The only thing bigger than the Kalamunda forwards is their backline and so it proved as Cottesloe’s resistance gave away in the second half at the Bull Pen on Saturday. The score blew out to 34 – 13 at the end but this differential only grew when Cottesloe lost a number of players to injury and their energy levels dropped. For much of the match, Cottesloe were the better side. They were superior in their continuity and aggressive at the breakdown and for much of the first period, Cottesloe inhabited the Kalamunda 22. Shorn of at least five of their starting team though, the ability to execute the myriad chances created was diminished and it kept Kalamunda in the game. Kalamunda struck first with a score against the run of play, but Cottesloe answered twice in the space of ten minutes to put the score out to 10 points to 7, through powerful work from Sasha Holloway and Ethan Cayless. Kalamunda snagged a penalty just before half time and the score was 10 all at the break.

Cottesloe ripped into Kalamunda for the first fifteen minutes of the second half, dominating territory and taking on the Kalamunda back row at every opportunity. Due to the inclement weather, the pitch was beginning to cut up and some players found it hard to maintain their footing. This had a depreciative affect on Cott’s explosive backline in trying to evade tackles. Scores were hard to come by. Cottesloe did kick a penalty through Jason Badenhorst, who was deputising for the absent Charl Nieuwenhuis, but that was as good as it got for the men in blue. A couple of forced substitutions combined with moments of fortune in attack for Kalamunda resulted in two quick tries down the left flank for the Bulls, and when Cottesloe pushed forward in search of retaliatory scores, it left the door open at the back for further points for Kalamunda. Two more tries followed for the men in black and red and the game was brought to a close.

Cottesloe shorn of a number of their best players endeavoured mightily to contain Kalamunda but they just could not hold the tide back. There were a number of performances worthy of note within the Cottesloe ranks. Simi Verata fought to the end making numerous covering tackles while Zubayr Abrahams took on men twice his size and beat them with regularity. Best for this writer though had to be young Ethan Cayless on the flank. He was relentless in his pursuit of the ball at the breakdown, and his courage to stick his head in the dark places against a truly enormous side in Kalamunda, showed his willingness to play for the jersey and go out on his shield. Kalamunda were playing for their season and in fairness they answered all questions and lifted when Cottesloe put them to the test with 20 minutes to go. It changes nothing for Cottesloe though. We welcome arch rivals Associates to the nest this Saturday and a victory of any description ensures the premier grade finals football. Cottesloe have a long history of rolling Associates at the nest when it counts, and with a bit of luck, Saturday should be no different.