By Mark Thornber

 Round 9, Perth v West Perth

 Arena, Joondalup

Saturday, 15 May 2010

 Perth                           3.8             3.12           5.18             6.19           55                                           

West Perth                 4.2             11.4            14.5            17.12          114

The Falcons jumped back to the winner’s list unfortunately though at the expense of Perth running out easy 59 point winners at Arena, Joondalup on Saturday. In good conditions for football West Perth’s Captain Jason Salecic won the toss and kicked to the southern end of the ground.

The match was only a minute old when the home side scrambled a goal from the top of the goal square. The Phoenix Demons were then able to capitalize on a West Perth error in defence and Joel Fiegert pounced to kick Perth’s first major at the 3 minute mark.

Perth was being well served early in the match with Ross Young and Tendai Mzungu picking up some important touches around the packs.

By Mark Thornber

Round 8, Perth v Claremont

 EFTel Oval

Saturday, 8 May 2010

 Perth                        3.6          5.7             8.8          12.11           83                                        

Claremont               5.0          12.3            18.6         22.8          140

Claremont reaffirmed themselves as Premiership favorites at the expense of Perth at EFTel Oval on Saturday as they ran out comfortable winners by 57 points.

The crowd observed a minute’s silence before the match in respect of former Perth legend Merv McIntosh who passed away earlier in the week. In perfect conditions for football Perth kicked to the Jon Building Supplies end of the ground.

Claremont certainly began well early on in the match and it wasn’t long until the league’s leading goal scorer Chad Jones found space in the forward line to kick the Tigers first major.

Perth soon responded through a long set shot from Full Forward Alex McLeod. Claremont bolstered an impressive and pacy midfield and despite Clay McLernon doing a good job tagging Luke Blakewell the likes of Rory Walton and Kane Mitchell were picking up plenty of early possessions.

Perth again relied on star midfielder Tendai Mzungu, who was continuing his fine form and showing off his one touch skills. The visitors with their edge in pace pilled on 5 goals for the quarter with Perth kicking 2 late goals through Matthew Moody and Daniel O’Sullivan to trail by 1 goal at quarter time.

By Mark Thornber

 Round 7, South Fremantle v Perth

Fremantle Oval
Saturday, 1 May 2010

 Perth     4.1          8.2          14.4        15.4        94                                                          

South Fremantle 4.0       9.7  12.10  17.18   120

A fade out in the last quarter once again proved heart breaking for Perth supporters after they watched their side being more than competitive during the first 3 quarters only to see the Bulldogs storm home to win by 26 points at Fremantle Oval on Saturday.

 Troy Cook playing in his 300^th match led the Perth side out and they began the match kicking to the prison end of the ground.

 The Bulldogs bounced out of the blocks early as they captilised on a couple of crucial turnovers in Perth’s back line and in the blink of an eye had 2 quick goals on the board the second from the dangerous Andrew Siegert.

By Chris Pike 

Four straight losses to start the season has left Perth coach Andrew Jarman intrigued to see how he handles being 0-4 as he looks for fighters in his group to help the club out of a tough spot. 

Saturday's 67-point loss to East Perth at Medibank Stadium leaves Jarman looking at this Saturday's home fixture with Swan Districts as a must-win clash for his Demons to avoid 2010 being a write-off already. 

The game with the Royals followed a script that has become all too familiar for Jarman and the Demons with Perth starting well, but falling away once East Perth turned up the heat and the skills of the Demon players left much to be desired. 

Jarman is sick of making excuses and knows that the only way to improve now from the disastrous start is to keep working hard and for him to find players who will give the team what it needs - namely good skill execution and decision-making.

PHOENIX DEMONS TAMED BY LIONS

By Mark Thornber

Round 3, Perth v Subiaco 

EFTel Oval

Monday, 5 April 2010 

Perth                  2.4          2.4          3.7          5.9          39                                        

Subiaco             2.0          4.1           8.2          12.5        77

Subiaco continued their recent dominance over Perth with a comfortable 38 point win in front of a healthy crowd at EFTel Oval on Easter Monday. 

With Tania Armstrong the Daughter of former Perth legend Ken Armstrong tossing the coin for the Ken Armstrong tribute match Subiaco won the toss and chose to kick to the EFTel.com end of the ground. 

The match began in fine conditions for football but both sides found entries into their forward lines rare early in the match. An early highlight for the home side was a terrific leaping mark pulled in by the exciting Tendai Mzungu.