*It should be noted that the original playing of this match resulted in an 18 all draw, so a replay was forced*

The Perth Taipans played host to North Melbourne in front of a full house, as the Taipans strived to shake their two game losing streak against the Melbourne side.

Perth North Melbourne
1: Darren Lockyer 1: Luke Phillips
2: Henry Faafili 2: Andrew Walker
3: Jamie Lyon 3: Matthew Gidley
4: Andrew McFadden 4: Tasesa Lavea
5: Jack Elsegood 5: Rhys Wesser
6: Stephen Larkhim 6: Scott Hill
7: Mark McLinden 7: Paul Deacon
8: Shane Webcke 8: Robbie Kearns
9: Keiran Cunningham 9: Paul Wellens
10: Rodney Howe 10: Adrian Morley
11: Bill Peden 11: Richard Peleasina
12: Travis Norton 12: Paul Sculthorpe
13: Glenn Morrison 13: Braith Anasta

14: Julian Bailey 14: Tawera Nikau
15: Stuart Fielden 15: Richard Swain
16: Jason Lowrie 16: Wayne Evans
17: Sid Domic 17: Robbie Paul

It didn't take long for the home side to get on the board, some sloppy defence from the Maulers giving the Taipans a gift two points after only twenty seven seconds. Back to back sets gave North Melbourne some early pressure, but the side handled it admirably, with Phillips defusing a towering Lockyer bomb to save face, and some points.

Neither side could get a handle on the game early on, with both making some sloppy mistakes. The Maulers had no structure in attack, with most passages ending with poor kicks. On the other end, Perth's kicking game was predictable at best, with every move dealt with by the able Maulers' backline.

The Maulers looked like they'd be the first to score after thirteen minutes, as halfback Paul Deacon cut through the line and cantered into the clear. However, he didn't see Lockyer coming, and dropped the ball in a heavy tackle. To make matters worse, Lockyer found Peden in the clear, who in turn put McLinden in for the opening try! Lockyer's conversion made it 8-0 to the homeside.

North Melbourne didn't falter though, and looked good in their next two attacking raids. A penalty put the side in excellent field position, before Nikau foolishly passed off the ground to give away a soft penalty. The messy play began to creep back in, as North Melbourne began to play catch up football. Dying with it on the last and putting kicks out on the full were just some of the errors made in the latter part of the first half.

It wasn't until the 34th minute when Perth could finally capitalise on the North Melbourne errors, as Mark McLinden grabbed his second with a brilliant solo run. Lockyer's sideline conversion had it at 14-0, and the Maulers looked dead on their feet.

Perth looked to have made it back to back off the kick-off, after the Taipans put Elsegood over in the corner. The video referee found that Elsegood had stepped into touch however, and the Maulers were able to breath a sigh of relief.

The half finished off with North Melbourne camped in Perth's end, but unable to crack the line. With the siren going, the Taipans had what seemed to be an unsassailable lead, especially with their recent defensive form. But the Maulers, despite looking tired, would definately come out fired up for the second half.

Both sides returned to the park, but despite the big half time lead, it was the Maulers who were looking confident. Whatever Jelly Adams had said in the dressing room had boosted the side's confidence (maybe he announced his retirement?, just kidding).

The Taipans kicked off, but despite being under the ball, Paul Deacon dropped it cold, giving the Taipans first touch of the ball. The Taipans couldn't convert, and a penalty for offside put North Melbourne deep in enemy territory with a full set of six. Despite some promising raids from Tasesa Lavea and Matthew Gidley, the Maulers couldn't cross, some spirited defence from the Taipans keeping them out of the game.

A Keiran Cunningham knock on put his side under pressure once more, as Robbie Paul latched onto a Paul Deacon grubber to snatch what looked to be his side's first try. However, he was found to be offside by mere inches, giving the Taipans a lucky break.

The Maulers didn't lose hope though, as they defended with spirit to limit Perth to a mere five metres gain. To improve on this, the Maulers then bundled Glenn Morrison into touch- with the help of big forward Richard Peleasina. The Taipans had further problems, as Jamie Lyon was stretched from the field with a bad groin strain. Julian Bailey returned to his favoured centre position in time for the Maulers' scrum feed.

An impressive attacking set came to no avail again, as Darren Lockyer defused a bomb and made twenty metres on the kick return. The Taipans showed signs of pressure getting to them, as they threw risky passes in their own twenty. After losing two metres, Mark McLinden lead a promising sideline raid, but a hard Walker tackle hurled the young half into touch.

The Taipans compounded the error moments later, when Rodney Howe's wandering arm hit Paul Wellens across the neck and conceded a penalty on the fifth. The Maulers continued the pressure, before Braith Anasta dropped a ball cold as his side had a three on one overlap.

All of the pressure and no points began to irritate, as the Maulers tried too hard to get back into the match. Some poor clearing kicks from Hill put his side under pressure, before Adrian Morley conceded a penalty for moving from marker too early. The Taipans showed just why they are so dangerous, as Darren Lockyer capitalised on a sneaky pass from Henry Faafili to score in the corner. He converted his own try, giving his side a 20-0 boost.

The North Melbourne heads began to drop, as they realised that they were facing a virtually unassailable lead. Even after their excellent start to the first half, they had allowed a try off Perth's first real chance. Jack Elsegood looked to put the Maulers to bed moments later, as he cut through the line and crashed in under the sticks. The replay showed he had lost the ball in a hard Paul tackle.

The game continued at a frantic pace, as the Maulers tried to creep back in and the Taipans tried to end the game. A Mark McLinden knock on in the Taipans' half gave the Maulers another chance, and they capitalised. A Tawera Nikau bust and flick pass found Andrew Walker, whose cross-field bomb found the waiting arms of Matthew Gidley. The conversion made it 20-6, reducing the margin back to its half-time state.

In the 61st it looked as if Perth had hit back through Darren Lockyer, but a last second rake by Tawera Nikau saved the day once more.

The Maulers couldn't get a piece of luck, as the referee ruled a knock-on against Morley in what appeared to be a knocked back. The Taipans didn't wait and see, as Mark McLinden burrowed over from dummy-half to make it 26-6.

With the game out of reach, North Melbourne became sloppy, conceding stupid penalties and dropping a lot of ball. However, Perth's killer instinct didn't set in, and the scoreline remained the same until full time. The greatest blow for the Maulers, the suspected broken leg of hooker, Paul Wellens.

FULL TIME
Perth Taipans 26:
Darren Lockyer
Mark McLinden 3
Darren Lockyer 5/5
def.
North Melbourne Maulers 6:
Matthew Gidley
Andrew Walker 1/1

Player of the Match
Mark McLinden 3
Darren Lockyer 2
Tawera Nikau 1

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