A month out from the WAAFL finals the O’Rourke Realty North Beach A-Grade team received a reminder of the levels it will need to reach to compete with the best when out-gunned by ladder leader Trinity-Aquinas on Saturday.
The Students broke the game open with a sizzling mid-match burst which left the Beach stunned, on the way to a comprehensive 58-point victory.
Trinity-Aquinas jumped out to a handy four-goal advantage early in the match, when they were too slick and skilful and essentially denied the Tigers the opportunity to get their hands on the football.
But after that initial onslaught, the Tigers steadied, clawed their way back and levelled the game with a few minutes remaining in the first term. Unfortunately, that was the trigger for Trinity-Aquinas to unleash a pulsating burst of football.
In the next 40 minutes, they kicked nine goals to one, broke the game open and went on to win 18.8 (116) to 9.4 (58).
Beach coach Bill Duckworth threw his team around in an effort to compete with the hot premiership favourite and one of those moves, Aaron Jarvis forward, proved a winner with the man who usually patrols half-back, kicking three goals.
The damage, at that point, had already been done, but the Tigers did fight the game out to the end. The Beach is aware that work needs to be done and will knuckle down over the next month to ensure it is ready to challenge the best when the finals arrive.
Jarvis, ruckman Alex Hack, half-forward Josh McGinnity and midfielders Chris Casey and Beau Witheridge worked hard, but the Beach was simply out-classed.
In a clash of the top two in the A-Reserves, the Credent Financial Services North Beach kept intact their unbeaten record, winning 7.12 (54) to 5.4 (34).
The Beach expected a solid challenge and it came. The only loss endured by Trinity-Aquinas came against the Tigers in the previous encounter and it was a tight, enthralling contest befitting of their respective positions.
North Beach trailed by four points at half-time, but the inspired change by coach Michael Pratt of regular defender Jake Robinson to centre half-forward proved a match-winner. He provided life and energy to the attacking division, playing a key role in his side turning three goals to the good at the last change.
The Tigers built on that advantage and were never threatened in the final term.
The Nuchange Phil Scott Colts took the game up to the undefeated Trinity-Aquinas, but unfortunately were under-manned.
Players who had been injured or in bed with the flu were called on to play which limited the capacity to sustain an outstanding first half effort and eventually they slipped to a 51-point loss, with the scoreboard failing to accurately portray the contest.
Michael Hutchings, Joel Gray, Jacob Fitzroy and Jason Tincknell exemplified the effort.
The Townley Group D1-Grade, Clipstar D1-Reserves and Tuck Plumbing Brett Jones Colts all travelled to Gil Fraser Reserve and were beaten by North Fremantle while the Pana’s Pool Supplies E2-Grade won on a forfeit against Warnbro.
Details
O’Rourke Realty A-Grade
Trinity Aquinas 6.3 13.5 15.8 18.8 116
North Beach 4.0 5.0 5.3 9.4 58
Goals – North Beach: Jarvis 3; Riemann, Casey, J Pearce, Witheridge, Holden, Harwood 1.
Best – North Beach: Jarvis, Hack, McGinnity, Martin, Casey.
Credent Financial Services A-Reserves
North Beach 1.3 2.4 6.8 7.12 54
Trinity-Aquinas 0.1 3.2 4.2 5.4 34
Goals – North Beach: S Pearce 3; Burns, Hackett, Robinson, Griffiths 1.
Best – North Beach: Stockdon, Hackett, S Pearce, Robinson, Sweeney.
Nuchange Phil Scott Colts
Trinity Aquinas 2.1 5.2 11.3 13.6 84
North Beach 2.1 2.6 3.8 4.9 33
Goals – North Beach: O’Brien 2; Zampogna, Tincknell 1.
Best – North Beach: Hutchings, Gray, Fitzroy, Tincknell.
