Rovers return and clinch home victory
Port Hedland Rovers have bounced back from two heavy losses on the road to hand out the punishment this time with a 95-point drubbing of the Wickham Wolves in last weekend's North Pilbara Football League clash.
The Wolves clearly brought an undermanned side to Hedland as the Rovers convincingly outplayed them in every quarter to win 17.14 (116) to 2.9 (21).
Rovers coach Greg Mastrangelo said it was nice to be back on the winners' board and said with most teams struggling to field a full contingent of players to travel, home games were critical.
"We fielded a much stronger side at home this week and got the result," he said.
"It is going to be the story of the year as far as whoever can travel the best will give themselves every chance to play finals.
"You must be winning your home games."
The win puts the Rovers in fourth place on the NPFL ladder, with Wickham sliding to fifth.
But in a sign of the evenness of this year's competition, teams one to five on the ladder are all level on three wins and two losses and separated only by percentage.
Mastrangelo said his side would now focus on ensuring it brought a stronger side to Karratha this weekend for its clash against the Falcons.
In the meantime, he praised Tim Fisher, who brought up his 100-game milestone for the Rovers on the weekend.
And in a remarkable twist, regular back-man Fisher, who had never kicked a goal for the Rovers, was moved into the forward line in the last quarter with dramatic results.
"He hasn't kicked a goal in 100 games of footy and then he kicked two on the weekend, so it was good to see," he said.
Fisher was joined in the Rovers' forward line by Brad Horsman, who kicked a bag of five goals, while Beau Alec was the solitary goal kicker for the Wolves, kicking two.
Mastrangelo also praised Aaron Ogg for his performance in the backline and Luke Hockey, who was named best on ground.
He said Hockey not only found the footy but played an effective shutdown role on the Wolves' best player.
In the reserves, it was a closer affair as the Rovers won 9.11 (65) to the Wolves' 4.6 (30).
