Ruthless Roverstear Falcons apart

In one of their best games of the season, Port Hedland Rovers dominated the field on Saturday in round 14 of the North Pilbara Football League.

In an incredible 124-point win, Rovers clipped the Falcons’ wings, denying them a chance at goal until the second quarter.

With a final score of 19.23 (137)to 2.1 (13), the Rovers showed their game structure has moved from strength to strength over the past few rounds as they took advantage of the holes and exhaustion in the Falcons’ game.

Jason Hastie, Brad Horseman, Angelo Thomas and William Cousins dominated the forward line for the Rovers with 14 goals between them.

Dave Robinson was the sole goal scorer for the Falcons, his two majors coming in the second and third quarters.

With a school ball in Karratha preventing the teens from travelling to Hedland, the Falcons were only left with 10 men in the league team and had to ask already tired reserves players to step up and show their commitment to the club.

Sean Kitching showed leadership from the reserves side, holding down centre-half-forward after a trying reserves game, and was one of the few challenges for Rovers.

Falcons coach Cameron Ling said while he was disappointed with the loss, the players had improved in leaps and bounds from the start of the season.

“Just the ability to move the ball around and hold possession of the ball has been really good,” he said.

“The boys are actually learning, which is the main thing and it’s good to see.”

Rovers president Mal Olive said he was thrilled to have two wins over the weekend and looked forward to the last game of the year, to be played at home.

“The guys’ intensity in the first half was very good,” he said .

“We lost our way a bit in the third quarter but came back in the fourth and it was a good effort.” Mr Olive said Rovers had always been confident with their game plan, and if they got the right team, they would be in very good shape leading up to the finals.

Despite Rovers and Falcons being still in the ladder’s bottom two positions, the win has Rovers snapping on the heels of South Hedland Swans’ fourth-place listing.

This week Rovers travel up to Millars Well to play Karratha Kats, while in a home game at Kevin Scott Oval, South Hedland Swans will attempt redemption against Dampier Sharks.