The South Perth Lions late season form has pushed them to the top of the Harvey Norman Premiership ladder which will probably see them take out the minor premiership after next week’s final home and away fixture. They beat top placed Fremantle Roosters 16 to 10 and pushed them down to fourth spot.
Such is the evenness of the top four sides, final positions will be decided on goal differences. South Perth is in front with 288 points, then Rockingham on 263, North Beach 252 and finally Fremantle on 207. All of the sides are expected to win next weekend with the interest being in the final aggregate points.
Kalamunda Bulldogs look likely to finish in fifth position for the finals, but are not seen as finals contenders and Joondalup Giants can only displace them if they defeat the Sharks next week which seems unlikely.
It is the best competition seen for WA Rugby League in recent seasons with any of the top four sides capable of winning the premiership.
The Lions and Roosters clash was one of the best games of the season with excellent ball handling skills in greasy conditions. The result was built around the defense of both sides, with the half time score line sitting at four (4) nil.
While South Perth mastered the conditions better, it was the discipline of the Roosters which probably let them down, highlighted in the second half when they were building momentum and kicked to touch while having players forward of the ball. It brought the ball back to their own 30 metre line with a scrum feed to the Lions. They never got an opportunity after that.
Jon Phipps and Scott Jones led the Lions all day with Luke Kirk and James Aspin being the Roosters best.
Lions coach Cory Bush said they had talked about the effort needed all week.
“Our forward pack controlled the game from the word go which won us the game”.
Lee Toon-Poynton, Fremantle’s coach knew the lack of discipline hurt them.
“The way they controlled the football meant that we strayed from our game plan and then tried to force things that did not come off”.
Joondalup Giants heart break season continued when they failed at the bell to lift themselves into the five going down 46 to 50 with a try by Goldfields Titans at the death. The Giants were down 44 – 18 at one stage in the first half and fought their way back into the game only to be robbed of victory at the end.
Best players for the game were Aaron Owen and Matthew Murray from the Titans and Jeremy Browne and Daniel Sneddon for the Giants.
Rockingham Sharks did their chances of finishing higher in a final four no harm with the make-up to be decided by percentage and won easily over Kalamunda Bulldogs 66 to nil. The Sharks best were Luke Faulkner, Lee Gudor and Daniel Smith.
North Beach Sea Eagles had a sound win over Willagee Bears 52 to 10. Still nursing players back into the side, they were happy to win and stay on track for the finals. Jason Godecke and Scott Cherry were best for the Sea Eagles.
Game Results
First Grade
South Perth Lions 16 – Fremantle Roosters 10
North Beach Sea Eagles 52 – Willagee Bears 10
Rockingham Sharks 66 – Kalamunda Bulldogs 0
Goldfields Titans 50 – Joondalup Giants 46
Premier Grade
South Perth Lions 24 – Fremantle Roosters 12
North Beach Sea Eagles 24 – Willagee Bears 16
Rockingham Sharks 22 – Kalamunda Bulldogs 0
South West Warriors 62 – Joondalup Giants 4
Under 18
Willagee Bears 78 – North Beach Sea Eagles 10
Rockingham Sharks 36 – Kalamunda Bulldogs 22
Joondalup Giants 32 – South West Warriors 4
LeagueTag
Fremantle Roosters 14 – South Perth Lions 0
North Beach Sea Eagles 6 – Willagee Bears 6
Kalamunda Bulldogs 10 – Rockingham Sharks 6
Joondalup Giants 16 – South West Warriors 0