WA Football Commission

Swans surge over SharksWednesday, August 23, 2017 - 9:53 AM

Written by Sandra Argese, Photos by Thomas Campbell

Swan Districts have held off a late East Fremantle fightback to take home their first reserves premiership since 2013.

The second victory of Swan Districts’ triple premiership sweep across the entire competition on Sunday afternoon, the reserves grand final showcased a low-scoring, physical contest driven by plenty of stoppages and pressure from both sides.

The Swans entered favourites, having dominated all season as the competition benchmark and not once losingto the Sharks in season 2017 – and they sure lived up to that reputation.

Bursting out from the starting gates in style, the Swans dominated their opponents in attack and conjured up several entries inside 50 early on in the game.

East Fremantle struggled to move the ball out of the Swans’ attacking zone and were forced to defend for the majority of the opening term.
The Swans were first rewarded for their domination of the opening quarter with a worthy quick-thinking dribble goal from Taya Reid. The party then continued as Sarah Fragomeni added to the Swans’ first quarter domination by running into an open goal and converting for her first major.

The second term proved to be much more of an arm wrestle, especially as the Sharks were able to hold the Swans at bay in contested situations and restrict their opponents scoreless.

Though it took just over four minutes into the second term to arrive, East Fremantle’s first real spark finally arrived courtesy of Sarah Townsend’s first major. Facing an eight point deficit at half time, the Sharks clearly had more work to do.

But as the see-saw nature of the game continued, Fragomeni’s second goal in the third term, a neatly converted set shot 35 metres out, lifted the Swans faithful and extended the margin seemingly beyond the Shark’s reach.

But East Fremantle weren’t quite done yet.

Katrina Davis found herself on the end of a superb delivery inside 50 and converted a set shot to keep East Fremantle alive late in the fourth term, narrowing the difference to just two kicks with only minutes to play.

The Swans then kicked into gear and again applied their consistent brand of smart, forward-thinking football, composing themselves in the last few minutes to slow down play and bravely hold on for the deserved win.

Susie Chout took best on ground accolades – her hard work around the footy, contested disposals and consistent effort at every contest making her a deserving winner.

QUARTER BY QUARTER
SWAN DISTRICTS: 2.3 (15) 2.3 (15) 3.8 (26) 3.8 (26)
EAST FREMANTLE: 0.0 (0) 1.1 (7) 1.1 (7) 2.3 (15)

GOAL KICKERS
SWAN DISTRICTS: Sarah Fragomeni (2), Taya Reid.
EAST FREMANTLE: Sarah Townsend, Katrina Davis.