Buoyant Baldivis on the march

Baldivis Football Club and the Rockingham Rams celebrated vital wins at the weekend, with the Brumbies overcoming 2017 premiers Pinjarra, while the Rams thumped South Mandurah.

Baldivis set out an early marker for the season in their win over the Tigers 8.9 (57) to 7.12 (54) to remain undefeated, while the Rams continued their improvement under Scott Franklin to ease past the Falcons 17.14 (116) to 9.11 (65).

In a low-scoring affair at Baldivis Oval, both sides could barely be separated, with scores level heading into the fourth term.

With 10 minutes to go, Pinjarra had the lead but Kurt Verdonk kicked the Brumbies to within a point before Brieghton Shea stepped up in the dying moments of the game to kick the match-winning goal.

Meanwhile, the Rams got their second win of the season with a 51-point win over South Mandurah at Falcon Oval.

Rockingham were never threatened as they led comfortably at each interval, with Tyler Sutton and Luke Dowling starring with four goals each.

Rams coach Scott Franklin also heaped praise on Mitch Curnow for his performance in the middle, as well as the entire back line.

“Mitch Curnow was outstanding in the middle — he ended up getting tagged in the second half,” Franklin said.

“Our whole back line was really good.

“We’re building a really strong back seven or eight.

“They’ve probably played about 20 or 30 games of footy together now so they are just starting to gel.”

This week Baldivis face a short turnaround with an Anzac Day clash against Halls Head, while Rockingham will battle Pinjarra at Sir Ross McLarty Oval on Saturday afternoon.