South Perth Lions 92 – Kwinana Titans 0
By PETER ROWE
South Perth warmed up for the finals at George Burnett Park on Saturday with an emphatic Fuel to Go & Play Premiership victory over bottom club Kwinana Titans.
The Titans, who have bravely finished all the fixtures, despite low numbers and injuries, were never in the game as the Lions jumped to an early 14-0 lead after 15 minutes before extending to 40-0 at the halftime break.
By just past the hour mark they had doubled that lead and the scoring continued as the home side now look forward to a mouthwatering clash against minor premiers Willagee next weekend.
The Lions crossed the whitewash 17 times with Simeon Oi grabbing a hat-trick and Corban Daniels and Hamish Roshan doubles in an all-star-performance.
“No disrespect to Kwinana, but it was a preparation game for us ahead of finals,” coach John Crawford said.
“And we lost Billy Judge (quad) and Kade Mcdonald (ankle) before the game, so Finley Ako Buka slotted in at fullback and did really well, he was the players’ player of the game.
“I was worried we might stray away from the gameplan, but we didn’t, we stuck to the processes and Eddie (Proudler) took control.”
Ako Buka, Sam Javapro, Jarrad Smith, Oisin Keating, Hohepa Taiatini, Tane Cassidy, Harry Kendall, Caleb Norton and Mathius Tomuli-Ah-Kuai also found the tryline, with several performances giving Crawford a welcome selection headache ahead of next week’s semi-finals.