Round 9, Kalamunda V’s Cockburn Lakes at Ray Owen Oval
The Cougars after losing their last game against Swan Athletic had slipped to 5th position on the league ladder. They had won only four games leading up to this encounter against the Cockburn Lakes ‘Warriors’ who were sitting in top spot and so far, undefeated this season.
Cougars coach Chris Bolton was looking forward to this encounter as it would clearly define what his team prospects were for the second half of this season and their chances of making the finals.
The Cougars for this round had a settled side, with their new recruits having gained valuable experience over the last 8 rounds of senior football and the commitment and concentration required to play four consistent quarters of footy.
Cockburn Lakes may have thought this trip to the ‘fortress’ in the hills was going to be an easy day out and a pleasant trip home, until their reserves side was soundly thrashed by 58 points by the Cougars!
This defeat should have alerted them to the fact that the Cougars league side would not be an easy side to beat!
This was proven to be correct as the Cougars threw everything at the Warriors in the first quarter, reducing their top of the table attack to a stop-start affair. Hard tackling upset their game plan and quick break-aways by Leo Lambers and Jack Jago scored 2 goals for the Cougars.
The Warriors managed to kick 3 goals in this term, through some very soft umpiring decisions, to lead by 5 points at the break.
The Cougars tough approach to the ball started to upset the Warriors ‘Primidone’s in the second quarter, who are used to winning by margins of 38 points.
They began to lose their composure then their ‘cool’ by arguing with the umpires leading to a series of 50 meter penalties being awarded against them. Jack Jago, Cristiano Paduano, Jackson Bowen and Josh Harris then took charge kicking 6 goals between them, to end the quarter 25 points in front!
Coach Bolton would have advised his charges at half time that the Warriors would have received a great deal of ‘encouragement’ from their coach during the break and be prepared for a Warriors resurgence in the third term.
The third term commenced as had the first, with the Cougars nullifying every effort the Warriors made to break out of encirclement. Leo Lambert and Josh Harris kicked 2 goals to match the Warriors tall forward Lachlan Johnsons 2 goals to finish the quarter leading by 27 points.
The Warriors knew they were facing defeat for the first time this season and tried desperately to bridge the gap separating the sides. They managed to clear the ball from the center for the first time in the match enabling Malachi Walley, Jaxsen Shinners and Lachlan Johnson who had been well held by our backs to score single goals.
However, the Cougars regained their composure and steadied with goals from Jackson Bowen and Mayson Dougall to end a hard-fought match and win by 21 points!
This was a great team win, acknowledged by coach Bolton during the awards ceremony who paid tribute to Jack Amos, who rucked tirelessly all day against heavy opposition. He also thanked his team leaders who were outstanding during the match.
This win against the top side in the competition, should now give the Cougars confidence for the remainder of the season, in the knowledge they can take on teams they were narrowly beaten by leading up to round 9.
Final scores: Kalamunda; 12.7 – 79, Cockburn Lakes; 9.4 – 58
Best players: Josh Harris, Ben Holman, Trent Pottinger and Jack Jago.
Goals: Jackson Bowen 4, Josh Harris 3, Leo Lambert 2, and 1 each to Jack Jago, Cristiano Paduano and Mayson Dougall.
Other results from round 9
C1 Reserves: Kalamunda; 11.7 – 73, Cockburn Lakes; 1.9 – 15
IDC Colts: Kalamunda; 25.15, Kenwick; 0.1
C1 Ladies: Kalamunda; 2.0 – 12, Collegians; 6.5 – 41
E2 Allstars: Kalamunda; 8.4 – 52, Ocean Ridge; 9.7 – 61
Next C1 game: Round 10, Kalamunda V’s Hamersley Carine 3.05 PM Saturday 15 June at Ray Owen Oval.
This post is dedicated to IGA Sanderson Road & Kalamunda Toyota, proud sponsors of the Kalamunda ‘Cougars’ Football Club.
