Dominant Defence Does It Again As Subiaco Powers to Win

Subiaco produced its second consecutive dominant defensive performance, as they accounted for South Fremantle by 60 points in Saturday’s top of the table battle.

In wet, wintry conditions, it was Subiaco’s defence which was outstanding throughout, and its attack that fired late, with a seven goal to nil final quarter blowing the final margin out.

South Fremantle threatened early, kicking two goals in the first 10 minutes of the match, however from there the Subiaco defence clamped down, kicking just one goal in the remaining three and a half quarters.

Meanwhile at the other end, Subiaco had enough forward half threats to be able to make the most of their forward opportunities.

The game was still in the balance at three quarter time, however that late Subiaco burst ensured that the club extended their unbeaten start to 2018.

In a tight and contested midfield battle, the shares were evened, though Subiaco’s ability to get the most of its dual big man combination.

Kyal Horsley led the way with 30 possessions for Subiaco, while Hayden Kennedy had 28 possessions as did Lachlan Delahunty with Josh Deluca collecting 26 possessions.

Subiaco heads to its final bye of 2018 needing just one more win, or a South Fremantle loss, to claim their fourth straight minor premiership.

Subiaco will get their first chance to lock up top spot when they travel to play Claremont on July 28^th.  

GAME CHANGERS

LEAGUE LEADING DEFENCE GETS HISTORIC

Subiaco has held teams under 30 points for consecutive weeks for the first time since 1999. These past two weeks have helped reduce Subiaco’s points against to a historically low 50.69 points per game in 2018. Always seen as a strength of Subiaco, and where the team builds from, there has been significant improvement and development within this group in 2018 and the points against highlights where Subiaco continue to be their most dominant.  

GROUP DEFENCE DOES IT AGAIN

As has been the case for most of the season, it was not a single standout performance, rather a solid back group that held a strong South Fremantle forward line to their lowest score of the year. Ably led by Jordan Lockyer and Aaron Heal, Gus Litherland and Hayden Kennedy continued career best seasons, Greg Clark produced another strong display while Drew Rohde and Jacob Miller also had key contributions. The sum of the numbers continues to have a profound impact on the WAFL competition.

ACCURATE WHEN IT MATTERS MOST

Subiaco kicked an inaccurate 3.9 in the middle two quarters, however kicked a combined 10.1 in the first and last quarters when it really mattered. South Fremantle had the better first quarter, but three straight kicks meant Subiaco took an unlikely first change lead. Than in the last, a 7.1 final stanza meant what had been a tight game, ended in a convincing ten goal win.

UNLIKELY GOALS

Speaking of the goals, Subiaco got key contributions from some unlikely sources. After earning a recall, first year player Tom Edwards-Baldwin kicked three goals in the second half to have an important impact while Braden Fimmano and Ben Sokol each kicked two goals against their former side. Greg Clark kicked his first goal away from Rushton Park as another unlikely goal source.

DOING IT TOUGH

On a day that was made for the tough stuff, Subiaco recorded their highest tackle count of the year with 90 tackles laid. In the trenches it was Chris Phelan who led from the front laying 13 tackles for the game. Josh Deluca and Zac Clarke added some additional toughness with eight tackles a piece.

BIG MEN STAND UP AGAIN

Outside of the dominant defence, arguably the most two important Subiaco players were ruck tandem Zac Clarke and Lachlan Delahunty. The two combined for a monstrous 52 hitouts, 40 possessions, 15 marks,  12 forward fifty entries, 10 tackles and two important goals. The combination continues to grow in each performance and gives Subiaco an important different look heading towards September action.

FINAL

SUBIACO         3.0       4.6       6.9       13.10.88

SOUTH FREO  2.2       2.4       3.8       3.10.28

BEST: Litherland, Kennedy, Lockyer, Delahunty, Clarke.

GOALS: Edwards-Baldwin 3; Fimmano, Sokol 2; Clark, Clarke, Delahunty, Horsley, Litherland, Waters 1.