By PETER ROWE
South Perth Lions 46 Kalamunda Bulldogs 14
South Perth coach John Crawford was happy to see his new-look team come away with the points in their Fuel to Go and Play Premiership clash with Kalamunda on Friday night.
The Lions suffered a minor lapse just after half-time when the Bulldogs scored three times, but the result was never in doubt once they regained control.
“We controlled the whole game,” Crawford said. “That lapse was disappointing but we regained our composure and got the job done.
“A lot of effort, our kick chase was good and we controlled the ruck.”
Luke-David Wells-Talamaivao got the season under way with the first of two tries and powerful centre Corban Daniels crashed over for a double, one early in the game and the other late on.
Five-eighth Hohepa Taiatini impressed, grabbing the third try of the night before fullback Billy Judge scored the try of the night, carving through the middle on an 80-metre run.
Winger Simeon Oi’s effort was equally superb, latching on to a cross-field kick before the Dogs began their comeback.
Centre Stan Tuipulatu got them on the board before Corban Bell and utility Jozef Gwiazdzinski added two more.
“It was learning curve for us,” coach Duane Gwiazdzinski said.
“Disappointing for sure. We had our moments but in the end it wasn’t enough.”
Daniels and Wells-Talamaivao added two more before Mathias Tumuli-Ah-Kuoi rounded out the evening for the home side with the final try of the night.
“It was a physical game and I was pleased we matched them for periods but well played to South Perth,” Gwiazdzinski said.
“No panic, there is work to do, defensive structures and understanding how quick first grade is, but we’ll be Ok.”
Crawford said before the game he wasn’t sure what to expect, so was pleased with the outcome.
“Yeah, they haven’t been in first grade for 10 years so it was hard to know what to prepare for. So it was good to get the job done.”
