Wilkey, King lead Carey Park home

Carey Park defied a strong breeze and a fast-finishing Augusta-Margaret River to claim a nine-point win at Kelly Park on Sunday.

The game was tight for the entire four quarters, but the Hawks will rue a number of missed opportunities, while the Panthers kicked four straight on their way to a 13.9 (87) to 11.12 (78) victory.

Carey Park kicked with a strong breeze in the first term, but it was the Hawks who had the better of the quarter.

The visitors’ midfield was on top, while youngsters Luke Furlong and Jacob Oakes (both two goals) were very lively in the forward line.

They had four goals on the board before the Panthers started to contain them.

Late goals to Riese Wilkey (five goals) and Tim Yarran (two goals) saw Carey Park cut the margin back to just 13 points at the first break.

The Hawks had their turn with the breeze in the second term, but the Panthers started better.

They kicked two goals into the breeze before Furlong kicked his second.

Rain then fell and the scoring dried up.

The rain stopped for the start of the third term and the match opened up.

After Wilkey kicked his second, the Hawks got on a roll.

The visitors booted three straight goals into the breeze to open up a break.

However, the Panthers steadied with Kieran King providing drive through the midfield and Tyler Chalwell continuing his strong form around the ground.

They hit the front for the first time late in the term and took a nine-point lead in to the final quarter, setting up a big ending.

The Hawks had final use of the breeze and dominated possession for the early part of the term.

However, they were very wasteful, kicking five behinds until Beau Morgan snapped their first goal for the term.

The Panthers were still in the game and they made the most of their rare forward entries.

Yarran showed his class with a long bomb in to the wind, while Wilkey kicked his fourth goal.

Mitch Lynn was doing his best to inspire the Hawks and he set Jordan Veitch up for a goal to close the margin to two points and set up a thrilling finish.

Wilkey kicked his fifth and King capped a fine match with his second goal, which gave the Panthers some breathing space.

Mitch Payne booted a goal just before the final siren, but it was too little too late, with Carey Park holding on to win.

Scoreboard

Carey Park 2.2 4.3 9.9 13.9 (87) def Aug-Marg River 4.3 5.6 8.6 11.12 (78)

GOALS: Carey Park - R. Wilkey 5, K. King, T. Yarran, T. Chalwell 2, J. Hutton, M. Wallam. Aug-Marg River - L. Furlong, J. Hick, J. Oakes 2, M. Jukes, B. Morgan, J. Payne, M. Payne, J. Veitch.

BEST: Carey Park - Z. Verhaaf, T. Chalwell, K. King, R. Wilkey, T. Yarran, S. Reid. Aug-Marg River - J. Payne, M. Lynn, B. Gerrans, S. Grantis, L. Furlong, J. Oakes.