Basement dwellers Perth Bayswater proved no match for an injury stricken Cottesloe team as the tries rained in at the nest on Saturday. Cottesloe managed four tries on either side of the break and were only answered by a solitary response and the score finished 52 – 5.

The first half began with big ball carriers like Lafa Ikenasio and Sasha Holloway taking it to the men in black and white and each made gains over the advantage line at their leisure. Simi Verata was the first man to pierce the flimsy Bayswater defensive line when he extended his long lever across a plethora of would-be tacklers to place the ball over the line. Five minutes later, Mayson Hill ghosted through a giant hole in the porous Baysie midfield to score from thirty meters out. Dr Johnny Iliff was the next cab off the rank to notch a try up when he bludgeoned his way through three or four Perth men on roughly the 25 minute mark. Captain Gafa S’ua, not to be outdone, decided to smash his way over for his first try on thirty minutes. Bayswater managed to temporarily stem the tide for a small period and even struck for a try of their own, but with their lineout and scrum being massacred, the large ladies day crowd at the fence knew that it couldn’t last for them.

The second half continued in the same vein as the first period with debutant Joey Kerby diving low beneath the feet of the Baysie back row to score to the left of the posts. It took fifteen minutes more of near misses for Cottesloe to generate their next tangible chance when Zu Abraham used his pace to burn the Bayswater backline and touchdown. Sasha Holloway was the next weapon of mass destruction to smash his way over when he got on the end of a multitude of pick and go’s to out-muscle his opposite number for a score. The final try of the game was dotted down by mercurial winger Jimmy Blackburn, who used his languid running style to weave his way untouched get the try. Ben Meredith who had been kicking well all day, converted. The referee had seen enough by five minutes past five and blew the final whistle.

For those who have been following the Cottesloe premier grade all year, you would know that the team has suffered a surprising amount of injuries thus far. Our depth has been sorely tested but has proved quite adequate in keeping us perched on top of the ladder in both premier sand the reserve grade. It did not matter in this game that we weren’t at full strength as, across the park, we were just too much for the men from Bayswater. Every single player who togged out for the Prems looked extremely comfortable out there, despite some usually inhabiting the fringes of the squad. Joe Kerby kept it simple on debut and did mountains of bread and butter backrow work across the middle of the field. The entire front row bullied their opposite numbers in all aspects of the game, and out wide, Mayson Hill, Nick Jooste, Zu Abrahams and Jimmy Blackburn, were far too quick and skillful at all points of the match. The player that caught the eye for this writer though was Sasha Holloway. He has been a consistent performer all season and fulfills a vital role for the side. When the game is easy like this was for the lads, it’s easy to lose your structural integrity as a side and for players to stay out wide looking to execute flashy stuff. Sasha Holloway stuck to his guns though. He carried, he tackled and he hit the rucks and Sasha’s performance was the anvil on which this 8 try victory was forged.

This weekend the prems welcome back a few men from injury and travel with confidence to McGillivray Oval to tackle the high flying students.