The West Coast Cowan Two's continued their solid form with a hard fought 14 point win over 2007 B Reserves premiers Whitfords on Saturday. The boys were determined to bounce back after being humbled by the unbeated Catholic Choirboys last week, and responded in style.

The Coasters were switched on from the opening bounce, winning the centre clearances and delivering the ball nicely inside 50 to big Scotty Palmer- who took 7 marks inside the arc for the match in a dominant display at full forward. The first term was dominated by the Tigers, with Cutler off a wing showing a remarkable ability to find the footy, break the lines and deliver perfectly to the forwards, in an 11 possession quarter that left most of the fans speechless.

The second term was one of missed opportunity and laziness. The midfield, had been led superbly to that point by the irrespressible Aaron Joss and the reinvented ruck rover Scott Garvey. But as the quarter progressed and free Whitfords players started popping up through the 'sacred' corridor, and things were made worse by two costly 50m penalties that led to cheap Whitfords goals. So the half ended with the Coasters having allowed Whitfords right back into the game, being only 10 points up at the major break, in spite of full forward Palmer having kicked 5.4 for the first half in an imperious display.

You could see the smoke coming eminating from Coach D'Alessandro's ears at the break as he was justifiably furious at the way ill-discipline and laziness had allowed the lead to slip, so it was put to the players to show their true character and respond. And respond they did. In a marvellous 3rd quarter display that showcased the best of this freewheeling Cowan side, the boys put on a clinic of fast, accurate, hard running end to end football. The midfield, expertly rotated by Coach Elliott got back on top, with the evergreen Rakich and Crofts marshalling the corridor while Jolon, Garvs and Joss especially chopped up around the packs. But surely the star of the term was Rakich's geriatric mate Norm Schwarzkopf Johnson, who reminded the crowd just how good a footballer he is. After a strong first half that showed he can still match it with the best CHF's around the place, he leapt into the second half with a display of hard running, marking, tackling and shepharding (these aren't typos) that had the crowd in raptures and checking the dates on their watches. The big left footer was in everything, kicking 3 for the term in a truly dominant display to help the boys to a 28 point 3/4 time lead. But the coaching staff knew that the Coasters needed to withstand a likely Whitfords second wind to ensure they prevailed, and implored the boys to show their character and not to drop away-the season was on the line.

In what proved a classic final 20mins full of ebbs and flows, the Coaster boys stood firm in the face of a fierce Whitfords challenge. The heat was on from the outset, as the Whitfords side, kicking with the aid of the stiff nor'easter started asserting themselves around the contests. A little bit of panic crept in to the Coaster play as Whitfords closed to within 9 points, with some poor decision making and disposals. However the back six were a tower of strength, led manfully by Baz, Dunny and Hendo, as they refused to wilt in the face of extreme pressure, showing some wonderful displays of strength, determination and class.

In the end level heads prevailed and the Coasters stood firm, controlling the last 6 minutes of the term to reassert their ascendency, running out deserved 14 point winners, in a match they probably should have won by more. But as the great man once said....we'll take the 4 points.