TABtouch Team of Round 6Wednesday, May 22, 2019 - 9:24 AM - by Chris Pike

IT was quite the exciting Round 6 of the WAFL on return from the State Game break with Subiaco and Perth's winning runs coming to an end, South Fremantle making a statement and East Fremantle winning for the first time in nearly 12 months.

On top of the fascinating results that saw Subiaco lose for the first time since the 2017 Grand Final and Perth for the first time in 2019 while East Fremantle snapped a 15-game losing run, there were plenty of standout individual performances too.

Whether it was South Fremantle defenders Noah Strom and Jason Maskos or Claremont's Anton Hamp, or Subiaco's Kyal Horsley in a losing effort, Claremont's dual Sandover Medallist Jye Bolton, East Fremantle's Nick Kommer putting his team on his back or Shane Nelson doing the same for West Perth, there were plenty of brilliant performances across Round 6.

Round 6 of the WAFL began on Thursday night with East Perth beating the West Coast Eagles 13.8 (86) to 7.10 (52) at Leederville Oval.

The rest of the action took place on Saturday with Claremont beating Peel Thunder 12.8 (80) to 9.7 (61) at Claremont Oval and West Perth defeating Perth 14.7 (91) to 8.12 (60) at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

Subiaco then saw its 25-game winning run end at the expense of South Fremantle who won 12.11 (83) to 9.7 (61) at Leederville Oval and East Fremantle beat Swan Districts 13.8 (86) to 10.12 (72) at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval.

After six rounds of the 2019 season, Subiaco (5-1) remains on top of the ladder but only percentage ahead of both South Fremantle (5-1) and Perth (5-1).

Claremont (4-2) holds fourth position with Peel Thunder (3-3) fifth ahead of West Perth (2-4), West Coast Eagles (2-4), East Perth (2-4), Swan Districts (1-5) and East Fremantle (1-5).

PLAYER OF THE ROUND – ROHAN KERR
When he had to walk away from West Perth at the end of 2016 through a job offer he couldn’t turn down, he was at the peak of his powers and there were no guarantees he would ever play top level football again.

Having spent time at Carlton in the AFL, the remarkably hard running wingman and elite kick joined West Perth for the 2013 season and he fitted in instantly at the Falcons. 

He was instrumental in West Perth winning the premiership, ironically beating East Perth in the Grand Final, where he kicked five goals and could consider himself unlucky not to have claimed the Simpson Medal.

He would go on to have three more outstanding seasons at West Perth playing on the wing and racking up the miles, and possessions, but a job working at the Alcoa refinery in Pinjarra meant playing for West Perth in Joondalup would no longer be possible at the end of 2016.

But he continued playing football and was proving too good for the level he was playing at with Pinjarra and when East Perth put in the call to recruit him for the return to being a standalone club in 2019, they ended up receiving an affirmative response.

And the now 27-year-old has shown that he hasn’t missed a beat on return to the WAFL having a standout first six games with East Perth where he's averaging 27.3 possessions a game.

He produced another tremendous showing on Thursday night in the win over the West Coast Eagles, showing that he was decidedly unlucky not to play in the State Game on Sunday against the SANFL.

He finished the night with 28 possessions and eight marks to be instrumental in the 34-point victory for the Royals over the Eagles.

Players of the Round
Round 1 – Kyal Horsley (Subiaco)
Round 2 –  Anton Hamp (Claremont)
Round 3 – Haiden Schloithe (South Fremantle)
Round 4 – Brant Colledge (Perth)
Round 5 – Tony Notte (Swan Districts)
Round 6 – Rohan Kerr (East Perth)

BACK POCKET – MICHAEL SINCLAIR (Perth)
Fresh off having already made his State debut and bringing up 100 WAFL games this season, the dual Perth fairest and best winner continues to show that he remains one of the standout players in the competition even if he has often flown under the radar. Perth might have lost to West Perth on Saturday but he was tremendous again down back with 30 possessions and five marks.

FULL-BACK – NOAH STROM (South Fremantle)
Prior to Round 1 last year he had yet to make his league debut and had been developing slowly in the reserves the previous couple of seasons used in roles all over the field. But 18 months later and he's one of the best key backmen in the WAFL and showed why again on Saturday not only doing well against Subiaco's tall forwards but finishing with 21 possessions, seven marks, four tackles and three inside 50s.

BACK POCKET – JASON MASKOS (South Fremantle)
Was given the task of matching up on former South Fremantle teammate and State full-forward Ben Sokol and did a tremendous job. Kept Sokol scoreless for the afternoon in a performance instrumental in South Fremantle's eventual win over the Lions while having seven possessions, two marks and two tackles himself.

HALF-BACK FLANK – TONY NOTTE (Swan Districts)
It turned out to be a tough afternoon for Swan Districts as East Fremantle snapped its losing run at their expense, but he stood tall as usual in the back-line for the Black Ducks. Coming off another appearance representing the WAFL, he was his usual reliable self in his 225th WAFL appearance with 12 possessions, five tackles and three marks.

CENTRE HALF-BACK – ANTON HAMP (Claremont)
He deserved to consider himself decidedly unlucky not to play in the WAFL State Game last Sunday, but continued his superb form as a key defender for Claremont to be instrumental in the Tigers' win over Peel Thunder. The 134-game veteran has cemented himself among the elite defenders in the WAFL and was rock solid again against Peel's key forwards while having 11 disposals and four marks.

HALF-BACK FLANK – TOM LEDGER (Claremont)
He is a former St Kilda AFL player and has 88 WAFL games under his belt, but was made to earn his spot in the league side at Claremont this year and might have only got his chance through the unavailability of so many regular players. But he grabbed his chance in Saturday's win over the Thunder racking up 26 possessions to go with four marks and four tackles.

WING – KYAL HORSLEY (Subiaco)
Having been just about best afield the previous Sunday in the WAFL's State game against SANFL, he backed up on Saturday and couldn’t have possibly done any more individually to attempt to keep Subiaco's winning run alive. That ended at the hands of South Fremantle but the former skipper still produced 33 possessions, nine tackles, six marks, four inside 50s and two goals.

CENTRE – JYE BOLTON (Claremont)
The dual Sandover Medallist has started the 2019 in as good a form as he's displayed in his previous three years with Claremont showing no sign of a drop off whatsoever. Coming off being a key contributor in the WAFL's State Game against South Australia, he backed up with a best on ground showing for the Tigers against Peel with 32 disposals, six marks, six inside-50 entries and five tackles.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – COREY BYRNE (Perth)
It's a Perth midfield full of stars and big ball winners with Corey Yeo, Clint Jones, Brant College and Cody Leggett, but he is having a career-best season as well and is doing well both winning his own ball and then getting on the outside and being damaging. Did all he could to keep Perth undefeated on Saturday with 30 possessions, 10 tackles and two goals.

CENTRE HALF-FORWARD – RUDY RIDDOCH (West Perth)
Returned to Lathlain where he had previously kicked a career-best six goals for West Perth against Perth back in 2016, and produced another tremendous performance even if it wasn’t the big haul of goals. He is having the best and most consistent season of his career which continued in Saturday's win with 24 possessions, six inside 50s, three marks and a goal.

HALF-FORWARD FLANK – NICK KOMMER (East Fremantle)
The former Essendon and East Perth hard man showed just how much he has been missed by East Fremantle when on the sidelines by delivering a best on ground performance as the Sharks won for the first time in almost 12 months on Saturday. He ended up with 26 possessions, eight tackles, four inside 50s, three marks and a goal.

FORWARD POCKET – AJANG AJANG (East Perth)
The emerging ruckman is benefiting greatly from the chance to lead East Perth's ruck so far this year and delivered a standout performance against the West Coast Eagles, in particular Keegan Brooksby, in the Royals' win on Thursday night. Took some strong marks, tapped the ball well and covered the ground impressively for 14 possessions, 17 hit outs, six tackles, five marks and a goal.

FULL-FORWARD – ANDREW STRIJK (West Perth)
Continues to be the most natural full-forward in the competition even though most of his 233-game career was spent either at half-forward or half-back. But out of the goal square is the perfect spot for him to finish his career and he showed why again in West Perth's win over Perth kicking three goals from 15 possessions and eight marks.

FORWARD POCKET – KEEGAN KNOTT (West Perth)
The lively small forward got reward for his efforts in Saturday's win for West Perth against Perth. Has made himself a regular league player now at West Perth based on his defensive pressure and ability to kick a goal or two a game. But he went beyond that on Saturday booting four goals for the Falcons from 11 possessions to make the most of his chances and prove tough for the Demons to get their grip on.

RUCK – BROCK HIGGINS (South Fremantle)
He didn’t play in the State Game to rest his body that is doing a power of work carrying the ruck for South Fremantle and over concerns with the hardness of the Optus Stadium turf. It appeared to be the right decision when he led the Bulldogs in the ruck to the big win over Subiaco on Saturday where he was able to deliver 16 possessions, 43 hit outs and six tackles.

RUCK ROVER – SHANE NELSON (West Perth)
As he nears his 150-game milestone to earn life membership at West Perth, he continues to be an  unstoppable and prolific ball winner who was again pivotal in the win against the Demons on Saturday. Ended the afternoon amassing 35 possessions, nine tackles and three marks.

ROVER – JAKE FLORENCA (South Fremantle)
He has appeared a player ready to breakout for at least 12 months now, but he had to wait for a regular spot in the South Fremantle midfield to open up and that's now happened. He is making the most of it too and was tremendous for the Bulldogs against Subiaco on Saturday finishing with 29 possessions, five tackles, five inside-50 entries and four marks.

INTERCHANGE – ANGUS SCOTT (East Perth)
The Casey Demons VFL recruit was signed by East Perth to provide some big-bodied experience to the Royals midfield in 2019, and he has had an impressive and consistent start to more than live up to his reputation to date. He was tremendous again in Thursday's win over West Coast finishing with 28 disposals, seven marks, five tackles and five entries inside the forward 50.

INTERCHANGE – AARON BLACK (West Perth)
Delivered yet another outstanding captain's performance in the win for West Perth against Perth. Fresh off playing in the State Game yet again representing the WAFL, he backed up on Saturday racking up 32 possessions, five marks, three inside-50 entries and a goal in the Falcons' victory.

INTERCHANGE – KANE MITCHELL (Claremont)
The 2012 Sandover Medallist was sole captain on Saturday for Claremont in the absence of Ian Richardson and produced a typically trademark hard-running performance to have a big say in the eventual 19-point victory against Peel. He ended up with 25 disposals, five tackles and five entries inside the forward 50.

INTERCHANGE – JARRAD JANSEN (East Fremantle)
Has been East Fremantle's most consistent performer throughout a tough opening five rounds where their losing streak stretched to 15. But he continued his form in Saturday's win against Swan Districts and had more teammates go with him. He ended up with 21 disposals, nine tackles, seven inside-50 entries and a goal.
 

UNLUCKY BUNCH
There were plenty of players who delivered tremendous performances across Round 6 but couldn’t quite fit into the Team of the Round, including:

East Perth's Nathan Blee, Shaquille McKenzie, Mitch Dobson and Tom Gorter.

Brayden Ainsworth, Brendon Ah Chee, Matthew Allen and Andrew Fisher from the West Coast Eagles.

Subiaco's Lachlan Delahunty, Leigh Kitchin, Greg Clark and Jordan Lockyer.

South Fremantle's Nick Suban, Brandon Donaldson and Kyle Russell.

Claremont's Bailey Rogers, Lachlan Martinis, Jack Beeck, Anthony Treacy, Kaiden Gilbert and Harry McCracken.

Peel Thunder's Tom North, Stefan Giro, Brett Bewley, Bailey Banfield, Mitch Crowden and Blair Bell.

Perth's Brant Colledge, Matthew Taylor, Clint Jones and Cody Leggett.

West Perth's Michael Lourey, Mitch Peirce and Blake Wilhelm.

Swan Districts' George Hampson, Leigh Kohlmann and Josh Simpson.

East Fremantle's Cameron Eardley, Luke Strnadica, Ambrose Ryan, Tom Bennett, Kyle Baskerville and Morgan Davies.