North Beach survived a third quarter surge from Hamersley-Carine before storming to an important 49-point victory over Hamersley-Carine at Carine Open Space on Saturday.
Hamersley-Carine nudged to within a goal with a minute to play in the third term before the Beach rallied and kicked the last seven goals of the match, while their opponents could muster only a behind.
Chris Thompson, in his first game for the club, kicked a goal with just seconds remaining to take some momentum into the last change and the Beach stepped up the tempo from there.
With Jackson Harwood looming largely in a rolling forward line, and support coming from centre half-forward Kyle Holden, the Beach had some reliable targets up front. Harwood produced one of the best games of his career in notching eight majors while the midfield was well served by Kyle Riemann, Thompson and Mitch Dwyer.
Defensively, Adrian Clark rebounded strongly throughout, while Andrew and Tim Langsford were also prominent.
Ruckman Alex Hack performed with usual consistency and in the end North Beach simply carried too many guns.
The A-Reserves, after a slow start, slipped into top gear in the second half, kicking 11 unanswered goals. Led by full-forward Cale Potts, who kicked 11 himself, the Beach had too much class up forward and maintained their unbeaten start to the season with aplomb.
In addition to the double-figure tally of Potts, ruckman Dave Martin, half-forward Josh McGinnity and midfielder Jon Turner were players who stepped it up after Hamersley-Carine made a contest of it early in the piece.
The day did not start as desired with the Phil Scott Colts slipping to a costly defeat against Hamersley-Carine.
The Beach made too many skill errors, failed to play to team structures and were beaten by nine points. Midfielder Michael Hutchings worked hard, while ruckman Brendan Collins was influential and Kade Golisano did all he could to drag his team over the line.
The Brett Jones Colts also suffered a defeat, out-pointed by North Fremantle.
After a slow start, the Beach were always playing catch-up football and that proved a difficult assignment against an accomplished opponent.
Jacob Fitzroy and James Winterton worked hard while skipper Aaron Miller also did his best to get things moving.
The best win of the day, undoubtedly came from the D1-Grade. Playing against North Fremantle, who were equal on points going into the clash, Kane Kuenen and his men knew it would be challenging.
When the Maggies kicked out to a 20-point lead at the first change, it looked like the Beach could be in for a tough day, but they responded magnificently. Led by defender Mitch Rakin and young forwards Mark Foreman, Adam Miotti and Jordan Kickett, they chipped away at the lead before scoring a crucial 10-point win.
The D1-Reserves also confronted a strong North Fremantle outfit and although beaten by 44 points, the scoreboard was not a true reflection of the contest.
Marc Gangemi was terrific on a wing, while Josh Stretch did some fantastic work off half back and Mark Collins worked hard through the midfield.
The E-Grade boys also were beaten in a tight contest against Ocean Ridge, with young forward Chad Perris kicking three goals and setting a terrific example for his teammates.
A-Grade
North Beach 2.2 7.4 9.8 15.10 100
Ham-Carine 2.0 3.1 8.2 8.3 51
Goals – North Beach: Harwood 8; Holden 3; Leishman 2; Underwood, Thompson 1.
Best – North Beach: A Langsford, Clark, Harwood, Holden.
A-Reserves
North Beach 3.2 6.6 10.8 17.11 113
Ham-Carine 2.2 3.2 3.4 3.4 22
Goals – North Beach: Potts 11; Pearce 2; Faithfull, Martin, McComiskie, Wilson 1.
Best – North Beach: Potts, Martin, McGinnity, Turner.
Phil Scott Colts
Ham-Carine 1.5 5.8 6.8 8.15 63
North Beach 4.0 5.1 7.4 8.6 54
Goals – North Beach: Hutchings 2; Baker, Bowering, Byrne, Duke, Hackett, Waymouth 1.
Best – North Beach: Hutchings, Collins, Golisano, Baker, Carter, Marchin-Vincent.
Brett Jones Colts
North Frem 4.2 6.4 8.9 14.9 93
North Beach 0.0 3.5 5.8 5.8 38
Goals – North Beach: Dott, Clark, Begley, Winterton, Fletcher 1.
Best – North Beach: Fitzroy, Winterton, Miller.
D1-Grade
North Beach 2.1 5.2 8.5 11.7 73
North Frem 5.3 6.6 7.8 9.9 63
Goals – North Beach: Foreman 5; Miotti, Kickett 2; Wilson, Bubnich 1.
Best – North Beach: Rakine, Foreman, Foley, Piggott, Traeger.
D1-Reserves
North Frem 3.1 8.3 10.4 12.5 87
North Beach 2.1 4.1 5.6 6.9 43
Goals – North Beach: Morling, Ewen 2; Collins, Gangemi 1.
Best – North Beach: Gangemi, Stretch, Collins, Cain Mahony.
E-Grade
Ocean Ridge 3.1 5.4 7.6 10.9 69
North Beach 3.3 4.4 5.7 6.8 44
Goals – North Beach: Perris 3; Smith 2; Marchant 1.
Best – North Beach: Perris, Quartermain.
