Borchet & Delahunty Spearhead Subiaco To 33 Point Win

Subiaco is the first team to officially qualify for the 2018 WAFL Finals, with a hard fought 33 point win over West Perth on Saturday ensuring that the Lions will play finals for the fifth straight season.

 

After being made to work for every possession and score in the first half, Subiaco broke the game open with a typically ruthless burst, kicking four goals in time on of the third quarter.

 

After 20 minute of the third quarter only eight points separated the teams, with that four goal burst pushing the lead beyond five goals at the last break, a margin that was never threatened in the last quarter.

 

The chief destroyers up forward where Ryan Borchet and Lachlan Delahunty who combined for 10 goals after kicking five a piece.

 

A strong midfield performance was underlined by a big game from big ruckman Zac Clarke who had 51 hit-outs while also collecting 17 possessions and kicking a goal highlighting his worth at ground level.

Clarke’s dominance assisted Josh Deluca in collecting a team best 34 possessions, while Chris Phelan had 31 touches and Kyal Horsley had 29.

 

Defensively, Angus Litherland was outstanding holding the WAFL’s leading goal scorer in Tyler Keitel to just one goal, while Greg Clark had an intriguing battle with Andrew Strijk, holding his own against one of the in form forwards of the competition.

 

Youngster Jacob Miller continued to impress holding Keegan Knott to just seven possessions while fellow youngsters Tom Edwards-Baldwin, McKenzie Lawrence and a recalled Nick Menegola all showed promising signs during the win.

 

The win helped maintain Subiaco’s lead at the top of the WAFL table at three games ahead of South Fremantle, with West Perth now a further game back, remaining in third spot despite the loss.

 

It is a short turnaround for Subiaco with just a six day break before they battle Peel in Friday night football underlights at Leederville Oval this coming Friday.

 

 

GAME CHANGERS

 

THIRD QUARTER DOES IT AGAIN

Subiaco improved to 11-0 in third quarters this year, with the win over West Perth, for the second time in two months being consolidated during a third quarter blitz. After arresting momentum prior to half time it was Subiaco’s strong fitness and willingness to keep running and competing that saw it finally break what had been a determined West Perth outfit for two and a half quarters.

 

BORCHET STARS WITH FIVE

In just his third WAFL game, Ryan Borchet was the star up forward with five goals and some strong marks highlighting his ongoing value as a rising forward in the competition. Complementing the five goals, Borchet had 11 marks and gave off two goal assists in a highly productive forward display from the young forward.

 

DELA’S CAREER DAY & CAREER SEASON IN FRONT OF THE STICKS

Lachlan Delahunty bagged a career best five goals in the win while his five goals for the game took his season tally to 18 goals. This 18 is the most that Delahunty has ever kicked in a season and highlights the threat he is becoming inside 50. Not to be outdone, Delahunty made the most of the space up the ground collecting 28 possessions, taking 11 marks, laying five tackles and having five hit-outs in another stat stuffing day for the versatile tall.

 

THE CLARKE TO DELUCA CONNECTION

Two of Subiaco’s most significant recruits for 2018 continue to build an impressive connection and the form of Zac Clarke and Josh Deluca continues to grow in conjunction. Deluca had a career high 34 possessions, with his fifth 30 possession game of the season on Saturday. Clarke at the start of the connection had over 50 hit-outs for just the third time in his career. This connection will likely become more significant in big games, starting with this Friday night’s match with Peel.

 

HOW’S THAT FOR ACCURACY

Subiaco and West Perth have been the two most accurate teams in the WAFL in 2018, and they again put on an impressive showing in front of goals. The two teams could not be split for accuracy, each converting at an elite standard rate of 63%.

 

TOUGH FIVE TO COME

The challenges continue to come from Subiaco with the next five matches they face set to be against teams that sit second through sixth on the WAFL ladder. The next fortnight ahead of the bye could be telling on maintaining top spot, with Peel Thunder on Friday night at home, followed by a top of the table battle with South Fremantle in two weeks time.

 

 

FINAL

SUBIACO         2.2       6.4       12.7     15.9.99

WEST PERTH   3.1       4.3       7.5       10.6.66

 

BEST: Clarke, Deluca, Borchet, Delahunty, Litherland.

GOALS: Borchet, Delahunty 5; Clarke, Deluca, Fimmano, Powell, Sokol 1.