Brumbies belt Mustangs

A ruthless Baldivis side have sent a warning to their rivals with a stunning 77-point first round win against Mandurah in the Peel Football League.

The Brumbies made good on their promises to gatecrash the league hierachy in the pre-season with a fantastic round one display at Bendigo Bank Stadium.

Piecing together four high-scoring quarters, Baldivis flew out of the blocks and held a 35-point lead at the main break.

The Mustangs failed to make any inroads into the Brumbies’ lead and suffered a miserable day in front of goals.

They failed to kick a single goal in the game’s final three quarters, after registering two majors in the first term through Justin McKain and Isaac Kovacs.

During this period, they kicked a measly five minors as Baldivis easily asserted their dominance.

Blake Arnold led the way for the Brumbies with four goals, ably assisted by Jacob Vlahov and Chase Strange who chipped in with two apiece.

Baldivis coach Paul Lenzarini told the Telegraph he was not getting carried away with the win.

“It was a good to get the four points and get the first game out of the way,” he said. “Mandurah have a young, developing side and it was pretty much a tough contest up to half-time.”

Lenzarini praised the combined efforts of his backline and midfield to stifle Mustangs in the second-half.

Meanwhile, Waroona pipped Rockingham by seven points in the first game of their title defence.

The game at Parnell Street Oval was a classic, with very little separating the two sides.

Demons’ Matt Thomas and goalsneak Alan Wilson secured victory for the hosts in a hardfought final term.

Pinjarra recorded a morale-boosting win over South Mandurah.

Matt Battye was in inspired form for the Tigers, booting seven goals, while Falcons’ spearhead Rod Tregenza also bagged seven majors.

The Centrals and Halls Head fixture in Mundijong was abandoned after an elderly spectator collapsed and later died.

The Lightning were 5.0 to 3.3 up when the incident occurred, just before the end of the first quarter.

PFL chairman Paul Campaner said the league was assessing its options, including a potential replay in the coming months.