South Fremantle stormed home to win the Round 21 WAFL Derby on the back of a 6 goal to 3 goal final quarter for the unlikeliest of stunning upsets. East Fremantle will be ruing missed opportunities in front of goal and the opportunity to hold onto second spot on the WAFL ladder.
In a game of contrasts East Fremantle seemed in control at 3/4 time and looked like continuing their recent good form in WAFL derbies. However the never say die attitude of the Bulldogs came through in a nail biting last quater that saw the Bulldogs come home strong to win: 16.13 - 109 to 15.15 - 105.
For the home side Rory O'Brien led the way with 29 touches and 2 goals while Mark McGough and Bradd Dalziell toiled hard for 28 and 26 disposals respectively. For the victors inspired performances by Jayden Woods (27 disposals, 1 goal) and Ryan Cook (25 disposals) were instrumental in the win.
One of the most enjoyable contests was that of the two ruckmen Rob Young and Sean Tighe. Sean edged Rob on the hit-out count 28-25 but the East Fremantle ruckman worked hard all over the ground to earn 24 possessions and 5 tackles in the losing effort.
The Bulldogs now have a six day break to prepare for the second place Swans on Friday night, while East Fremantle have eight days to regroup ahead of a game critical to their top two aspirations against West Perth who sit just outside the top four.
August 11th 2012