Subiaco too strong

NAIDOC Round served up another thrilling game of football between last year’s grand finalists East Perth and Subiaco, but that feeling of disappointment is becoming too familiar for the Royals who suffered another devastating loss. The 23-point victory for the Lions means they remain on top of the table and sit three games clear of second, whilst East Perth are seventh after their second hard fought loss in a row.

East Perth looked threatening as they closed the gap to just a single point early in the second quarter and even managed to keep Subiaco goal-less in the third term. They momentarily pinched the lead in the third, but the Lions found another gear and cruised home in the final quarter kicking five goals.

Football manager Mark Winnett was happy with the Royals work rate, but lamented the lack of a focal point in his forward 50. “We worked very hard especially in the second and third quarters to put ourselves in a competitive position at three quarter time however we didn’t get enough scoreboard pressure from our dominance in the third quarter and our efficiency going inside 50 made it difficult for the forwards to capitilise on the momentum we had at the time,” Winnett said.

Centre, Steven Payne racked up 30 touches validating his spot in the competition’s top ten leaders for disposals. Tommy Barrass and Mitch Fraser were strong in defence taking several impressive marks, however they were outplayed in a few patches allowing Subiaco’s Michael Wood to kick three goals for the second consecutive week. Kyle Halligan also added a triple for the Lions while East Perth found relief in Craig Wulff who matched Wood and Halligan with three of his own.

Despite matching strides with the competition's best in most statistical areas, the Royals weren’t able to sustain their lead falling short by almost four goals. East Perth are still only one win away from entering the top five, which makes this weekend’s clash against Perth a must-win for the club.