Round 14, Kalamunda V’s Melville at Ray Owen Oval.
In round 5, the great rivalry between these two clubs continued as it was a tough game and reminded the Cougars it’s no fun to play ‘catch-up’ footy, which they managed to do, to win in the final minutes by 7 points!
On a perfect day for Australian Football at home the Cougars dominated the first quarter to kick 1.7 to Melville’s 2 scrambled goals. This was a very poor return for effort and enabled the Rams to stay in the contest!
Jackson Bowen kicked the only goal for the term, courtesy of the Cougars hard working midfield.
Again, in the second quarter the Cougars dominated possession through the midfield with Trent Pottinger, Jack Jago and Reg Jones driving the ball forward only to see the Rams defence hold, before Elijah Lys and Ashton McGowan broke through to score.
The Rams who were becoming desperate in this term also managed to scramble 2 goals, to keep themselves in the game.
The Cougars with a lead of only 3 points at half time must have realised that goal scoring effectiveness decreases the further you are from goal and decided deeper penetration of the Rams backline was needed to break this game open!
This was achieved in the third term as the team continued to drive the ball forward allowing Jackson Bowen, Kaiden Pisani, Tyler Mouritz and Utah John- Furnace to mark and goal to lead by 21 points, which in the context of this game was a match winning lead.
The question was at this stage, could the Cougars hold this lead as Kaiden Pisani and Josh Touchell were injured and off the field and the Rams were continuing to exert a greater physical presence, aided by some very strange umpiring decisions we observed on the far boundary.
The Rams threw everything they had at the Cougars in this final term and outscored them by 5 points, however Tyler Mouritz snuffed out any hope they had of winning with a late goal to finish the game 16 points in front.
Goal front inaccuracy has been a feature of the Cougars play throughout the past 14 rounds. They have dominated the opposition 6 times in the first quarter to set up victory.
Final scores: Kalamunda: 8.15 – 63, Melville: 7.5 – 47
Best players: Jack Jago, Trent Pottinger, Jackson Bowen, Reginald Jones.
Coaches award: Callum McKinlay
Goals: Jackson Bowen 2, Tyler Mouritz 2, 1 each to Elijah Lys, Kaiden Pisani, Ashton McGowan and Utah John-Furnace.
Thanks to Ian Eldred and Don Benson for the great photos.
Other final round games:
C1 Reserves: Melville: 2.3 – 15, Kalamunda: 13.13 – 91
C5 League: Kalamunda: 8.5 – 53, Swan Athletic: 10.11 – 71
C5 Reserves: Kalamunda: 13.15 -93, Swan Athletic: 4.7 – 31
Colts: Melville: 0.0 – 1, Kalamunda: 0.0 – 90 Forfeit (disgrace)
Ladies: Kalamunda: 10.9 – 69, Kenwick 0.2 – 2
This Weeks Topic: Round 14, 2025 More Milestones
Next week: Round 15, Mosman Park V’s Kalamunda 03:05 PM, Sat, 26 July at Tom Perrott Reserve.
This post is dedicated to the NXT Group, proud sponsors of the Kalamunda ‘Cougars’ Football Club.
NXT Group’s core focus lies in delivering comprehensive asset integrity management solutions, including the application of protective coatings systems, fireproofing systems, specialized coatings, structural and mechanical repairs, maintenance contracts, and shutdown works.Final