Demons stifle Rams

Rockingham were crushed by an inspired Waroona at Anniversary Park in an Anzac Day clash preceded by the traditional playing of the Last Post.

An evenly-contested first quarter gave way to carnage in the second and third terms as the Demons notched eight goals to the Rams' two to seal the 13.6 (84) to 6.7 (43) victory.

Rams coach Peter Chidlow pointed to his side's lack of pace through the midfield as the deciding factor in a narrow loss to Mandurah in round 2 and that Achilles heel was again on full display as the Rams crumbled under pressure from the Waroona on-ballers.

After a positive start, during which Rockingham defended admirably - including a number of desperate smothers in the forward pocket - the Rams were rewarded for their effort with the first major of the game, when Daniel Hatch was held just outside the goal square.

Waroona replied straight away through Alan Wilson for the only other goal of the quarter, but Rockingham took a two-point lead into the first break after finding some success attacking up the wing for a pair of minor scores.

In the second term, that strategy began to backfire, with Waroona making the most of its superior pace to swarm the flanks and pressure the Rams into numerous turnovers.

Floating defender Rohan McHugh, who was a stand-out for the Rams in the first half, and the rest of the Rockingham backline, toiled hard to prevent those turnovers from turning into points but midway through the second term, the dam broke, allowing the Demons to kick three consecutive goals.

Rockingham pulled one back after a strong contested mark from Andrew Walsh, but the Demons regained momentum just before half-time after Rams vice-captain Peter McGennisken was whistled for holding Demon Keren Ugle in a marking contest.

The home side persisted with its strategy of kicking across the field after the break and found some initial success after a well-executed handball exchange between Hatch and Shaun Norman resulted in the forward's second goal. It was all one-way traffic from there, however, with Waroona kicking the next six goals as Rockingham struggled to string together more than a handful of possessions at a time in the face of the Demons' suffocating midfield pressure.

Goals to Joshua Williams and Michael Ochoa midway through the final term threatened to breathe some life into the contest, but the damage was already done and Waroona iced the game not long after through majors to Alan Wilson and Adam Clancy.