Imperials impress to wrap up Fox Shield

Imperials have claimed the Mickey Fox Shield for 2021 after pulling off an impressive 31-point win against the Southerners at the weekend. Imperials hosted their opponents in Manjimup on Saturday afternoon, looking to secure valuable ladder points to stay in the finals race, while Southerners were still chasing their first win of the season. There was plenty of scoring in the opening quarter, with both sides moving the ball quickly across the ground. But it was the home team who started to pull away with a 26-point lead at the first change. Both teams stepped up their defensive pressure in the second term, making it tougher to score freely. However, Southerners showed their grit and outscored Imperials for the term, clawing the margin back to 18 points at half time. Southerners struck first with a quick goal to start the third quarter. But Imperials were able to respond with back-to-back majors of their own to start a third quarter shootout. As Southerners got another goal back, the Imperials answered with another two, still managing to keep the visitors at arms length before the final quarter. The two teams, who have had to work hard for wins all year, battled out the last term on fumes as the sun set across the oval. Despite trailing all day, Southerners could at least smile about four unanswered goals albeit extremely late in the piece. But it was too little, too late as the Imperials raced to an inspiring victory. Imperials are second-to-last on the Lower South West Football League ladder but are tied with Deanmill and Kojonup on points after the weekend’s win, while Southerners remain anchored to the bottom.