WA Football Commission

South clip Thunderbirds wings with hard-fought winTuesday, July 5, 2016 - 9:51 AM

With the Bulldogs coming off a heavy loss to ladder leaders Coastal Titans, they made amends to eventually secure themselves an impressive 41 point win.

A windy Sunday afternoon at Anning Park provided the prime stage for the Round 11 clash between the two fired up sides in the Peel Thunderbirds and South Fremantle Bulldogs. It was a hard fought contest throughout as tensions arose between the two very physical sides.

Early on, the contest seemed almost even as neither team could break free of each other, until Thunderbird Greta Mckinley put in her contender for the highlights reel with a classy snap around the body to put six points on the board for her side. The Thunderbirds wouldn’t score another major until the third quarter.  South Fremantle eventually took control by keeping the ball in their forward half, with several entries inside fifty resulting in a nine point lead at quarter time.

Chae-Lee Salbie worked especially well throughout the ground to provide plenty of helpful goal assists to the Bulldogs, whilst down the other end Jasmine Covich held up well in defence to help hold the Thunderbirds to 1.1 in the first quarter.

Peel took control in the opening minutes of the second term by maintaining possession, though they simply couldn’t apply scoreboard pressure as the Bulldogs defence reigned supreme. In a low scoring and highly physical quarter, Hannah Barkell found the answer with a textbook snap around the body delivering the goods as the Bulldogs third goal.

Though low scoring and heavily contested, it was clear by half time that both teams had come to play. Following half time, Bulldog Chloe Taylor provided the quarter highlight as she asserted the momentum of her team by winning a free kick off a well-executed tackle, which resulted in a holding the ball decision in her favour.

The third term also saw Isobella-Rose Haigh slot the Thunderbirds second and final goal for the match, though it couldn’t help the team’s scoreboard woes as by the quarters end they were still down 16 points. Needing to more than double their score to beat South, matters didn’t improve for the Thunderbirds as South took control and completely asserted their dominance in the final term.

Bulldog Sabrina Traub-Frederick worked hard providing plenty of goal assists and a pivotal presence up forward for her side, whilst teammate Schlesniak’s impressive performance saw her finish the day with three majors to her name. 

Due to the physical nature of the contest, several players were forced to leave the ground. This was ignited as the final quarter was interrupted with a momentary clash between the two sides, which drew most of the players on the field, which eventually resulted in a South Fremantle free kick.

Overall, the fourth term rained goals for the Bulldogs. Not only did they have momentum going for them, but their hard fought efforts resulted in an inspiring final quarter performance worth four majors to upset the Thunderbirds, who currently sit one spot higher than them on the WAWFL ladder.

Sonia Dorizzi nailed the games final major, signalling that the match was well and truly South Fremantles.

Though the Bulldogs took away the win, they still remain second last on the WAWFL ladder behind the Thunderbirds, who sit in fourth position. South will be looking for their fourth win of the season next week when they take on the last placed Piranhas, whilst the Thunderbirds will be looking to cause an upset and get back on their feet as they take on the second placed Swan Districts.

Quarter by Quarter
South Fremantle: 2.4 (16) 3.5 (23) 4.7 (31) 8.9 (57)
Thunderbirds: 1.1 (7) 1.1 (7) 2.4 (16) 2.4 (16)

SOUTH FREMANTLE
Goal Kickers: H. Schlesniak 3, K. Tinson, S. Dorizzi, H. Barkell, L. Bennell, E. Humble

THUNDERBIRDS
Goal Kickers: I. Haigh, G. Mckinley

Report: Sandra Argese 2016
Photos: Phil Barnes