Round 7 WAFL ResultsSunday, May 20, 2018 - 11:32 PM - by Chris Pike

WAFL action resumed on Saturday following the State Game triumph and it saw the top three teams Subiaco, South Fremantle and West Perth record wins by a combined 248 points while Perth won a heartstopper over Claremont by a point.

The competition took a break last weekend as the KIA WAFL State Team went to Adelaide to defeat South Australia by 26 points as the West Australian representative side made it six consecutive victories.

The WAFL competition resumed for Round 7 action on Saturday afternoon with all four games taking place as Swan Districts had an extra week off with the bye.

The four matches saw Subiaco defeat Peel Thunder 21.14 (140) to 7.6 (48), South Fremantle beat East Perth 18.13 (121) to 8.5 (53), West Perth down East Fremantle 24.14 (158) to 10.10 (70) and Perth prevail 15.9 (99) to 14.14 (98) over Claremont.

The Round 7 WAFL results leave Subiaco clear on top of the ladder with a 6-0 record and dominant percentage of 239.2.

South Fremantle (5-1) sits in second position ahead of West Perth (4-3), East Perth (4-2) and Swan Districts (3-3).

Perth (2-4) sits in sixth position ahead of Peel Thunder (2-4), Claremont (1-5) and East Fremantle (1-6).

The afternoon's action got underway with the first Grand Final rematch of 2018 with Peel Thunder hosting Subiaco at Bendigo Bank Stadium.

The Lions took an undefeated record to start the season into the clash with the team that beat them in the past two Grand Finals. 

The Thunder did start well to lead by eight points at quarter-time, but Subiaco dominated from there with 19 goals to three over the last three quarters to come away with the 92-point victory to improve to a 6-0 record while Peel slipped to 2-4.

Ben Newton kicked five goals for the Lions to go with 26 possessions while Rhys Waters and Brad Stevenson kicked three goals apiece, and Lachlan Delahunty and Max Walters two.

Captain Kyal Horsley racked up 41 possessions for Subiaco, Leigh Kitchin 29, Delahunty 28, Hayden Kennedy 24, Walters 23, Chris Phelan 21, Scott Hancock 21 and Jacob Miller 20.

Luke Strnadica kicked two goals for Peel while Stefan Giro gathered 27 disposals, Ben Howlett 22, Ethan Hughes 22 and Tom Sheridan 21.

East Perth and South Fremantle met at Leederville Oval with the two teams both going into the contest with four-game winning streaks.

It was then an even contest for most of the first half with East Perth leading by a point at the 19-minute mark of the second quarter when Brayden Ainsworth goaled.

But from that point on South Fremantle dominated kicking 12 of the game's last 13 goals to win by 68 points and make it five wins in succession to sit clear in second position on the WAFL ladder.

Cory Dell'Olio kicked four goals for the Bulldogs, Mason Shaw three, Haiden Schloithe two, Brandon Donaldson two and Ben Saunders two.

Schloithe also collected 27 possessions for South Fremantle, Shane Hockey 27, Marlion Pickett 24, Jacob Dragovich 21, Nick Suban 20, Jake Florenca 20 and captain Dylan Main 20 to go with 14 tackles.

Will Maginness and Brayden Ainsworth kicked two goals apiece for an East Perth team whose cause wasn’t helped by losing Will Schofield and Asher Samelko to injuries in the first quarter.

Ainsworth finished with 27 touches for the Royals, Nathan Blee 24, Maginness 23, Luke Partington 23, Tom Gorter 21, Matthew Allen 21, Patrick McGinnity 20 and Sharrod Wellingham 20.

West Perth returned home to Joondalup Arena for its first home game in five weeks and the Falcons made it a homecoming to remember dominating East Fremantle from start to finish to come away with the thumping 88-point victory.

The win means West Perth has now won three of its past four matches with the only loss being a competitive 22-point defeat at the hands of Subiaco. East Fremantle has now lost five straight including the last four by an average of 76.3 points.

Andrew Strijk had a day to remember in the 215th game of his career kicking a career-best eight goals from 23 possessions and 10 marks.

Michael Lourey also kicked three goals for the Falcons, Steve Potente three, Tyler Keitel three and Aaron Black two.

Shane Nelson racked up another 39 possessions for West Perth, Black 37, Luke Meadows 33, Trent Manzone 28, Mitch Peirce 22 and Blake Wilhelm 21.

Sean Fletcher, Jesse Wynne and Cameron Loersch kicked two goals each for East Fremantle.

George Hampson collected 26 disposals for the Sharks, Jarrad Jansen 25, Cameron Eardley 21 and Dylan Winton 21.

Claremont and Perth did battle at Claremont Oval in what proved the tight contest of the round.

The Tigers and Demons had both won just once in their opening five games of the season heightening the importance of the contest.

It ended up going right down to the wire with Perth coming from behind over the last eight minutes with the final four scoring shots of the  contest, one of which was a goal to Lachlan Dennis, to snatch the victory with a behind to captain Clint Jones with just seconds left on the clock.

Blake Johnson kicked four goals for Perth, Brant Colledge three, Cody Ninyette two and Kristian Cary two.

Clint Jones amassed 31 disposals for the Demons, Cody Leggett 24, Brent Edmonds 20 and Laine Wilkins 19.

Tom Lee booted four goals for Claremont, Beau Maister four and Jye Bolton two to go with 34 possessions.

Kane Mitchell compiled 40 possessions for the Tigers, Tom Ledger 25, Haydn Busher 23, Ian Richardson 20, Tom Curren 20 and Bailey Rogers 20.

ROUND 7 WAFL RESULTS
LEAGUE
Peel Thunder 7.6 (48) lost to Subiaco 21.14 (140)
East Perth 8.5 (53) lost to South Fremantle 18.13 (121)
West Perth 24.14 (158) defeated East Fremantle 10.10 (70)
Claremont 14.14 (98) lost to Perth 15.9 (99)

RESERVES
Peel Thunder 9.9 (63) lost to Subiaco 14.4 (88)
East Perth 16.7 (103) defeated South Fremantle 6.3 (39)
West Perth 17.6 (108) defeated East Fremantle 9.12 (66)
Claremont 14.9 (93) defeated Perth 12.7 (79)

COLTS
Peel Thunder 11.4 (70) defeated Subiaco 9.12 (66)
East Perth 9.4 (58) lost to South Fremantle 10.10 (70)
West Perth 12.6 (78) lost to East Fremantle 12.9 (81)
Claremont 9.8 (62) defeated Perth 8.12 (60)

Click the graphics below for specific game reports.