Round Two
Fremantle Roosters 12 South Perth Lions 30
By PETER ROWE
South Perth Lions remain unbeaten after two rounds of the NRLWA Fuel to Go and Play Premiership as coach Duane Gwiazdzinski called his side’s 30-12 win over Fremantle Roosters a satisfying result.
“We made a few errors early but settled and I’m happy with the scoreline and where we sit currently,” Gwiazdzinski said.
“We still need to step up and cut out some passing mistakes and we turned the ball over too easily, which gave them possession, but after two games and two wins you have to be happy.”
Winger Meli Arthur was again outstanding, with two tries, as was hooker Jayden Evans with his double, with new signing Rylee Captien adding another.
Photo – Carmel Potter-Green
Gwiazdzinski praised his forwards for their effort, calling out James Elliott as his best on ground.
“Jimmy was solid out there,” Gwiazdzinski added. “He had big effort and deserved my three points.
“Soni (Samisoni Langi) touched the ball so many times and Daniel Green just keeps giving, what a great club servant. He ran hard all day, an amazing credit to the club.”
Fremantle opened the scoring through forward Quinton Needham before Captien and then Evans gave the visitors a 12-4 halftime lead.
Evans and Arthur then sealed the victory with three second-half scores before Kerrrod Hignett pulled one try back and skipper Nick Riggs grabbed a late consolation try after halfback Tuakana Rangihoeata had been sent off 10 minutes into the second half.
Photo – Carmel Potter-Green
“We made too many errors and they were coach killers,” Fremantle coach Duane Butler said.
“We were in the game for long periods so there are a lot of positives to take out, but credit to South Perth, they played a clever game.
“They started slow but once they got a foothold they played a territory game, got themselves into the grind, limited their errors and won.”
Butler said he had a lot of work planned through the three-week break. No nights off?
“Nope, we are back Tuesday and Thursday and next Saturday. We have some quality players, we just need to work on our structure and teamwork and I want to make them, especially the younger ones, more hungry.”
Photo – Carmel Potter-Green
Round 03 – 3rd May
South Perth Lions vs Joondalup Giants
Rockingham Sharks vs Fremantle Roosters
Willagee Bears vs North Beach Sea Eagles