Round 1 WAFL Wrap UpTuesday, March 22, 2016 - 1:53 PM - by Chris Pike

ROUND 1 of the 2016 McDonald's WAFL season saw some exciting individual performances and surprising results with last year's preliminary finalists both losing while East Fremantle started well under its new coach and the reigning premiers began where they left off.

All four Round 1 matches took place on Saturday afternoon with South Fremantle beating West Perth 14.14 (98) to 9.9 (63) at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

Claremont then proved too good for East Perth winning 16.14 (110) to 5.4 (34) at Medibank Stadium while East Fremantle defeated Swan Districts 16.15 (111) to 9.8 (62) at ATOM Stadium.

Subiaco came from behind at Bendigo Bank Stadium to beat Peel Thunder 12.10 (82) to 10.14 (74). Perth had the bye.

Click here for the summary of Round 1 of the WAFL

TEAM OF THE WEEK

BACK: Graham Jetta (SD), Josh Pullman (SF), Justin Simpson (SD) 
HALF-BACK: Matthew Davies (C), Blayne Wilson (SF), Andrew Strijk (WP) 
CENTRE: Aaron Black (WP), Leigh Kitchin (S), Sean Henson (EF)
HALF-FORWARD: Ryan Cook (SF), Tim Bristow (EF), Harley Bennell (PT)
FORWARD: Aaron Elari (SD), Darcy Cameron (C), Kyle Halligan (S)
RUCK: Andrew Stokes (EF), Ashton Hams (SF), Liam Anthony (EF)
INTERCHANGE: Tom Ledger (C), Cameron Eardley (EF), Clancee Pearce (PT), Kyal Horsley (S)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK - KYLE HALLIGAN
Subiaco's forward-line was hit hard following last year's premiership with Shane Yarran, Matt Boland and Chris Deluca all moving on after combining to kick 13 goals in the grand final victory over West Perth.

However, one remaining player is Kyle Halligan and after kicking 32 goals in his 16 matches last year, including two in the grand final, he started his 2016 campaign off with a bang with six goals from 21 possessions and seven marks against Peel Thunder on Saturday.

With Hamish Shepheard, Clancy Wheeler and Lachlan Delahunty to spend time as big men in Subiaco's forward-line and with Halligan to receive support from the likes of Rhys Waters, Ben Sokol and Shaquille McKenzie, the Lions have done well to again have plenty of attacking options for 2016.

THE SHINING LIGHTS
The 2016 season got underway at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with South Fremantle beating West Perth.

The win saw the Bulldogs claim the Garlic Munchers Cup for 2016 and remarkably the 35-point win replicates the one from Round 1 last year also over West Perth at the port.

It was an impressive showing from the Bulldogs largely because of the way a clear game plan and team structure came to the fore.

The swap of Josh Pullman to defence and Zac Strom forward worked a treat. Pullman, who has spent his entire career as an effective tall forward, played at full-back and not only shut down Nick Rodda but took 10 strong marks himself.

And at centre half-forward, Strom provided the Bulldogs with a strong target finishing with 16 disposals, nine marks and two goals.

Pullman received strong support down back from Blayne Wilson (28 possessions, 10 marks) and Marlion Pickett (23 disposals, eight marks) in key defensive roles restricting the import of West Perth talls Michael Lourey and Mark Hamilton.

And Strom was the main option leading up from the forward-line leaving Ben Saunders (three goals) and Mason Shaw (two) to look dangerous deeper with Haiden Schloithe (18 touches, seven tackles, two goals), Blaine Johnson (11 disposals, one goal) and Steven Edwards (11 possessions, one goal) getting to their feet.

South Fremantle's midfield also had a greater blend of inside and outside players.

Ashton Hams again was the standout racking up 34 possessions but the arrival of VFL recruit Shane Hockey provided him with tremendous support and he had 25 disposals and five inside 50 on debut for South Fremantle.

Tim Kelly was tremendous as well with 24 touches, seven marks and a goal while there were plenty of other strong ball winners including Brendan Verrier (29 possessions), Ryan Cook (26, 12 marks, eight inside 50s), Adam Guglielmana (23), Adam McIntosh (20) and Dylan Main (20).

Reigning Breckler Medal winner, 2014 Sandover Medallist and 2013 premiership player Aaron Black worked tirelessly all afternoon for West Perth with 26 possessions and two goals.

Sole captain for 2016 Jay van Berlo also battled away manfully in the well-beaten midfield with 26 possessions and five tackles while Andrew Strijk gave good drive off half-back with 24 disposals, seven marks and five inside-50 entries.

Aidan Lynch also had 19 possessions and laid eight tackles for the Falcons while Trent Manzone had 18 touches, Luke Tedesco 15 and Rohan Kerr 15.

Hams racked up 34 possessions for South Fremantle but 15 of those were in the first quarter and Drew Rohde worked hard to limit him to 19 touches the final three quarters.

Max Duffy kicked three goals in his debut for West Perth while Michael Lourey added two.

The Falcons did sorely miss injured premiership players Shane Nelson and Steven Browne with key players Laine Rasmussen and Steve Potente finding form and fitness in the reserves.

East Perth had plenty to celebrate at Medibank Stadium against Claremont with Craig Wulff breaking the club's games record, but it proved a day to forget with the Tigers winning by 76 points.

Claremont kicked six goals to nothing in the first quarter and were never headed from there winning the opening game of 2016 after losing the first five of 2015 and eight of the first 11 of 2014 on the back of four successive minor premierships.

Claremont might have lost big men Mark Seaby and Kepler Bradley to retirement, but they had no trouble in the talls department on Saturday.

Up forward, Darcy Cameron was terrific with four goals from 13 possessions and eight marks with Beau Maister chipping in with three goals.

Down back, Anton Hamp, Dylan Ross and Brandon Franz stood tall as well up against the likes Fraser McInnes, Paul Johnson and Tom Lamb. Reigning fairest and best Matthew Davies continued where he left off with 23 possessions and seven inside-50 entries.

Claremont's midfield might have suffered a pre-season blow with a knee injury to Corey Yeo, but they had plenty of strong contributors on Saturday with Tom Ledger racking up 25 possessions, Ryan Lim 22, Keifer Yu 20, Hugo Breakey 19, Jared Hardisty 19, Ryan Neates 18 and Bailey Rogers 17.

It was a day to forget for East Perth with Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, Jack Redden, Jonathan Giles, Luke Partington and Dom Sheed the goal kickers.

Small defender Mitch Fraser worked hard for 21 possessions and nine marks while Redden finished with 20 disposals, Steven Payne 19, Brant Colledge 19, Mark Hutchings 19, Nathan Blee 18, McInnes 17, Kane Lucas 17 and Partington 17.

East Fremantle had a finish to 2015 to forget but the Sharks have made plenty of changes over the summer and 2016 got off to the perfect start on Saturday in Rob Wiley's first game as coach with them beating Swan Districts by 49 points.

East Fremantle has struggled at times to kick winning scores in recent years but that was far from a problem on Saturday with the Sharks having 12 goal kickers with Jesse Crichton, Brett Peake, Tim Bristow and James Bristow all booting two apiece.

The Sharks midfield was prolific led by Liam Anthony who had 34 possessions, eight marks, six inside 50s and five tackles.

Cameron Eardley also started the season strongly with 33 disposals, seven marks and seven tackles with Sean Henson rediscovering his form from East Fremantle's 2012 grand final season with 31 touches.

Brock O'Brien proved again why he's one of the most damaging players in the WAFL with his 27 possessions while new captain Jamie McNamara gathered 22 disposals, Peake 19, Dion Anthony 19, Mitch Boyle 18 and Crichton 18.

Ruckman Andrew Stokes stood tall with 12 touches and 30 hit outs.

East Fremantle's forward-line looked lively and it was led by the hard-leading Tim Bristow who finished with 24 touches, five marks and two goals.

It wasn’t the start to the season Swan Districts was hoping for with the 49-point defeat but there were still some encouraging signs for the black-and-whites.

Aaron Elari was outstanding with 27 possessions, six tackles and two goals while fellow former Perth player Matt Rogers was dangerous at half-forward ending up with 16 touches, eight marks and two goals.

Graham Jetta took a year out of the WAFL in 2015 but showed he has lost none of his ability to set up play out of the back-line collecting 28 possessions.

Justin Simpson didn’t get the celebration of his 150th WAFL game he was hoping for but it wasn’t because of a lack of effort from him. He had 26 disposals and six marks.

Jesse Turner also picked up 20 disposals for Swans, Matt Riggio 18 and East Perth recruit Freddie Clutterbuck 17.

Peel got off to a good start at home to Subiaco in the season opener with four goals to two in the first quarter, and they still led by 16 points at half-time.

But the Lions have won the last two premierships and finished the better with seven second half goals to three to win by eight points.

Kyle Halligan was the standout in a new-look Subiaco forward-line with six goals from 21 possessions and seven marks. But he got good support from new recruit Hamish Shepheard (12 touches, five marks, two goals) and Clancy Wheeler (16 disposals, two goals).

Leigh Kitchin showed he is ready to perhaps be even more prolific in the centre for Subiaco in his second WAFL season racking up 32 possessions and 10 inside-50 entries while captain Kyal Horsley had 30 disposals and reigning fairest and best Chris Phelan 26.

Wayde Twomey also had 21 possessions and nine marks for the Lions to be a steady influence back while Brett Robinson finished with 18 touches and Lachlan Delahunty 17 to go with nine hit outs and four inside 50s as he shared the ruck and centre half-forward duties with Wheeler.

Harley Bennell was the standout for Peel for the afternoon with 23 possessions and four goals on return for the day to the club he was initially drafted to the Gold Coast Suns from.

He certainly impressed enough to earn a berth in the Fremantle AFL team, but a calf strain mean he is now likely sidelined for several weeks.

Clancee Pearce was also a big contributor with 32 possessions, 11 marks and five inside-50 entries.

Lachie Weller also had a strong game for the Thunder with 21 possessions and two goals while Zac Clarke battled hard in the ruck for 15 disposals, seven marks, 35 hit outs and two goal.

Connor Blakely also gathered 25 possessions for Peel while his Fremantle teammate Matt de Boer had 26 to go with eight tackles.

Former two-time fairest and best winner Rory O'Brien marked his return to Peel with 23 possessions while Sam Collins had 20 disposals and 14 marks, and Alex Silvagni 17 touches and 10 marks in defence.

RESERVES STANDOUTS
The reserves season for 2016 began on Saturday with East Perth beating Claremont 11.9 (75) to 7.6 (48) at Medibank Stadium.

With East Perth fielding 14 West Coast-listed players in the league side, there was plenty of talent running around in the reserves and that saw Ajang Ajang, Matthew Allen and Agid Gardoud all kick two goals apiece.

Tom Omodei compiled 30 possessions, Julian Ameduri 27, Callum Hart 27, Corey Adamson 26, Ben Miller 22 and Tom Gorter 18.

Ashley Fitzgerald kicked two goals for Claremont with Harrison McCracken gathering 21 possessions, Morgan Davies 20, Alexander Manuel 20 and Zac Langdon 19.

Swan Districts beat East Fremantle 14.13 (97) to 12.13 (85) at ATOM Stadium.

Steven Wityk kicked four goals for Swans, Rudy Riddoch three, Shannon Stack two and Leigh Kohlmann two while Ben Whitsed racked up 34 possessions, Albert Dean 30, Jacob Burnham 23, Riddoch 21 and Jacob Coniglio 21.

Fraser Perry and Louis Cronan kicked two goals each for East Fremantle with Julian Locantro gathering 23 disposals, Matthew Bannister 23, Jesse Adamini 21, Dylan Winton 19 and Jake Schleicher 18.

Peel Thunder downed Subiaco 12.15 (87) to 10.4 (64) at Bendigo Bank Stadium.

With the Thunder having 18 Fremantle-listed players in their league side, it was a strong reserves outfit Brayden Lawler, Brad McGowan, Jordan Adams and Karl Collard all kicking two goals.

Corey Morris gathered 23 possessions, Josh Mathers 23, Lawler 21, Ben Hancock 20 and Andrew Haydon 20 (10 tackles).

Hayden Yarran booted three goals for Subiaco with Shaquille McKenzie and Mitch McPhee adding two each while Matt Bogensperger had it 27 times, Justin Joyce 24, Tom Smith 22 and Max Walters 21.

And on Saturday evening, South Fremantle beat West Perth with the last goal of the game in the dying stages at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, winning 8.9 (57) to 7.10 (52).

Brandon Donaldson booted three goals for South Fremantle and Jacob Dragovich two to go with 22 possessions. Kendall Mow also booted two majors.

Tim Stewart finished with 23 possessions, Shaun Bewick 21, Matthew Ah Siu 20, Josh Collard 18, Jakeb Tartaglia 18 and Traye Bennell 17.

Jordan Mills kicked three goals for the Falcons while Steve Potente made a strong case to come in to the league side this Saturday with 28 possessions, four tackles and four inside-50 entries.

Mitch Peirce also gathered 21 disposals for West Perth, Broderick Walton 18 and Dean Munns 17. Seva Mozhaev also got through his return from a knee reconstruction unscathed and had 31 hit outs in the ruck.

REDiMED COLTS RISING STARS
The REDiMED Colts season for 2016 began on Saturday morning with Claremont beating East Perth 9.12 (66) to 9.6 (60) at Medibank Stadium.

Lachlan Nicholas, Chris Oakley and Jake Waterman all kicked two goals each for Claremont while Matt Guelfi dominated through the midfield with 36 possessions, 11 tackles and nine entries inside the forward 50.

Bailey Banfield also gathered 32 disposals, Waterman 22 and Sam Petrevski-Seton 20.

Ethan Christofis kicked two goals for East Perth with Tarir Bayok collecting 24 disposals, Sam Powell-Pepper 21, Stan Wright 21 and Harry Blanch 19.

Then at ATOM Stadium, Swan Districts started off on a winning note defeating East Fremantle 10.10 (70) to 6.13 (49).

Greg Humphries kicked three goals from four kicks for Swan Districts while Brad Fullgrabe added two majors. Taryce Stewart picked up 18 possessions, Josh Cipro 17 and Mitchell Price 17.

Cameron Zurhaar put in a big effort for East Fremantle with 23 possessions, 10 marks and two goals while Alexander Montauban kicked two majors and Jayden Quill gathered 25 disposals, Corey Holmes 23 and Gabrielle Parfitt 22.

Later on Saturday at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, South Fremantle scored a thumping 21.9 (135) to 4.7 (31) win over West Perth in a reversal of who made the finals in 2015.

Mitch Dzelebdzic kicked four goals for South Fremantle with Dylan Brown booting three, Shai Bolton three, Antionne Forrest-Yarran three, Jimmy Miller two and Brodee Knight two.

Daniel Burke gathered a game-high 29 possessions for the Bulldogs with Brown also having 26 disposals, Tere Teio-Yarran 19, Kyle Russell 19 and Bolton 19.

Jordan Moore, Conal Lynch, Eamon Gilbert and Jayden Hooper were the goal kickers for West Perth.

Scott Nelson racked up 25 possessions, Josh Rotham 22, Liam Baker 21, Angus Allen 20, Lynch 19 and Joel Horgan 17.

And finally on Saturday evening at Bendigo Bank Stadium, Peel Thunder beat Subiaco in a thriller 11.7 (73) to 10.9 (69). The Lions stormed home with five last quarter goals but ultimately fell four points short.

Brett Milward kicked five goals for the Thunder with Deakin Stein adding two. Noah Hura racked up 28 possessions, Calvin Thorne 28, Cruze Wilson 27, Alex Cohen 26, Jakeb Shine 21 and Brandon Penny 20.

Fraser Foley booted four majors for the Lions and Daniel Del Prete two with Jacob Miller picking up 25 possessions and Matthew Pannell 21.