Round 8 saw 5 Wests teams playing up at Perth Bayswater while U20's were at Curtin Uni. and U18's at Rockingham. 1st Grade: Once again this was a must win game for Wests 1sts and they started off with style with Tim Riley scoring in the first 4 minutes, Brad Linklator converting. Wests dominated play in this first half and another converted try to Leon Felton saw Wests lead 15-0 at the break. In the 2nd half Perth came back and scored a converted try for a scoreline of 15-7 to Wests. Brad Linklater kicked a penalty for Wests to go out to an 18-7 lead, however Perth came back on attack through their fowards and failure to clear out of the 22 saw Wests concede a penalty try for collapsing the maul, which was conveted for a 18-14 lead to Wests with 15 minutes to go. Perth came back on attack and with Wests failing to win their lineout throws they were on the back foot in their own 22. Perth stole another Wests throw and drove to the line to score and convert to take the score to 21-18 to Perth, which ended up the final score. Another narrow loss to 1st Grade, however they are not out of the hunt for the four, with some areas of their play needing considerable work at training such as lineouts and clearing out of their 22. Next week it is Palmyra, who although winless will not be easybeats, however we need an extra big effort. 2nd Grade: This was a game of 2 halves, with Perth dominating the first half to lead by 20-7 at halftime. However in the 2nd half Wests came back with Mark Livesey kicking a field goal, Benson Auva'a adding another 2 tries to the one he scored in the first half, all his tries being converted by Aaron Broughton. Perth kicked a penalty to go out to 23-17, but Benson's last converted try took the final score to Wests 24 Perth 23, Wests consolidating their 4th spot on the ladder. 3rd Grade: 3rds kicked off on field 2 at 3-30pm so had some 2nd Graders standing by for them. Perth were bottom of the ladder so Wests had a chance to improve their position on the table. In a game played in some persistent rain Wests prevailed 42-24, with Joji Soqoiwasa scoring 2 tries, Richard Takarangi (1), Steve Roberts (1), Alex Bruce (1) whilst Aaron Broughton after playing 2nds, played a full game of 3rds as well and scored a try and kicked 3 conversions and 2 penalties. A good win and a follow up over Palmyra next week could see 3rds close to 4th spot on the ladder. 5th Grade: 5ths started off with a hiss and a roar and were all over Perth in the first 10 minutes, narrowly missing two chances to score. However Perth came back against the run of play to score through some weak tackling and from then on dominated. Scott Blakemore scored a consolation try for Wests converted by Gary Jowett and the final score ended up Perth 43 Wests 7. I think a bit of tackling practice is needed at training this Thursday. Women: The Ladies played Perth who they came up against 2 weeks ago and lost 62-0 having been only able to field 12 players. It was a different story this game with a full compliment and some big hits put in. It took Perth over 20 minutes to score their first try and Wests stayed right in it until the end, however they went down 20 points to 5. A good effort Ladies and must almost feel like a win after that previous game. U20's: Under 20's played Universities 2 at Curtin Uni and ran out winners 55 - 12. U18's: Under 18's played Rockingham at Lark Hill and in a close game prevailed 12-10. Their Coach Dwayne Grace said they didn't play well but they got the win.