Match Report – Lions hold off brave RoyalsSunday, August 29, 2021 - 10:40 AM - by Matt Paddick

SUBIACO were made to earn the win against their Leederville Oval co-tenants but got the four points they needed to retain top spot on the WAFL ladder with a hard fought 14-point win against East Perth.

East Perth was playing its last game of the season and an upset over Subiaco would have been the ideal way to end 2021 on a way but to also farewell retiring pair Nathan Blee and Rohan Kerr in style, but the Lions just had too much to play for.

Subiaco had to win to retain top position on the WAFL ladder heading into the last round and they ended up recording the 12.13 (85) to 10.11 (71) but the Lions had to do it tough to keep out a Royals team who kept on fighting even after falling 38 points down in the second term.

The eventual 14-point win has Subiaco on track for the minor premiership but they do need to beat Peel next week to secure top spot while the season's over for East Perth with a 6-12 record.

Lachlan Delahunty was important for the Lions, with 28 disposals and 21 hit outs in a different role to what he has been playing this season.

Chad Harris continued his fine season, gathering 25 disposals and a goal, while backman Hayden Kennedy provided drive from defence with 23 touches of his own.

Max Walters contributed well across half-forward with two goals to go with 14 touches, five marks and four tackles while Ben Sokol and Ben Golding kicked two goals.

Subiaco's defence was superb with Aaron Heal finishing with 19 possessions and six marks, and Jordan Lockyer 18 disposals and eight marks in the absence of Angus Dewar.

Aidan Lynch was tremendous for East Perth with 29 possessions and two goals while Christian Ameduri added 28 touches and two goals. Jayden Magro also kicked two goals.

Wingmen Angus Scott and Rohan Kerr were terrific once again, with 34 possessions and 31 respectively while Mitch Dobson racked up 28 disposals, Kye Willcocks 25, Angus Schumacher 23 and Nathan Blee 22.

Both teams were fresh off losses to East Fremantle and despite dominating possession early, Subiaco couldn’t get reward for their effort, kicking six behinds in the first half of the quarter.

In the same amount of time, East Perth made the most of their chances inside 50, kicking two goals off the boots of Mitch Dobson and Aidan Lynch. 

Nick Martin eventually kicked Subiaco's first goal but East Perth wouldn’t go away, and a 50m penalty gave Nick Merritt his first for the day.

It wasn’t until the latter part of the quarter when Subiaco looked like the side we’ve come to know, as second-gamer Ben Golding put through his first league goal.

Shortly after Ben Sokol put through his first to give Subiaco a six-point advantage at the first break.

The Lions stamped their authority on the game in the second quarter getting off to the perfect start, with Sokol kicking a goal just 23 seconds into the term.

East Perth responded through Christian Ameduri, but it was all Subiaco from there. The Lions kicked the next five goals before the Royals responded through Jayden Magro.

But Subiaco went into half-time 33 points up but early in the second half goals for East Perth to Matthew Young and Lynch opened the door for the Royals to come back into the contest.

It was well and truly game on when Ameduri kicked a second, bringing the margin back to 15 points. 

However, an error inside 50 allowed young backman Isaac Clinch to kick a goal to get things back on track for the Lions as they held a 19-point lead at three quarter-time.

After some back and forth play, the Royals struck the first blow of the last term, with Eddie Simpson kicking the goal to get them within 13 points. 

The experienced Max Walters kicked his second to steady the ship for Subiaco, before Brandon Matera kicked truly from a set shot to put the game beyond doubt.

The contest finished with the Lions taking the victory 12.13 (85) to 11.5 (71) to claim the Community Cup.

DELAHUNTY SHOWS WHAT HE CAN DO
Lachlan Delahunty reminded the competition of what he's still capable of as a ruckman in the WAFL in a fascinating battle with Scott Jones from East Perth. He finished the afternoon with 21 hit outs, but his influence was felt around the ground, with 28 disposals in a fine effort. Meanwhile, in Greg Clark’s absence, Brandon Matera spent an extended amount of time on the ball, while Nick Martin got up the ground to link the forwards and backs. It shows Subiaco have a number of players who can play different roles which may come in handy as the Lions look to go deep into the 2021 WAFL season.

LIONS’ EFFICIENT FIRST HALF
Although Subiaco didn’t quite have the scoreline they would have liked at half-time, their effort could not be questioned. The Lions had 25 inside 50s, but had a whopping 19 scoring shots, to have an inside-50 efficiency of 76 per cent. Although it petered out in the second half, with an efficiency of 53 per cent, the effort in the first half highlights what the top of the table Lions are capable of doing.

EAST PERTH FAREWELL THREE 
It was East Perth's last game of 2021 with a final round bye and it proved the last games in black and blue for Rohan Kerr, Nathan Blee and Julian Ameduri. Kerr started his WAFL journey in 2013 with West Perth having come west after time on Carlton's AFL list. He starred in the premiership triumph of his first season and had a tremendous 82-game, five-year run at the Falcons. He departed because of work commitments but returned to the WAFL in 2019 and has been tremendous with the Royals the last three years to end his WAFL career on 125 games. Blee also retires as one of East Perth's recent favourite sons. He burst onto the scene at league level in 2011 and earned a spot at Port Adelaide as a result where he would play six AFL matches. He returned to East Perth in 2014 and along the way won two fairest and best awards, earned life membership earlier this year and finishes on 159 matches. Then there is Julian Ameduri, who finished up in the reserves while younger brother Christian started in the league side. Julian retires after 48 league matches and a 2017 fairest and best with East Perth.

OPTUS WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 21

EAST PERTH            3.0    5.1    8.4    11.5 (71)
SUBIACO            3.6    9.10    10.11    12.13 (85)

EAST PERTH: Goals – Lynch, Ameduri, Magro 2; Young, Edwards-Baldwin, Dobson, Simpson, Merritt.
Best – Lynch, Scott, Ameduri, Kerr, Willcocks, Dobson, Blee, Schumacher, Jones.
SUBIACO: Goals – Walters, Sokol, Golding 2; Braut, Harris, Martin, W Hickmott, Brandon Matera, Clinch.
Best – Delahunty, Harris, Heal, Walters, Kennedy, Kitchin, Lockyer.