TABtouch Team of Round 16Wednesday, July 25, 2018 - 2:12 PM - by Chris Pike

IT was tough conditions on Saturday for Round 16 of the WAFL but with the unbeaten league-leading Subiaco having the bye, it was a chance for statements to be made and West Perth and Perth certainly did that while Claremont and Peel Thunder also scored crucial wins.

With Subiaco sitting out the Round 16 proceedings unbeaten atop the WAFL with a perfect 13-0 record, it was a chance for the rest of the league to make their mark and West Perth did so by moving up to second position with Perth further closing in on a first finals appearance since 1997.

All four Round 16 matches took place on Saturday afternoon at 2.15pm with Peel Thunder beating South Fremantle 13.12 (90) to 9.12 (66) at Bendigo Bank Stadium with Harley Bennell, Mitch Crowden, Ben Howlett, Gerald Ugle and Brayden Lawler among their standout performers.

West Perth came away with such an emphatic win over Swan Districts at Joondalup Arena 16.22 (118) to 4.4 (28) that the Falcons replaced South Fremantle in second position with Shane Nelson, Aaron Black and Luke Meadows dominant through the middle, and Tyler Keitel, Andrew Strijk and Jordan Mills combining for 11 goals.

Claremont replaced East Perth in fifth position on the ladder with a 6.13 (49) to 3.7 (25) win at a waterlogged Claremont Oval with the Tigers midfield of Jye Bolton, Jared Hardisty and Kane Mitchell getting on top.

Perth made it three straight wins to move a game clear in fourth position as well on the back of a dominant second half to beat East Fremantle 17.11 (113) to 10.12 (72) at Lathlain Park. 

With Michael Sinclair and Matthew Taylor strong down back, Corey Yeo, Clint Jones, Corey Byrne, Brant Colledge and Cody Leggett impressive through the middle, and Kristian Cary and Spencer White combining for nine goals, the Demons proved too strong.

After Round 16 of the 2018 WAFL season, Subiaco (13-0) remains clear on top of the ladder ahead of West Perth (9-5), South Fremantle (9-5), Perth (7-7) and Claremont (6-8).

Peel Thunder (6-8) sits in sixth position just in front of East Perth (5-8), Swan Districts (5-9) and East Fremantle (2-12).

M & J CHICKENS PLAYER OF ROUND 16 - AARON BLACK

TABtouch TEAM OF THE ROUND (times named)
BACK: Jonathon Marsh (1), Matthew Taylor (1), Shaun Bewick (2)
HALF-BACK: Blake Wilhelm (4), Michael Sinclair (7), Ben Howlett (5)
CENTRE: Aaron Black (6), Jared Hardisty (2), Harley Bennell (1)
HALF-FORWARD: Gerald Ugle (2), Spencer White (2), George Hampson (5)
FORWARD: Andrew Strijk (8), Tyler Keitel (4), Kristian Cary (2)
RUCK: Chris Keunen (2), Shane Nelson (9), Jye Bolton (7)
INTERCHANGE: Mitch Dobson (2), Luke Meadows (3), Brayden Lawler (1), Brant Colledge (6)

BACK POCKET – JONATHON MARSH (East Fremantle)
It has been a challenging season for everyone involved at East Fremantle, but the former Collingwood AFL player has continued to fight hard largely playing down back for the Sharks. He was given the job of trying to shut down livewire Perth forward Cody Ninyette on Saturday and limited him to seven kicks and one goal while being solid himself with 16 possessions and three tackles.

FULL-BACK – MATTHEW TAYLOR (Perth)
Has returned to Perth this year from North Melbourne in the AFL and after a slightly slow start to the season, has settled into a role down back nicely and is a key factor in the Demons being on a three-game winning streak and making a run for a first finals appearance since 1997. He produced another 19 possessions, four marks, three inside 50s and two tackles in the win against East Fremantle.

BACK POCKET – SHAUN BEWICK (South Fremantle)
He was playing his 100th game for South Fremantle since crossing from West Perth where he has a great family history and played the first 30 matches of his league career. Over the past 12 months he has settled into a role mostly in defence for the Bulldogs after being a hard-running wingman throughout his career and has thrived. Produced another strong showing in Saturday's loss to Peel in Mandurah with 24 possessions, eight tackles and four marks.

HALF-BACK FLANK – BLAKE WILHELM (West Perth)
His continued strong form off half-back for West Perth has meant that the absence of Kody Manning hasn’t proven an irrecoverable blow while allowing Andrew Strijk to remain playing forward at the same time. Has developed into a strong and consistent league footballer and had another 23 possessions, five marks and four inside-50 entries in the big win against Swan Districts.

CENTRE HALF-BACK – MICHAEL SINCLAIR (Perth)
Could well be the single most important player at Perth and in their run towards a breakthrough finals appearance. It's no coincidence that his return from injury back in Round 9 has led to their dramatic form improvement and he continues to be a mainstay of the back-line both in intercepting opposition attacks and setting up play. The 2016 fairest and best winner had another 25 possessions and five marks in Saturday's win against East Fremantle.

HALF-BACK FLANK – BEN HOWLETT (Peel Thunder)
He was given the job of running with reigning Sandover Medallist Haiden Schloithe wherever he went during the game on Saturday. That was at half-back for most of the first half but then mostly in the midfield for the second half and the former Essendon utility put together a strong showing. He had 23 touches, five marks and a goal while limiting Schloithe to 18 disposals.

WING – AARON BLACK (West Perth)
The West Perth skipper is having a superb season leading the Falcons for the first time and is proving equally effective whether playing on the outside or inside through the middle. For someone to have played 165 games, won a premiership, Sandover Medal and fairest and best, and played five times for WA, he could still be getting better and had another 38 possessions, 10 tackles and eight inside 50s in big win against Swan Districts.

CENTRE – JARED HARDISTY (Claremont)
He is getting better and better this season the longer 2018 goes on and the tougher the conditions become, the better it suits his style in the Claremont midfield. Had a big say in the important win against East Perth on Saturday finishing the afternoon with 29 possessions, 13 tackles and seven inside-50 entries.

WING – HARLEY BENNELL (Peel Thunder)
The hugely talented yet injury-riddled star has now strung together five straight matches for Peel and is now getting closer to full game time. He still spent significant time on the bench during Saturday's important win against South Fremantle, but had the biggest impact on a game he's had so far in 2018 with 22 possessions, five tackles, four marks and a goal.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – GERALD UGLE (Peel Thunder)
The dual premiership winning captain is now a 100-game player in the WAFL but hadn’t been in the form he'd been hoping in 2018 especially in recent weeks with just 16 disposals combined in losses to Subiaco and Perth. But he responded well against South Fremantle having a big say in the important win with two goals from 16 possessions, 10 tackles, five marks and three inside-50 entries.

CENTRE HALF-FORWARD – SPENCER WHITE (Perth)
His body hasn’t allowed him to provide the strong target in attack that Perth was hoping for when he originally arrived from St Kilda where he was a promising forward at AFL level. He has now been back for three games at league level with the Demons and his presence makes the world of difference. He kicked four goals in the win against East Fremantle on Saturday from 15 possessions and three marks.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – GEORGE HAMPSON (East Fremantle)
His body has stayed sound throughout 2018 and despite the struggles of East Fremantle this season, he is having a tremendous campaign largely through the midfield but also with stints at half-forwards. Continues to battle against the odds and now that he's staying on the park, is showing why he's one of the best players in the competition. Had another 28 disposals, five marks, five inside 50s, four tackles and a goal against Perth.

FORWARD POCKET – ANDREW STRIJK (West Perth)
For the first time in his career, he has settled into a role playing deep forward and he sure is making the most of it. Having played most of his distinguished career using his running power either off half-back or half-forward with his long kicking a feature, it's now his football smarts and one-on-one ability that's winning out. He kicked another four goals from 20 possessions, five marks and five inside-50 against Swans on Saturday.

FULL-FORWARD – TYLER KEITEL (West Perth)
He was the leading key forward in the competition last year in every area except converting in front of goals and while he hasn’t totally got that sorted in 2018, he is leading the Bernie Naylor Medal race with 38 goals for the season and is providing the Falcons with a strong target. Kicked another 4.5 on Saturday against Swan Districts with 19 disposals, five marks and four tackles.

FORWARD POCKET – KRISTIAN CARY (Perth)
He came to Perth from North Albury in the Ovens and Murray League back in 2016 and never reached any great heights the past two seasons, but he has proven himself a more than handy forward at WAFL level this season. With his ability to apply pressure, take a mark, finish well and be clever at ground level, he is in the middle of a superb season and went up another notch on Saturday. Finished with a career-best five goals from 23 possessions, six marks, six tackles and four inside 50s.

RUCK – CHRIS KEUNEN (West Perth)
The veteran ruckman continues to show that his persistence through a couple of challenging years has been worth it and with West Perth needing him to stand up in 2018 with a lack of talls, he certainly is doing so and having a strong season at 34 years of age. With 200 games now under his belt, delivered a strong showing on Saturday up against both Nathan Blakely and Corey Gault finishing with 13 possessions, 45 hit outs, six tackles and four marks.

RUCK ROVER – SHANE NELSON (West Perth)
What a season the triple fairest and best winner continues to have for the Falcons. Already a decorated player, he is in career-best form with 131 games under his belt and continued his love affair playing against Swan Districts in Saturday's 90-point win at Joondalup Arena. He finished with 42 possessions, six inside 50s, five tackles and a goal.

ROVER – JYE BOLTON (Claremont)
There is every chance he is now in the midst of a better season than he had back on arrival at Claremont in 2016 when he won the Sandover and Simpson Medals along with the Tigers' fairest and best. He already has won another State game Simpson Medal in 2018 and could be leading the way in the other two again as well, but what his focus is on is helping Claremont into the finals. He helped that cause on Saturday with his 37 possessions, six marks, four inside 50s and three tackles in the win against East Perth.

INTERCHANGE – MITCH DOBSON (East Perth)
He might have only played six games in his league career, but is already showing he has the ability to be a consistent and prolific ball winner against good opposition in the midfield and in difficult conditions. Despite East Perth's loss to Claremont, he was tremendous with 33 disposals, five marks, five inside-50 entries and three tackles.

INTERCHANGE – LUKE MEADOWS (West Perth)
It was quite the dominant midfield he was part of from West Perth in the big win over Swan Districts and after starting his career at half-back, over the past 18 months he continues to show how damaging and effective he can be as an on-baller with his big body and long kicking. Had another strong showing on Saturday finishing with 33 disposals, five inside 50s and three tackles.

INTERCHANGE – BRAYDEN LAWLER (Peel Thunder)
The dual premiership winning half-forward doesn’t always get a lot of the ball or a lot of the accolades, but he always gives his all for Peel and his tackling and defensive pressure is important to the side. He produced that on Saturday and got rewards for his efforts kicking three goals from 13 possessions, six tackles and five inside-50 entries.

INTERCHANGE – BRANT COLLEDGE (Perth)
He is yet another Perth player in career-best form now that his body is allowing him to show what he's fully capable of. In a midfield including Corey Yeo, Clint Jones, Corey Byrne and Cody Leggett, his big body, skill and poise are proving a tremendous addition and he was superb again in Saturday's win against East Fremantle with 27 touches, six marks, five tackles and three inside-50 entries.

UNLUCKY BUNCH
There were plenty of players who delivered tremendous performances across Round 16 but couldn’t quite fit into the Team of the Round, including:

Claremont's Tom Ledger, Kane Mitchell, Morgan Davies, Ryan Lim and Oliver Eastland.

East Perth's Luke Partington, Brayden Ainsworth, Stan Wright and Francis Watson.

West Perth's Trent Manzone.

Swan Districts' Tobe Watson, Jesse Turner, Matthew Rogers and Steven Payne.

Peel Thunder's Tom North, Danyle Pearce, James Kirby and Brady Grey.

South Fremantle's Jacob Dragovich, Nick Suban, Blayne Wilson, Marlion Pickett and Matthew Parker.

Perth's Corey Yeo, Clint Jones and Corey Byrne.

East Fremantle's Jordan Snadden, Cameron Eardley and Nick Kommer.