By Gary Stocks

The O’Rourke Realty North Beach A-Grade outfit did what it needed to do last Saturday. Now it just needs to repeat the dose over the last two rounds and keep an eye on other results.

Sitting in sixth position going into the clash against Whitford, the Beach needed to win – and win well. Trailing fifth placed Trinity-Aquinas and Kalamunda in fourth position, by a win and a healthy dose of percentage, the Beach needed to despatch Whitford emphatically.

And so they did. The Beach eclipsed the Warriors by 103 points in a powerful display, dominating all over the ground against an opposition which will next year be relegated to B-Grade.

With the ascendancy established early through the midfield, with ruckman Kieren Yakas giving the ground level players first use of the footy, the Beach consistently pumped the ball forward. And in attack there were plenty of options – Freddy Alone was lively, Christian Bottechia had clean hands and was fast on the lead, Kyle Cranley was superb in the air and Jamie Sajich provided the bench mark with his work rate.

Across the middle James Lee, Cody Enders, Steve Bandy and Michael Taylor were in unison while down back Rowan McDonnell showed a liking for half-back, Earl Quinlan continues to build while the experienced Aaron Jarvis and Scott Ward were superb.

The upshot of that result is that the Beach must now beat Mt Lawley at Percy Doyle this week to remain in the hunt for a place in the finals series.

The Credent Financial Services A-Reserves took control of their game from the outset against Whitford and were never threatened after a pristine first quarter.

Set up by the work of Marty Walley through the midfield, Cale Potts up forward, Khalil Campbell and Alex Billi on the wings, they simply outclassed the hapless opposition.

The final margin of 53-points was not a true reflection of the control the Beach enjoyed.

Earlier, the Coast to Coast Imports Phil Scott Colts had established themselves as a team to be reckoned with in finals with a sublime performance, also winning by a landslide, coasting to an 84-point victory – 14.7 (91) to 1.1 (7).

With Nick Bowe returning to the colts after a month in A-Grade and combining with Joel Brown, the Beach simply carried too much fire power.

Meanwhile, at nearby Percy Doyle Oval, it was a similar tale with the Cabling Network Solutions D1-Grade virtually doing as they liked against Mt Lawley.

With key forward Mitch Holbrook always a threat deep in attack, kicking seven goals, ably assisted by Jack Flynn, who kicked a handful of his own, the Beach waltzed to a 103-point triumph.

The Hybrid Linings D1-Reserves, however, found the Hawks a much tougher proposition and were soundly beaten while the Brett Jones Colts consolidated second position with a resounding 86-point win.

The Express Bins E2-Grade won an important match against Noranda by 28 points, with Adam Purcell, Jake White, Mike Missikos and Michael Quartermain leading the way.

Results
O’Rourke Realty A-Grade
North Beach       6.1          12.3        16.6        25.8        158
Whitford              2.0          4.2           7.4          8.7          55
Goals – North Beach: Bottechia 6; Cranley 5; Alone 4, Wynne, Sajich, Harvey 2; Enders, Lee, Scantlebury, Webster 1.
Best – North Beach: McDonnell, Alone, Bottechia, Bandy, Enders, Cranley, Taylor, Jarvis.

Credent Financial Services A-Reserves
North Beach       5.4          5.6          9.8          12.11     83
Whitford              1.1         2.1          4.3            4.6        30
Goals – North Beach: Potts, Walley 3; Schofield 2; Luck, Vardy, Stott, Miotti 1.
Best – North Beach: Potts, Walley, Campbell, Dwyer, Billi.

Cabling Network Solutions D1-Grade
North Beach       5.5          10.8        13.12     19.14     128
Mt Lawley           0.3           1.4           2.6           3.7        25
Goals – North Beach: M Holbrook 7; Flynn 5; Bowdell 3; Graham 2; Cosgrove, Elphick 1.
Best – North Beach: M Holbrook, Flynn, Graham, Wilson, Foley, Williamson.

Hybrid Linings D1-Reserves
Mt Lawley           3.2          6.6          9.9          15.11     101
North Beach       1.1          2.1          3.1          4.2           26
Goals – North Beach: Bramley 3; Barry 1.

Express Bins E2-Grade
North Beach       3.4          4.6          6.10        9.14        68
Noranda              2.1          4.3           4.4          6.4         40
Goals – North Beach: Brown 3; Smith, Purcell 2;Missikos, Jopson 1.
Best – North Beach: Purcell, White, Missikos, Quartermaine, Mirabile.

Brett Jones Colts
North Beach       4.1          9.3          12.9        17.13     114
Mt Lawley           1.1          2.1           3.2           4.4         28
Goals – North Beach: Temm 4; Rollo, Higgins, Ham, Carmody 2; Collins, Evans, Taylor, Kennedy, Mesiti 1.
Best – North Beach: Temm, Edwards, M Evans.