Optus WAFL Round 6 WrapMonday, May 20, 2019 - 1:05 AM - by Chris Pike

IT was a remarkable day of Round 6 WAFL action on Saturday with East Fremantle snapping its 15-game losing run, South Fremantle ending Subiaco's winning streak, West Perth finishing Perth's undefeated start and a win for Claremont on the back of East Perth's Thursday victory.

Round 6 of the WAFL began on Thursday night with the league recommencing following the general bye for the 2019 KIA State Game, which saw the WAFL narrowly lose to the SANFL in a tremendous contest last Sunday at Optus Stadium.

Thursday night's contest took place at Leederville Oval featuring the first clash between East Perth and West Coast following the partnership between the Royals and Eagles coming to an end following last season.

The result was East Perth's best performance of the season with the Royals beating the Eagles' WAFL team 13.8 (86) to 7.10 (52).

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The other four matches in Round 6 all took place on Saturday afternoon starting at Claremont Oval with Claremont snapping a two-game losing run beating Peel Thunder 12.8 (80) to 9.7 (61).

East Fremantle then snapped its 15-game losing run and got its first win on the board under new coach Bill Monaghan, beating Swan Districts 13.8 (86) to 10.12 (72) at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval.

There was another shock at Leederville Oval with Subiaco losing its first WAFL game since the 2017 Grand Final as South Fremantle snapped the Lions' run of winning 25 straight games with a tremendous 12.11 (83) to 9.7 (61) win.

Another winning run came to an end, with Perth losing its first game of 2019 at the hands of West Perth with the Falcons making it 16 consecutive wins over the Demons with the 14.7 (91) to 8.12 (60) victory at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

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EAST PERTH 13.8 (86) defeated WEST COAST EAGLES 7.10 (52)

ROUND 6 in the WAFL got underway on Thursday night with East Perth delivering its best performance of the season to beat the West Coast Eagles by 34 points.

East Perth came into the game without state representative Jackson Ramsay who didn’t pull up in time after Sunday's State Game against South Australia with Collingwood premiership player Sharrod Wellingham also sidelined.

The Royals were also coming off a horror 77-point loss two weeks earlier to Peel Thunder while the Eagles had their own heavy loss to attempt to bounce back from, going down to South Fremantle by 59 points prior to the break.

But on a cold Thursday night at Leederville Oval, East Perth started impressively with four goals to two in the opening term.

It was another three goals to one in the second quarter and the Royals were in control of the contest with a 25-point lead at the major break.

East Perth was still in front by 21 points at three quarter-time and then pulled away with four goals to two in the last term to score the 13.8 (86) to 7.10 (52) victory.

It was a second win on the season for the Royals who improve to a 2-4 record while the Eagles slip to 2-4 as well.

Mitch Dobson added plenty of bite to the East Perth forward-line kicking three goals from 17 possessions and five marks. Stan Wright and Matthew Young also kicked two goals each for the Royals.

Rohan Kerr might have been unlucky to not play for the WAFL in the State Game but was terrific on Thursday night with another 28 possessions and eight marks.

Angus Scott also gathered 28 disposals for East Perth, Nathan Blee 26, Shaquille McKenzie 23, Patrick McGinnity 22, Shayne Hille 18, Wright 17 and Tom Gorter 17.

Ajang Ajang was especially impressive in the ruck with 14 possessions, 17 hit outs, six tackles, five marks and a goal too.

West Coast didn’t have a multiple goal scorer on the night despite Jake Waterman working hard for 14 disposals, seven marks and a goal. Matthew Allen continued his good form too with 20 touches, nine inside 50s, five marks and a goal.

Brayden Ainsworth picked up 27 possessions for the Eagles, Brendon Ah Chee 23, Andrew Fisher 20, Brady Grey 19 and Kurt Mutimer 16.

 

CLAREMONT 12.8 (80) defeated PEEL THUNDER 9.7 (61)

Claremont and Peel Thunder did battle over consolidating a position in the WAFL's top five at Claremont Oval on Saturday with the Tigers controlling the contest virtually the whole way before winning by 19 points.

Claremont had started the season winning its first three games before losing its past two against West Coast and Perth leading into the State Game break. 

The Tigers then also came into Saturday's clash minus important players Ian Richardson, Tom Lee, Jack Bradshaw and Ryan Murphy, and combined with Peel winning over East Perth by 77 points two weeks ago meant the job was ahead of Claremont.

But the Tigers came out inspired to return to the winner's list and put on six goals to two in the opening quarter to open up a lead they would never surrender the rest of the afternoon despite Peel never going away.

Claremont kicked another three goals to two in the second quarter to extend their lead to 30 points at half-time, but they couldn’t quite go on with it in the second half.

Peel ended up outscoring Claremont five goals to three for the second half but the Tigers still held on for the 12.8 (80) to 9.7 (61) victory.

The win improves Claremont to a 4-2 record on the season while Peel slips to 3-3.

Harry McCracken came in for his first game of the season with Claremont and stepped up in a forward-line missing a host of stars. He kicked three goals from seven kicks with Kaiden Gilbert also coming in to boot three majors and Anthony Treacy two in his second game.

Reigning Sandover Medallist Jye Bolton was again brilliant for Claremont with 32 possessions, six marks, six inside 50s and five tackles.

Tom Ledger also played his best game of the season collecting 26 disposals while Kane Mitchell finishing with 25 touches, Bailey Rogers 24, Lachlan Martinis 23, Jack Beeck 23, Ryan Lim 18 and Declan Mountford 18 to go with 11 tackles.

Fresh off playing in Sunday's WAFL State Game, Blair Bell kicked another two goals for Peel as did exciting small forward Ryan Bennell.

Tom North gathered 22 possessions for the Thunder, Stefan Giro 22, Brett Bewley 21, Bailey Banfield 20, Mitch Crowden 18 (15 tackles), Lachie Schultz 17 and Jackson Merrett 16.

 

PERTH 8.12 (60) lost to WEST PERTH 14.7 (91)

Perth came into Saturday's game undefeated this season and with plenty of momentum behind them, but West Perth remains the one side they can't overcome with the Falcons winning their 16th straight match over the Demons.

Perth has been the story of the WAFL season to date having won its opening five matches to set themselves up for a genuine crack at a first finals appearance since 1997.

But the State Game break might not have come at an ideal time for the Demons, breaking their momentum as they suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of a West Perth team that has now won two straight having lost its first four of 2019.

Perth did dominate the first quarter at Mineral Resources Park with eight scoring shots to two and three goals to two to lead by 11 points at quarter-time to appear on track to continue their momentum.

West Perth turned things around in the second term with five goals to two and that saw the Falcons take a five-point advantage heading into the main break.

The Falcons continued their momentum in the third term with another four goals to three before then dominating the final quarter with the only three goals to win the game, 14.7 (91) to 8.12 (60).

Not only did West Perth hand Perth its first loss of the season, but it's a 16th consecutive victory for the Falcons over the Demons. 

The Falcons also continue to enjoy the trip to Lathlain having now won 10 straight games on Perth's home turf, and having not lost there on the last 15 visits.

Keegan Knott was a livewire small forward for West Perth kicking four goals while Andrew Strijk and Michael Lourey booted three apiece.

Shane Nelson racked up another 35 possessions to go with nine tackles for the Falcons while captain Aaron Black delivered 32 touches and a goal.

Mitch Peirce also finished with 28 disposals, Rudy Riddoch 24, Trent Manzone 22, Aidan Lynch 21, Blake Wilhelm 18, Dean Munns 17 and Tyler Keitel 17 and six marks despite just the one behind.

Corey Byrne was superb for Perth with 30 possessions, 10 tackles and two goals with Guy Langdon also booting two goals.

Brant Colledge also amassed 35 possessions for the Demons, Michael Sinclair 30, Matthew Taylor 27, Clint Jones 26, Cody Leggett 26 and Corey Yeo 22.

 

SUBIACO 9.7 (61) lost to SOUTH FREMANTLE 12.11 (83)

South Fremantle had flown under the radar starting the 2019 season in tremendous form but the Bulldogs announced themselves with a bang on Saturday handing Subiaco its first defeat since the 2017 Grand Final.

South Fremantle had lost plenty of experienced stars after losing last year's preliminary final including Ashton Hams, Ryan Cook, Shane Hockey, Ben Saunders, Cory Dell'Olio and Matthew Parker.

That had many predicting that after three straight preliminary finals, the Bulldogs might slip down the ladder in 2019 but there were no signs of that over the opening five rounds where they won four and the loss was only by three points against Perth.

But still Subiaco remains the benchmark in the WAFL having won its first five games of the season on the back of going through undefeated in 2018 on the way to a premiership to make up for the pain of losing the 2016 and 2017 Grand Final.

Subiaco had won its past five matches over South Fremantle as well including winning over them in each of the past three finals series, but it was a different Bulldogs outfit on Saturday that wasn’t about the let the chance to make a statement slip.

By quarter-time, South Fremantle had worked its way on top leading by 13 points and that advantage had grown to 18 by half-time.

South Fremantle led by as much as 25 points in the third term but Subiaco was always going to mount a comeback and they did with the next four goals to be back within a point.

However, that's as close as they would get with the Bulldogs kicking four of the last five goals of the game to win 12.11 (83) to 9.7 (61).

The win for South Fremantle was its first over Subiaco since Round 1, 2017 and ended the Lions remarkable winning streak at 25 since the 2017 Grand Final.

South Fremantle's small forwards proved pivotal in the result with Kyle Russell kicking three goals and Brandon Donaldson two while Mason Shaw presented hard to end up booting two.

Jake Florenca amassed 29 possessions for the Bulldogs, Noah Strom 21, Jacob Dragovich 20 (12 tackles), Nick Suban 20, the returning Marlion Pickett 19, Haiden Schloithe 18, Chad Pearson 16 and ruckman Brock Higgins 16 to go with 43 hit outs and six tackles.

Subiaco champion Kyal Horsley couldn’t have done more to try to keep his team's winning run going finishing with 33 possessions, nine tackles, six marks and two goals.

Leigh Kitchin also gathered 27 disposals for the Lions, Greg Clark 24, Lachlan Delahunty 24, Hayden Kennedy 21, Rowen Powell 18 and Josh Deluca 18.

 

SWAN DISTRICTS 10.12 (72) lost to EAST FREMANTLE 13.8 (86)

East Fremantle rounded out a remarkable day of WAFL action on Saturday snapping its 15-game losing run with a 14-point victory against Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval.

Swan Districts had every right to come into the game feeling confident. They might have only won once in their first five games of the season, but they had gone agonisingly close in losses to South Fremantle, East Perth, Perth and Subiaco.

Then up against an East Fremantle team who hadn’t won since Round 8 last year and who lost to West Perth by 26 points prior to the State Game break and 91 points to South Fremantle the week before, everything was pointing towards a good day for Swans on their home deck.

It wasn’t to be, though, with East Fremantle a hungry and determined outfit to record its first win under new coach Bill Monaghan.

The Sharks kicked three goals to one in the first quarter to lead by 11 points at quarter-time and then continued on with the job in the second term with another four goals to two to lead by 22 points at the major break.

Swans did fire back in the third term, kicking four goals to one and suddenly it was game on with the Sharks' lead cut to just two points by three quarter-time.

East Fremantle wasn’t going to let this chance slip, though, and went on to win the game 13.8 (86) to 10.12 (72) to end its losing run in style at the expense of the Black Ducks.

Ambrose Ryan, Tom Bennett and Kyle Baskerville all kicked two goals each for East Fremantle.

Nick Kommer picked up 26 possessions for the Sharks with Cameron Eardley finishing with 24 disposals, Blaine Boekhorst 21, Jarrad Jansen 21, Morgan Davies 19, Bennett 16 and Luke Strnadica 16 to go with 23 hit outs.

Josh Simpson was another player up against his former team and he kicked three goals from nine kicks and six tackles for Swan Districts. Leigh Kohlmann also booted two majors.

George Hampson continued his tremendous form for Swans in his first game against the Sharks, collecting 25 possessions to go with six marks, five tackles and a goal.

Matt Riggio also gathered 17 disposals for the Black Ducks, Jesse Turner 17 and Steven Payne 16.