Bulldogs put bite on the Sharks

A goal to veteran Paul Mugambwa in the dying stages of the game helped South Fremantle claim a brilliant five-point victory over East Fremantle in the WA day derby at ATOM Stadium this afternoon.

The Sharks led at every change after bursting out of the blocks in the opening term but struggled to hold back a surging Bulldogs, led by an inspirational performance from skipper Ryan Cook in the final term.

Trailing by 22 points with 20 minutes to play in the match, the Bulldogs managed to peg the margin back to just four through goals to Cook, Cory Dell’Olio and Marlon Pickett.

Then with the game on the line it was Mugambwa who took hold of the moment, jumping to his feet after a marking attempt to gather the ball at pace and run into an open goal, putting the Bulldogs up by four points.

Mitchell Boyle had the chance to win the game for the Sharks, but his shot on the run grazed to post at the 28 minute mark to hand the Bulldogs a 15.13 (103) to 14.14 (98) win.

Cook was awarded the best on ground medal for his three goals from 23 disposals, with Dell’Olio kicking four goals for the victors.

Liam Anthony (30 disposals, two goals), Jamie McNamara (33) and Bradd Dalziell (four goals) were the Sharks’s best.

South Fremantle went into the game without star defender Blayne Wilson, who was a late withdrawal with back tightness.

And the news didn’t get any better from there for the Bulldogs, with the Sharks waltzing the ball out of the middle and kicking the first two goals through Anthony and George Hampson.

Fleet-footed midfielder Tim Kelly was also out of the game early after being knocked out at a centre bouncedown and taken from the ground on a stretcher.

By quarter-time, with help from a strong breeze, the home side had blown the lead out to 32 points and looked in complete control.

But the Bulldogs had another gear. With the wind at their backs this time the visitors lifted their intensity around the stoppages and made the most of the hard ball they were winning.

Inspirational young pair Jacob Dragovich and Simon Panizza both kicked goals and made some clever plays across the ground to give their side a lift.

The defence also stepped up, keeping the Sharks to just three behinds for the quarter to bring the deficit back to just nine points.

Souths took the lead just three minutes into the third term after goals to Cook and Dell’Olio before the Sharks responded.

McNamara continued to dig in through the midfield to get things going his team’s way and a magnificent three-goal burst from Dalziell had Easts back in front at the final break and set for a big last quarter.

But then came the run, with the Bulldogs’ three-goal burst setting the scene for the sensational finish.