Round 4, Cougars V’s Melville at Harmony Fields
This round featured the participants in last seasons C1 Grand final that Melville won by 25 points in a rain-soaked affair.
The Cougars would have been keen to reverse this decision in view of Melville’s promotion into the B grade competition, they were also sitting one spot below the Cougars on the current PFL ladder, with both sides yet to post a victory this season!
From the first toss the Cougars took complete control of the game booting 6.4 to Melville’s single point! The quarter was dominated by the Cougars ruck and midfield play with 5 players registering goals through accurate disposal and hard leading in the forward zone.
In the second term the Rams must have received some ‘encouragement’ from their coach as they came out a transformed team and with the advantage of the breeze kicked 2.2 to the Cougars 1.1 The Cougars unlike their first term, made hard work of this quarter, with poor disposal that ruined a number of opportunities to score.
In the third quarter Cooper Boyd and Michael De Gasperis led the way by taking strong marks and kicking 4 goals between them, despite another round of poor disposal by the Cougars keeping the Rams in the game. However at the end of the term, it was apparent the Rams were not going to bridge the gap of 54 points and it appeared the fitness of their key men was fading.
Coach Bolton would have urged the Cougars to maintain their composure for the final quarter and concentrate on their skills to ensure a complete victory over their old adversary. This to prepare for their next encounter with West Coast who are currently sitting in 6th spot on the B grade ladder.
Congratulations are in order for veteran Josh Touchell who played his 150th game in this match. Congratulations also to Mitch Della Franka 100 games and Ash McGowan 50 games, great contributors in a team effort to beat the Rams!
Final scores: Kalamunda 16.08 – 104, Melville 5.2 – 32
Best Players: Team effort
Goals: Cooper Boyd 6, Michael De Gasperis 3, Jarrad Young 2, one each to Tiger Morris, Ashton McGowan, Cristiano Paduano, Tyler Mouritz, Josh Touchell.
Next B grade game: West Coast V’s Kalamunda 01:20 PM, Sat, 9 May 2026 @ City Beach Oval.
Round 4 provided some memorable moments and milestones. Alex Haight has once again provided tributes to our clubs champions
Congratulations to Jesse Jenkins who played his 50th game for the Kalamunda Cougars last Saturday against the Coolbinia Falcons at Harmony Fields in Maddington.
Jesse is an absolute rock-solid defender in the back line who takes the game on and backs himself. His ability to read the play with great decision making and intercept marking skills makes him a very reliable player and one of the first picked every week. He is a humble and relaxed character, but make no mistake he is as competitive as they come and his effort and desire to win is a big reason why he has the edge over his opponent most weeks.
Well done Jesse, who has been a crucial part of the backline in the last few seasons with his polish and relentless attack on the ball.
Congratulations to Ashton McGowan who played his 50th game for the Kalamunda Cougars last Saturday against the Melville Rams at Harmony fields in Maddington.
Ash is a livewire sharpshooter up forward and a dangerous matchup for any defender. A goal kicking machine with 75 goals to date in his career in just over 3 seasons of football. He made his league debut last season at the young age of 20, playing in 16 of the possible 20 matches, including both the semi and grand final.
Well done Ash, your consistency and ability to hit the scoreboard each week is impressive. A great start to your career and progressing nicely. Keep kicking a bag in the future and show the opposition who’s boss
Congratulations also to Mitch Della-Franca who played his 100th game for the Kalamunda Cougars last Saturday when the mighty Cougars did battle with the Melville Rams at Harmony Fields in Maddington.
Mitch is a hard running half back flanker who provides plenty of drive out of the backline and shows strong leadership skills beyond his years. He has been a consistent performer from the get go, He debuted at Colts level in 2021 and ultimately won a flag in his very first season at the club. The following year he was voted by his peers as colts captain and tasted success again winning a second consecutive flag (back-to-back baby!)
2023 he was voted captain again and rose his game to another level finishing the season with a runner up best and fairest award. After aging out of Colts, he was picked to play league the following year and has not missed a beat since. In fact since his league debut, he has only missed one game, playing in 43 of a possible 44 games including a grand final appearance in 2025.
Well done Della, you’ve accomplished quite a lot in such a short time and you should be proud. It has been great seeing you grow your game over the last few years and excited to see what the future brings for you. All the best mate, go well for the future!
Congratulations also go to Josh Touchell who notched his 150th game last Saturday when the Kalamunda Cougars went into battle against the Melville Rams at Harmony Fields in Maddington.
Josh began his career at the Cougars back in 2016 and I was lucky enough to jag his name out of the hat at adopt-a-colt night. After getting to know him and watching him play, I quickly picked up that behind this relaxed character was a fierce competitor who took his footy very seriously.
Josh is a tall rangy defender with a great footy brain and long wingspan. His ability to impact at contests and his work rate to get over and help his teammates has opposition teams asking themselves, ”How do they always seem to have that one extra player on the field!”
Josh captained the colts in 2017 when the club was in A grade and since then he has been a mainstay at league level. He has notched nearly 100 games at the top level and has battled and played through injury concerns on numerous occasions. Behind the scenes he goes beyond the normal lengths with his recovery doing everything he can to get up come game day.
Josh has played a crucial role in big games over the years. Anyone who has ever played down back would tell you it’s a selfless role that demands teamwork, communication and the respect of the playing group. Josh has all these qualities in spades.
Well done mate, this is a huge achievement. You’ve been a rock-solid player for the club for over a decade now and I hope you continue to enjoy your footy in a long future
Thanks to Don Benson photography for the great photos!
This post is dedicated to, GROUNDFORCE WA
proud sponsors of the Kalamunda ‘Cougars’ Football Club.
GROUNDFORCE WA proudly servicing the mining, civil, fire suppression and power generation industries throughout WA.
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