Eagles soar over Emus

The final round of the West Kimberley Football League saw Looma Eagles record a morale-boosting 9.6 (60) to 8.8 (56) victory over fellow top-four outfit Bidyadanga Emus, in an enticing pre-cursor to the finals series.

Bidyadanga entered the round 14 contest on top spot, but after being edged out for the second consecutive week finish the regular season in second place, with premiers Cable Beach taking top spot on percentage.

The Emus were missing a number of key players including hotshot forward Isiah Stevens and midfield lynchpins Selwyn, Nathan and Ishmael Hunter, with Looma taking advantage.

Eagles talisman Lyle Buck was instrumental to the community side’s ball movement, with the undermanned Emus struggling to cut their opponents supply line as a result.

Winston Pindan was best on ground for the victors with a typical bullish display, while Joezack Killer, Kizzam Skeen and Rowan Clancy also stood out.

Looma will take solace from their win and now will enter the finals series confident of beating the Peninsula Bombers in their first match-up – especially if they can field a full contingent.

Bidyadanga’s potential unbeaten campaign has fallen by the wayside in the last two weeks but the Emus will be motivated to secure a grand final berth by exacting revenge on Cable Beach in the second semi-final in two weeks’ time.

Bidyadanga assistant coach Andy Henshaw remained upbeat despite the defeat.

“Our win is obviously to win every game, but we are not overly upset about the loss,” he said.

“If we come up against Looma in the finals series we will have to put measures in place to cut down their ball movement.

“We will look to get back to basics at training and remain focussed ahead of the finals.”

On Friday night, Broome Bulls ended their campaign with a win over local rivals Towns, prevailing 7.12 (54) to 5.5 (35).

Both teams finish the year having not achieved their objectives and will hope to regroup ahead of 2016.

Damien Crispin kicked three goals for Towns, with team-mate Rhonen Maher putting in another best on ground performance to bolster his chances of being crowned Footballer of the Year.

Cable Beach are ominously starting to fire at the right time, with the defending champions steamrollering bottom side Saints 30.9 (189) to 3.3 (21) on Saturday.

The Broome-based side can now boast finishing top of the pile, with their superior percentage seeing them leapfrog the Emus.

Sonny Dann added to his goal haul for the season with an unparalleled nine majors here, with the other finals contenders facing the daunting task of closing down the former Claremont forward if Cable Beach are to be overcome.

Brad Gardner was awarded best on ground, while Jo Dann, who kicked five goals, was also dominant.

Finally, fifth-placed Derby Tigers ended their season by making a point, beating fourth-placed Peninsula Bombers 11.6 (72) to 9.6 (60).

Warren Greatorex’s side end the campaign rueing a number of missed opportunities, but this promising young team will surely come back stronger next year.

It is not ideal preparation for the Bombers ahead of their finals clash with Looma in two weeks time, with the Dampier Peninsula outfit knowing that an improved performance will be needed to progress to the preliminary final.

A women’s fixture between Cable Beach and Saints was also played at Haynes Oval on Saturday, with a capacity crowd taking in the effort and endeavour of the region’s female footballers.

Four quarters of ten minutes were played, with Beach ending up victorious 3.2 (20) to 1.9 (15) in a close affair.

WKFL president confirmed that the fixture would happen annually and said the game was a highlight.

“The game was very well received and supported, which is great to see,” he said.

“There was some exceptional skill on show, with the tactical understanding by some of the women better than many of the young men playing the sport.”