Baldivis shut down Rockingham midfield

Playing on the narrow confines of Baldivis Oval, the Brumbies successfully applied the shackles to Rockingham's midfield to record a convincing 13.13 (91) to 7.5 (47) victory on Sunday.

The Rams struggled to find a path through the crowded corridor all afternoon and Baldivis capitalised, locking the ball deep in Rockingham's territory for extended periods of the game.

The constant pressure proved too much for the visitors' back line, which turned in a gallant performance but could not prevent Baldivis from bolstering their lead at every change.

The writing was on the wall early with Rockingham failing to record an inside 50 until midway through the opening quarter, errant goal kicking the only thing preventing the Brumbies from taking a five-goal lead in the first term.

After four straight behinds, Baldivis finally got the radar working when Jack Stuart picked off a kick out of defence and sent the ball straight back into the eager hands of forward Daniel Kimberley for an easy goal.

Dale Roberts pegged the major back for Rockingham after a rare foray into the Brumbies' back line, but the home side quickly restored their lead through Callum Black.

The game opened up slightly in the second term, with both sides electing to take a more aerial path towards goal.

Baldivis kicked the first two majors of the term before Michael Coy pinpointed a spear to Steven Kenny for the Rams' second.

Defender Rohan McHugh, who had an otherwise outstanding game, was then wrapped up trying to run the ball out of the back line to gift Baldivis the first of three consecutive goals as Rockingham repeatedly failed to pierce the stifling forward pressure of the Brumbies.

Goals to Leigh Kelly and Coy to end the term cut the deficit to just 20 points at half-time, but it was more of the same after the long break, with Baldivis outscoring the Rams three goals to two and adding six behinds for good measure in the third quarter.

A five-minute downpour at the start of the fourth term doused any hopes of a Rockingham fightback, although Roberts was rewarded for his strong individual performance with a well-executed consolation goal midway through the quarter.