Round 22 McDonald's WAFL Wrap UpWednesday, August 24, 2016 - 12:34 AM - by Chris Pike

PEEL Thunder, East Fremantle and East Perth all came into the penultimate round of the 2016 WAFL Premiership Season on Saturday fighting over finals spots with the trio all losing to leave things fascinating head into the final weekend.

Despite losing, Peel was guaranteed of a second straight finals appearance with the results on Saturday while by both going down, the Sharks and Royals set up a do-or-die clash between the two at ATOM Stadium on Saturday.

All four Round 22 matches took place on Saturday with Claremont hammering East Fremantle 22.11 (143) to 6.8 (44) at ATOM Stadium, South Fremantle holding off East Perth 13.8 (86) to 12.10 (82) at Medibank Stadium, Subiaco overrunning Peel Thunder 13.15 (93) to 12.4 (76) at Bendigo Bank Stadium and Perth beating Swan Districts 15.10 (100) to 7.8 (50) at Steel Blue Oval.

The results leave Subiaco (16-4), South Fremantle (14-5) and West Perth (12-7) all locked away in the top three positions. That means the Lions have the bye in the first week of the finals with the Bulldogs to host the Falcons in the qualifying final.

Peel Thunder (10-9) should remain fourth while East Fremantle (9-10) is fifth and East Perth (9-10) sixth but the winner this Saturday will simply play finals and the loser won't.

Claremont (7-12), Perth (7-12) and Swan Districts (2-17) fill up the last three places.

Click here for the summary of Round 22 of the WAFL 

TEAM OF THE WEEK (club, times named)
BACK: Greg Broughton (S, 7), Anton Hamp (C, 3), Ryan Lester-Smith (EF, 3)
HALF-BACK: Michael Sinclair (P, 7), Marlion Pickett (SF, 4), Luke Partington (EP, 2)
CENTRE: Jacob Dragovich (SF, 2), Steven Verrier (SF, 3), Bailey Banfield (C, 1)
HALF-FORWARD: Blair Bell (PT, 3), Darcy Cameron (C, 6), Haiden Schloithe (SF, 6)
FORWARD: Jack Bradshaw (C, 3), Spencer White (P, 1), Liam Ryan (S, 6)
RUCK: Paul Johnson (EP, 4), Jye Bolton (C, 9), Clint Jones (P, 9)
INTERCHANGE: Jake Murphy (C, 3), Shane Hockey (SF, 4), Aidan Tropiano (P, 3), Jesse Turner (SD, 2)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK – JACK BRADSHAW
Claremont small forward Jack Bradshaw has been dropped to the reserves twice this year despite being the leading goal kicker at the Tigers the past two season, but his performance on Saturday in his team's 99-point win over East Fremantle showed why he belongs in the league side permanently.

He had still been solid with 22 goals in 15 games, but in the reserves last week he was irresistible kicking eight goals against West Perth and backed that up with another eight goals on his return to the league side on Saturday.

Bradshaw's performance which included 21 possessions and nine marks only adds to the frustration of what might have been for Claremont in 2016 if some of those tight losses went the other way. 

THE SHINING LIGHTS
Subiaco might have been guaranteed top spot no matter the result and had two weeks off to look forward to following Saturday's game that the Lions went into without Chris Phelan and Kyal Horsley, but that didn’t stop them refusing to give up despite trailing by 26 points at three quarter-time.

Subiaco went on to kick 6.7 to no score in the final quarter to win by 17 points and enter their double break full of form and confidence.

Even without Phelan and Horsley in the midfield, Subiaco did well with the game on the line through the middle with Adam Cockie ending the afternoon with 25 possessions, six tackles and six inside-50 entries.

Leigh Kitchin compiled 22 disposals for the Lions while down back Greg Broughton had another 22 touches, Greg Clark 19 and Wayde Twomey 19.

Hamish Shepheard and Liam Ryan both kicked four goals apiece for Subiaco with Clancy Wheeler working hard for 20 possessions, six marks, six inside-50 entries and a goal.

Blair Bell was the match-winner last time Peel played Subiaco, and he threatened to do so again on Saturday as he booted five goals to go with 17 possessions and seven marks. Brayden Lawler also kicked two goals.

Matt de Boer continued his impressive form in the midfield for the Thunder ending up with 33 possessions and seven tackles while Rory O'Brien gathered 28 disposals, Anthony Morabito 21, Clancee Pearce 18, Tendai Mzungu 18 and Josh Deluca 17.

Jack Hannath worked hard as the sole ruckman for Peel without Jonathon Griffin or Michael Apeness backing him up, and he ended up with 13 possessions, five inside 50s, four marks and 47 hit outs.

There were plenty of players to stand up to deliver strong performances for South Fremantle and the pleasing thing for coach Todd Curley was that it wasn’t all of the usual faces doing the brunt of the work.

Jacob Dragovich had a slow start to 2016 due to injury and had to bide his time for several weeks in the reserves, but his form has been building since firstly in the forward-line and now more and more in the midfield. He was tremendous on Saturday finishing with 36 possessions and six marks.

Shane Hockey was also prolific in the midfield for the Bulldogs and ended up with 34 disposals, eight tackles and five inside-50 entries.

Steven Verrier was given the job on Jack Redden and not only did well restricting him to 18 touches, nine tackles and a goal while picking up 23 possessions, six tackles, five marks and a goal himself.

Brendan Verrier also gathered 25 possessions and nine marks for South Fremantle while Jacob Martinez finished with 24 disposals and eight marks, Shaun Bewick 20, Dylan Main 20 and Ashton Hams 18.

South Fremantle's back-line also stood up strongly and several of the backmen had big afternoons with Marlion Pickett ending up with 24 possessions and 14 marks, Chris Luff 23 touches and eight marks, and Blayne Wilson 22 disposals and 10 marks.

While Ben Saunders was held to just one goal and three kicks in the Bulldogs forward-line, Haiden Schloithe stood up to kick four goals and Mason Shaw booted three in the second half.

East Perth's cause certainly wasn’t helped coming into the game without Jonathan Giles and with Fraser McInnes dropped to the reserves, and the lack of a key forward target did hurt as the afternoon unfolded.

Jamie Bennell, however, made a strong contribution at ground level returning to the league side kicking three goals to go with 17 possessions and seven marks. Sam Powell-Pepper also showed some good signs with two goals from 11 disposals and six marks.

Paul Johnson worked tirelessly in the ruck without his usual support ending up with 54 hit outs along with 13 touches, nine inside 50s, four marks and a goal.

Luke Partington was prolific for the Royals compiling 30 possessions along with five tackles while Will Maginness gathered 25 disposals, Jordan Snadden 21, Mitch Fraser 21, Liam Duggan 20 and Tom Lamb 18.

Key defenders Mitch Brown and Eric Mackenzie worked hard opposed to Ben Saunders and Mason Shaw as well.

With East Perth losing to South Fremantle, East Fremantle could have all but locked away a finals position with a win against Claremont at ATOM Stadium. Not only did that not happen, but the Tigers annihilated the Sharks romping to the 99-point victory.

Claremont forward duo Jack Bradshaw and Darcy Cameron had a day out and there was precious little East Fremantle's defenders could do given the ease of the Tigers' forays forward.

Bradshaw finished with eight goals from 21 possessions and nine marks while Cameron booted five goals from 18 disposals and 12 marks.

Justin Speed also chipped in with three goals for Claremont and Harrison McCracken two.

Claremont's midfield had a dominant day led by ruckman Mitch Andrews who had 13 touches, 44 hit outs and a goal. His on-ballers took full advantage of his dominance with Simpson Medallist Jye Bolton leading the way 37 possessions and a goal.

Captain Jake Murphy racked up 34 disposals and seven tackles, Tom Ledger 22 and Jared Hardisty 22 while teenage debutant Bailey Banfield was outstanding with 24 touches, six marks and six entries inside the forward 50.

The Tigers' back-line did well led by Anton Hamp who put the clamps on Matthew Watson holding him to six kicks, three marks and one behind.

It was a difficult afternoon for East Fremantle but Jayden Schofield and Ryan Lester-Smith did their best to try and make something happen by setting up play out of the back-line. Schofield ended up with 29 possessions and 10 marks, and Lester-Smith 27 disposals and seven marks.

Young trio Jesse Adamini (24 possessions), Dion Anthony (23) and James Harrold (22) showed some good signs in the heavy defeat while Jake Schleicher tried hard in the midfield for 20 disposals.

Brett Peake managed to kick three goals up forward for the Sharks and Jacob Green.

Perth highlighted there is quite a gap between the bottom two teams in the competition in 2016 by beating Swan Districts for a third time this season, scoring a comfortable 50-point victory at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday. The Demons kicked 10 goals to one in the first half to set up the win.

Spencer White hasn’t had the debut season with Perth following his time in the AFL with St Kilda he would have liked due to injury, but he showed what he was capable of on Saturday kicking five goals from seven kicks and five marks.

Marshall Jones also kicked three goals for the Demons and captain Dene White two.

Perth's midfield has been its great strength all season and it was dominant again led by Clint Jones who amassed 47 possessions to go with 11 marks. Reigning Sandover Medallist Aidan Tropiano also had 41 disposals, eight tackles, eight inside 50s and seven marks.

Liam McKenna gathered 30 possessions to go with eight marks and a goal for Perth with Matthew Taylor having 24 touches, Julian Jacobs 23, Ashley Boyes 23 and Cody Leggett 19. Ruckman Angus Graham had 14 disposals, four marks, 29 hit outs and a goal.

Michael Sinclair continued his outstanding form across half-back for Perth with another 26 possessions and 14 marks.

It was another afternoon to forget for the wooden spoon bound Swan Districts with Justin Simpson kicking two goals.

Jesse Turner was a shining light playing the best game of his young career with 34 possessions and nine marks while Adam Faulkner finished with 26 disposals, Rudy Riddoch 24, Matthew Rogers 22, Brandon Erceg 21, Laurence Grescos 20, Jackson Slater 20 and Jacob Coniglio 18.

RESERVES STANDOUTS
Peel Thunder's reserves recorded just its second victory of 2016 beating Subiaco on Saturday at Bendigo Bank Stadium 14.8 (92) to 12.13 (85).

Brett Milward kicked five goals for Peel with Nick Merritt and Luke Shepherd booting two apiece.

Harley Balic gathered 30 possessions for the Thunder, Chris Wrigley 23, Keegan Power 22, Haydn Matthews 18 and Corey Morris 17. 

James Garcia, Braden Fimmano, Hayden Yarran and Jeremy Woodley all booted two goals each for Subiaco.

Matt Bogensperger racked up 33 possessions for the Lions, Shaquille McKenzie 25, Fimmano 23 and Garcia 19.

Then in the reserves match at Medibank Stadium, East Perth proved too good for South Fremantle winning 20.9 (129) to 8.2 (50).

Daniel Perkins kicked four goals for East Perth, Agid Gardoud three, Stan Wright three, Nathan Eaton two, Tom Curtin two and Fraser McInnes two.

Tom Omodei racked up another massive 39 possessions for the Royals, Steven Payne 38, Kurt Mutimer 30, Julian Ameduri 27, Tom Hodgson 27, Will Young 26, Wright 25, Nathan Blee 23 and Alex Ridley 21.

Brandon Donaldson kicked three goals for South Fremantle and Jesse Mirco two.

Tim Stewart gathered 23 possessions for the Bulldogs, Tom Vandeleur 17, Bailey Matera 17, Billy Collier 14 and young ruckman Tim English 13 to go with 19 hit outs and a goal.

East Fremantle's reserves beat Claremont 13.13 (91) to 5.2 (32) at ATOM Stadium.

Jack Perham kicked another six goals for the Sharks to now have 14 majors in the past two weeks. His six goals came from eight kicks and six marks.

Tom Bennett also kicked two goals from 28 possessions for East Fremantle while Conor Regan finished with 31 disposals, Fraser Perry 27, Andrew Stephen 26, Tyler Chalwell 26, Dylan Winton 25, Aaron Holmes 25, Tom Marshall 24, Tom Hooker 23, Miles Franklin 22, Matthew Bannister 21 and Carl Green 20.

Jack Richardson and Gerrick Weedon kicked two goals apiece for Claremont while Weedon compiled 20 possessions, Keifer Yu 18, Toby Plant 18 and Mason Whitehead 17.

Swan Districts' reserves defeated Perth 9.15 (69) to 7.11 (53) at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday.

Shannon Stack kicked three goals for Swan Districts, Aidan Clarke two and Matthew Jukes two.

Ethan Maguire gathered 29 possessions for the black-and-whites, Freddie Clutterbuck 28, Jacob Burnham 24, Albert Dean 21, Clarke 21, Jacob Ness 19 and Ben Gillard 18.

Kurtis Chester racked up 30 possessions to go with two goals for Perth while Todd Stevenson finished with 27 disposals, Fraser Millar 25, Matt Thompson 21, Chris Leonard 20, Jacob Payne 20 and Kristian Cary 20.

REDiMED COLTS RISING STARS
Peel Thunder's colts opened the day at Bendigo Bank Stadium beating Subiaco 16.5 (101) to 11.5 (71).

Michael Stevens kicked four goals for Peel, Alex Cohen three and Aaron Naughton three.

Damon Cramer picked up 21 possessions for the Thunder, Reece Dillon 19, Jacob Perry 18, Brandon Penny 18 and Michael Humble 17.

Christian Martin and Sean Foley kicked three goals each for Subiaco while Liam Catalfamo gathered 24 possessions, Foley 24, Matthew Pannell 23, Aaron Breman 21, Jye Harris 20 and ruckman Josh Chapman 17 along with eight tackles, 40 hit outs and a goal.

The colts action began the day at Medibank Stadium with South Fremantle beating East Perth 13.6 (84) to 3.9 (27).

Shai Bolton had a day out for the Bulldogs kicking seven goals from 20 possessions and seven entries inside the forward 50.

Ned Brennan also kicked two goals for South Fremantle and Andre Coutinho two.

Dylan Brown racked up 28 possessions for the Bulldogs to go with 12 tackles and seven marks while Brodee Knight finished with 25 disposals, Daniel Burke 23, Bruno Faulkner 20 (10 tackles) and Riley Burke 20 (11 tackles).

Harry Blanch, Mitch Dobson and Matthew Young combined to kick East Perth's three goals.

Young also gathered 27 possessions for the Royals, Christian Ameduri 23, Dobson 20, Kobe Chrisp 18 and Ethan Christofis 17.

It was a low-scoring affair in the colts at ATOM Stadium with East Fremantle ending up beating Claremont 7.7 (49) to 5.4 (34).

Luke Strnadica kicked two goals for East Fremantle to go with 15 possessions, five marks and 12 hit outs.

Ben Harding gathered 27 possessions for the Sharks, Gabriel Parfitt 25, Cameron Zurhaar 24, Kyle Baskerville 23 and Corey Holmes 18.

Jacob Sideris compiled 35 possessions to go with eight tackles for Claremont with Bailey Bennett finishing with 28 disposals, Sam Petrevski-Seton 26, Jake Patmore 21 and Josh Bennett 19.

It was another low-scoring colts contest at Steel Blue Oval with Swan Districts beating Perth 6.3 (39) to 2.15 (27).

Rhyce Butcher kicked two goals for Swan Districts with Jarrod Shorter racking up 21 possessions, Maeva Walker 21, Tristen Raynor 18, Mitchell Price 16 and Blake Pescud 16.

Bradley Pattison and James Bereyne were Perth's lone goal scorers while Tom Gooch gathered 24 disposals, John Levien 23, Cody Kickett 22, Arnold Punch 20, Brodey Eades 18 and Pattison 18