Slow start, final-term fade-out hurt Rams

A spirited Rockingham Rams side went down by 29 points to the Waroona Demons 15.11 (101) to 12.10 (82) at Anniversary Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Rams were looking to bounce back after a loss to Pinjarra last week and started brightly against Waroona, dominating the first 10 minutes of the game.

Unfortunately Scott Franklin’s side couldn’t convert their dominance to points on the board and found themselves four goals down at quarter-time as Waroona made them pay.

In a much-improved second term the Rams kicked six goals to close to within a point of the Demons at the main break. Led by impressive performances from the likes of Chris Oliver, Rocky Collins, Luke Dowling and Kyle Hinchcliffe, the Rams were neck-and-neck with Waroona at three-quarter-time.

Rockingham managed to hit the front in the final term but were unable to hold on for the win as Waroona booted three majors in the final five minutes to secure a hard-fought win.

Franklin said he was impressed by his side’s resilience and effort after a costly first term.

“All year we are talking about our effort and intensity, and when that’s up we can play some great footy against good sides,” he said.

“It was just that 15 minutes in the first quarter where that effort and intensity wasn’t there and the opposition hurt us.” The Rams will turn their attention to another home game this Sunday against South Mandurah.

While Rockingham defeated South Mandurah by 51 points last time they met, Franklin is wary of a much-improved Falcons outfit which recorded an impressive win over second-placed Pinjarra at the weekend.

“They’ve turned it around in the last few weeks so they are going to be tough to beat,” he said.

“We jumped them and kicked 11 goals in the first quarter last time we met ... but it will be a little bit different this time.”

The game starts at 2.30pm on Sunday at Anniversary Park.