Mustangs romped to a 29.7 (181) to 10.8 (68) win.
The Mustangs were hot from the get-go, booting 10 goals to Halls Head's two in the opening term.
McLeod jagged three of their first four to set the tone for the hosts, before Ivan Lyndon snared one late to push the lead to 49 points at the first break.
Halls Head conjured a small fightback booting three goals in the second as Greg Nelson and Bailey Hall did some damage around the ground, but Mandurah still managed to win the quarter with four of their own, heading into half time holding a 54-point advantage.
From there the Mustangs were able to recapture their first-quarter dominance, piling a further five goals onto their lead in the third term.
McLeod bagged the fifth of his seven goals to open the second half scoring, with Stevens, Farmer and Cohen all joining in on the back of hard work from Nathan Gray and Stuart Puls.
By the end of the third the lead was unassailable, and a goal from Gray pushed it into triple digits early in the fourth quarter.
The Mustangs went on to kick a further nine goals in the final term, ending the game with a staggering win.
It's a vital victory that keeps Mandurah's hopes of hosting an elimination final alive, as they remain just one game behind Centrals while holding a significant percentage advantage.
The Mustangs haven't participated in finals footy since 2010, with coach George Costello saying it would be "huge" for the club to host the elimination round.
"If we can finish in fourth and get one at home, that would be massive for our club," he said.
"Obviously we haven't played finals in a while so just to have made it there is big. We've got all three grades locked in for the finals so if we can get those games at home it would be special.
"Having said that, it's not something we've really addressed. We're just worried about playing good footy before we get into the finals."
Mandurah already knows it will be facing Centrals in the first week of finals action, but Costello stressed his side needed to focus on their upcoming clash against Waroona before getting ahead of themselves.
"Waroona had a good win on the weekend, so we're going to need to bring our best again," he said.
"I was really happy with our effort on the weekend, so if we can just bring that same intensity then we will head into the finals feeling pretty good about ourselves."
The Mustangs take on the Demons at Parnell Street Oval this Sunday, 2.30pm.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
