Top three stamp their authority as Coorow, Three Springs and Morawa record easy victories

Round six of the North Midlands Football League produced no surprises as the top three teams of the competition were far too strong for their bottom three counterparts.

The biggest mismatch was between the undefeated Coorow Latham Magpies and the last-placed Dongara Eagles who, even though were coming off their first win in round five, were soundly beaten 22.14 (146) to 6.6 (42).

The writing was on the wall early when the Magpies kicked five unanswered goals in the first term to lead by 28 points at the first change.

The Magpies would go on to kick five or more goals in each of the three remaining quarters led by Gerard O’Sullivan who finished with six goals — his third 5-plus goal haul in his five games so far this season.

He leads the competition with 21 goals overall while Erick Bashemule wasn’t far behind with five of his own and was awarded best-on-ground as Jacob Comley kicked four goals.

The Eagles’ best effort came in the third when they managed three goals but it was all Magpies as they made it six wins on the bounce.

In Carnamah, the Roos were bounced out on their home deck as Clayton Bruce-Cherry returned for his first game since round three with a six-goal haul.

The Bombers kicked seven goals to two in the second half to run away with the match 14.8 (92) to 5.12 (42).

Had Carnamah been more efficient in front of goal they may have been able to put more pressure on Three Springs as they kicked 3.5 to trail by 24 points at the main break.

But they only got worse, finishing the second half with 2.7 with Len Papertalk the only multiple-goal kicker with two.

Bruce-Cherry was awarded best-on-ground for his effort while Gus Heberle kept in touch with O’Sullivan for the league’s leading goal kicker with three of his own to sit on 19 after six rounds.

At Morawa, the Tigers had a strong final term to get over the top of Mingenew 12.10 (82) to 8.4 (52).

The Tigers had led from the opening bounce but were never able to break away. The Bulldogs were able to find responses with seven goal kickers led by Brayden Hoskins to counteract the hard work of Henry Little and Flynn Coaker.

By the end of the third term, the Bulldogs had closed to within seven points to leave themselves a real chance to take the game late.

But the Tigers were finally able to put the game to bed in a dominant final quarter kicking 4.6 to 1.1, with Jack Ballantyne finishing with three goals.

Three Springs also got a victory in their netball clash over Carnamah, 26-19, after several players enjoyed a strong 2023 Association Championships helping North Midlands finish runners-up to Southern Cross during the long weekend.

Further North in the Gascoyne League Exmouth Eagles continued to be unbeatable demolishing the Ramblers 15.13 (103) to 6.6 (42).

The 61-point margin is the narrowest win they’ve had this season such has been their dominance and it’s the first time they’ve kicked a score below 150.

Chase Faxon kicked five goals making it 22 in four games to lead the competition as the Eagles look unstoppable this year.