Schofield, Williamson star on scoresheet as Brigades dispatch Northampton in GNFL

Brigades continued their run of good form to beat a well-organised and energetic Northampton, 14.12 (96) to 10.8 (68), at GBSC Sports Park on Saturday, with Dale Williamson and Jayden Schofield dominant in attack with a combined eight goals.

Schofield has been a stand-out this season and continued that form as the Bulldogs overcame a Rams side who started the season well but have fallen away in recent weeks, scoring a couple of contenders for goal of the season.

Brigades senior coach Cory Foot did not take anything for granted and felt his team had to work hard.

“We were up against a good, well-structured team,” he said. “We played well in patches but went to sleep at times, which cost us.”

Kim Schofield and Kaiden Dann also got on to the scoresheet for Brigades with a major each, while Williamson had five, Ben O’Brien had three.

Both sides seemed cautious from the outset with Brigades struggling to break down Northampton’s well-organised defence.

The Rams played well with both Harry Taylor, back from playing WAFL with East Fremantle the previous round, and Sam Broughton both having good spells in the middle of the game, but could not keep up and were out-marked and outfought in tackles.

The Rams remain optimistic and rightly so, with the game by no means a whitewash.

Player-coach Beau Walker said he was “confident in the personnel coming through”, with the top two spots still up for grabs two thirds of the way through the season.

The reserves game finished with a dead heat, with both sides kicking 7.7 (49).

The other matches restored some pride for the Rams, with the women’s team dispatching the reigning premiers, 6.8 (44) to 1.2 (8), while the colts were also victorious, downing the opposition, 10.4 (64) to 5.3 (33).

Northampton host Mullewa in the next round, with Brigades away to Towns.

The Rams will hope to turn over a Saints side who have struggled to build momentum this season, while the Hawks will want to continue their winning ways against a Bulldogs side who have suffered heavy defeats and do not seem to have anything up their sleeve to bring to their remaining games.