| MATCH REVIEW by Ian Dunstan Played at Digger Daws Oval Sunday August 5th.
Mines Rovers 2.4 4.6 5.11 9.14 (68)
Railways 3.3 6.4 7.5 9.6 (60)
Goalscorers Mines Rovers: Matt James 4, Nathan Mourish, Chris Brabazon, Joel Gust, Rob Hansen & Brett Turner 1.
Goalscorers Railways: Michael Towns 4, Meshek White 3, Aaron Brown & David Stubbs 1.
Best Players Mines Rovers: Mark McQueen, Mitch Graham, Chris Brabazon, Codey Alexander & Jamie Bolt.
Best Players Railways: Stuart Gould, Rhett Foster, Brendan Sacilotto, Carl Armstrong, Craig Stones & Christian Robinson.
Mines have secured top spot and hosting rights against Railways in the forthcoming Second Semi August 26th. The Diorites had to work hard to secure victory and despite still trailing at three quarter time missed opportunities in the third quarter turned into conversions by Chris Brabazon & Codey Alexander inside the opening moments of the last to take the lead from Railways and then to hang on to a 8 point victory. Railways performance against the league leaders was far more pleasing than the three previous heavy losses, and despite the loss and the fact they are yet to defeat Mines in 2007, the second semi does present to be an enticing contest. Full Forward Matt James reaped the benefits of the hard work of the midfield to convert four goals and take himself in sight of the Dick Robinson Medal with 41 season goals 8 clear of Panther Michael Towns and Tiger Damien Dunlea on 33. Chris Brabazon was class in a low scoring tussle while Mitch Graham battled well against Michael Towns and despite conceding four goals to the Panther sharp shooter, ran hard from defence to set up many Diorite forward thrusts while Robbie Hansen made a successful return from injury and would have witnessed from the field the good form of Mark McQueen and Codey Alexander. For Railways wingman Stuart Gould was in particular impressive with sure skills and run from his wing, Craig Stones nullified the dangerous Diorite Marc Johnstone with Rhett Foster and Brendan Sacilotto proving recent regulars in the best players.
The game was not without incident with Diorite big man Nathan Mourish accepting a one week penalty for a charge against Panther Brendan Sacilotto, Railways defender Cory Jones was an unlucky retaliator in accepting a one week penalty for minor striking, while Mines Darrah Doutch has a one week penalty plus a visit to the tribunal for Major Striking and Serious misconduct where another week was added to make it a total of two and received a $100 fine for the misconduct charge, this means he will miss Mines final home and away fixture and the second semi final which will be a blow to the Diorites given his effectiveness around goals with 25 season majors to date.
Played at Kambalda West Oval August 5th
Boulder 2.1 4.2 5.2 10.7 (67)
Kambalda 2.7 3.14 5.18 7.20 (62)
Goalscorers Boulder: Damien Dunlea 5, Gary Warren, Daniel Coughlan, Matt Wellstead, Adrian Hooks & Ryan Atherton 1.
Goalscorers Kambalda: Troy Wilson 5, Matt Freemantle & Dylan Ogilvie 1.
Best Players Boulder: Michael Worthington, Chris Bowie, Damien Dunlea, Clinton Rudd & Henry Papertalk.
Best Players Kambalda: Matt Johnston, Jason Dowling, Dylan Ogilvie, Clint Jasper & Scott Greaves.
With two seconds left on the clock Tiger Ryan Atherton put a spear through the heart of Kambalda with a successful snap for goal to secure the Tigers victory by 5 points. This was basically the only time the Tigers led but ultimately the most important time. Poor kicking obviously cost Kambalda dearly, and had they converted opportunities the game may have been as good as over by half time. Michael Worthington was in great touch for Boulder to lead their best while the classy Matt Johnston was once again the best for Kambalda.
The Ladder
Mines Rovers 13 wins from 15 games For: 1512 Against: 926 163.28%
Railways 10 wins from 14 games For:1188 Against: 923 128.71%
Boulder 8 wins from 15 games For: 1241 Against: 1233 100.65%
Kalgoorlie 4 wins from 14 games For: 999 Against: 1146 87.17%
Kambalda 1 win from 14 games For: 770 Against: 1482 51.96%
This Week..
Kambalda have now played all their home games this year and will travel to Sir Richard Moore Sunday Afternoon to tackle Railways, last time it was the Panthers by over 100 points, but this will be the first time they front up against the improved Eagles with key forward Troy Wilson. While night footy returns to Digger Daws Saturday night with Mines hosting Kalgoorlie, which have surprised the Diorites in the last two starts with upset wins to the Roos and being the Diorites only losses for 2007.
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