Visiting Mandurah is always a tough fair. Their hard, fast and narrow pitch takes some getting used to and always seems to bring out the frenetic side of both South’s sides. Riding high after their demolition of Joondalup in the season opener, confidence was high even though Mandurah had also had a big win in their first game. Without many of the backline that performed so well the previous week, Souths kept things tight from the off. With scrum and line-out on song, Souths dominated possession and edged forward against a hard tackling Mandurah team. Using the best of their opportunities, Mandurah attacked well from what little ball they had, their occasional forays into the Souths half meant the Lions had to re-group and grind away again. An injury to novice front rower Marco Alexander meant Jeff Astfalck kept his game tally ticking over. As Souths applied the pressure, with stand-in captain Geordie James and player coach Lee Chapman, leading the charge, their side conceded as the half ended. A run of the mill crash in centre field saw Mandurah’s inside centre break the line and canter over untouched from then. A bad way to end an encouraging half.

A change in tactics aimed to bring in more dynamic style of play in the hope of capitalising on a tiring Mandurah pack. They used the interchange ruling to good effect to keep their forwards as fresh as possible as the Souths pack took it to the hosts. Guilty of hanging on for just too long saw Souths held for most of the half. An injury to the reliable Richie Johns at full back saw Dawid Van Jono re-enter the fray in the centres. A late penalty attempt sailed wide and with Souths gaining considerable advantage another of those inexplicable brain explosions saw Mandurah once again slip over for a 2nd and decisive try. After controlling possession and territory for the entire game, it seemed inexplicable that Souths could go away without a score. 10-0 to Mandurah.