Haydn Matthews showed he might just be the best pick-up of the PFNL's prolonged off-season as he stormed out of the gate to help Rockingham secure a win over Baldivis in a grand final rematch on Saturday.
The former Peel Thunder midfielder had the ball on a string and showcased his tackling pressure in a display that saw the Baldivis midfield come off second best.
Matthews also finished the day with two goals, a haul that would have been bigger had it not been for wayward kicking leading him to finish with five behinds.
The Rams wasted no time in storming out of the gate.
Despite missing Brad Walsh, Fraser Millar and Rocky Collins from last year's campaign, their midfield was able to control the ball.
Winning it at the coalface allowed Rockingham to restrict the opportunities of star Baldivis forwards Blaine Johnson and Ben Higgs early, as the Brumbies went goalless in the first half.
By the long break the Rams already held a 52-point lead, but Johnson hit the scoreboard as the visitors responded with four goals in the third term.
Even that wasn't enough to bring them back to the contest, though, as Rockingham put their foot down in the fourth to cruise to the 10-goal win.
Joining Matthews among Rockingham's best was Kyle Havelberg, Corey Rota and Ben Dunbar. All four of whom have either just recently returned to the Rams, or were making their club debut.
Coach Scott Franklin was left impressed by the output from the club's new and returning faces.
"They all stepped up," he said.
"They're really important for us, especially considering some of the players we're missing from last year, so to have them play that well from the get-go in round one is encouraging."
Franklin heaped praise on his side for their relentless pressure.
"I've never coached a side that's applied that much pressure," he said.
"That's something we identified after losing the grand final last year, in that game we just didn't have the pressure to match Baldivis.
"It was really pleasing to see the boys prepared to scrap and fight for every contest."
Rockingham now moves into a date with South Mandurah, with the two ladder leaders set to collide at Falcon Oval this Saturday.
Franklin said his side would need to be sharp to come away with a win.
"We don't really know much about South Mandurah right now," he said.
"They've got some new faces, they're young and they had a big win over the weekend so you know they're going to be confident and hungry.
"We're going to need to bring a good brand of footy to get over the line."
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
