Optus WAFL Round 11 WrapMonday, June 24, 2019 - 12:46 PM - by Chris Pike

STATEMENTS were certainly made in Round 11 of the WAFL on Saturday with Subiaco proving its dominance in the wet in the top-of-the-table clash with South Fremantle while the West Coast Eagles, Peel Thunder, Claremont and West Perth recorded emphatic victories.

While two weeks ago Subiaco and Perth did play in torrential conditions, Saturday provided the first opportunity for all 10 clubs in the WAFL to play in wet weather for the first real time in 2019 and it's fair to say some sides handled it better than others.

As it turned out, all five games had comfortable margins in the end for the victors as the Eagles, Lions, Thunder, Tiger and Falcons all revelled in the different football that results when the rain is pelting down.

The round's action got underway with the earlier starting game at East Fremantle's New Choice Homes Park with all eyes on Shark Park for the return of West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui from a second knee reconstruction.

With Jake Waterman, Jarrod Brander, Drew Petrie, Tom Cole, Brayden Ainsworth, Fraser McInnes and Tom Barrass all strengthening the Eagles side as well, they delivered a dominant display to beat East Fremantle 15.15 (105) to 4.9 (33).

Perhaps the most anticipated game of the season to date was the top-of-the-table clash at Fremantle Community Bank Oval and Subiaco earned revenge for losing to South Fremantle in Round 6 by handling the wet weather better to win 13.9 (87) to 8.6 (54).

Peel Thunder then maintained touch with the top five with perhaps their best performance of the 2019 season to date, beating the fourth place Perth 11.18 (84) to 6.6 (42) at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

Claremont continued its good form as well consolidating third position and maintaining touch for a top two spot with a 12.11 (83) to 4.7 (31) victory against East Perth at Claremont Oval.

The final game of the round took place at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval and Swan Districts' struggles on its home turf continued with West Perth making it five wins from its last six games in 2019, winning 16.13 (109) TO 8.4 (52).

ROUND 11 OPTUS WAFL 2019 PREMIERSHIP SEASON

EAST FREMANTLE 4.9 (33) lost to WEST COAST EAGLES 15.15 (105)

It's fair to say the form lines of East Fremantle and West Coast were contrasting coming into Saturday's clash at New Choice Homes Park, but things went opposite to that script with the Eagles delivering their most emphatic performance of their existence to win by 72 points.

East Fremantle came into the contest in its best run of form in a couple of years having won three of its past four matches to all of a sudden be closer to knocking on the door of the top five to the bottom where West Coast sat coming into the game following five consecutive losses.

All eyes were on Nic Naitanui's return from a knee reconstruction for the Eagles but the reality was West Coast's improved form was on the back of all those teammates he was joined by including Jake Waterman, Jarrod Brander, Drew Petrie, Tom Barrass, Tom Cole and Fraser McInnes.

With the advantage of the breeze in the first quarter at Shark Park, the Eagles took full advantage to deliver a remarkably dominant opening term with the only 12 scoring shots of the contest.

They kicked four goals from those to lead by 32 points by quarter-time and then West Coast added a further four goals to two in the second term to head into half-time with a commanding 46-point advantage.

The Eagles then had the breeze behind them again in the third quarter kicking four more goals to just two behinds from the Sharks to open a 72-point lead by three quarter-time.

West Coast managed three goals to two in the last quarter as well to go on to record the 15.15 (105) to 4.9 (33) victory and join East Fremantle on three wins for the season.

Nick Reid continued to impress for the Eagles in attack kicking four goals while Jake Waterman, Jarrod Brander and Keegan Brooksby all booted two apiece.

It was a greatly improved Eagles midfield performance with Brayden Ainsworth racking up 28 possessions while Jarrod Brander also collected 26 disposals, Hamish Brayshaw 26, Kurt Mutimer 26, Josh Smith 26, Matthew Allen 25 and Brendon Ah Chee 20.

Then down back the Eagles were tremendous with Josh Rotham gathering 23 touches, Francis Watson 21, Tom Cole 20 and Tom Barrass 15 to go with seven marks.

Nic Naitanui was where the attention was focused, though, and playing around half of the match, the former All-Australian ruckman got through unscathed with 10 possessions, 25 hit outs, four tackles and three marks.

East Fremantle only kicked four goals for the game and remarkably all of those came courtesy of small forward Ambrose Ryan to go with 21 possessions and six marks.

It was a tough afternoon for the Sharks who were never in the hunt despite Nick Kommer delivering another 29 possessions and eight tackles.

Cameron Eardley collected 28 disposals, Morgan Davies 27, Blaine Boekhorst 26, Jarrad Jansen 23 and Michael Tassone 20. 
 

SOUTH FREMANTLE 8.6 (54) lost to SUBIACO 13.9 (87)

Subiaco's experience and big bodies held them in good stead once more in the wet conditions on Saturday as the Lions moved clear on top of the WAFL ladder with a 33-point victory over South Fremantle at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

It was the most anticipated WAFL match of the season on Saturday at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with the Bulldogs and Lions both coming into the contest on 8-1 records with top position on the line.

Add in the fact that South Fremantle had beaten Subiaco back in Round 6 at Leederville Oval to be the only team to manage to beat the Lions since the 2017 Grand Final, and there was plenty to look out for when the teams came together once more.

It would be their only meeting ahead of a potential finals clash and it was Subiaco who handled the wet weather the better from the outset and that proved the difference in the contest.

With a strong core of senior, experienced players built for the wet conditions and having already had good practice in torrential rain two weeks earlier against Perth where they held the Demons to one goal, the Lions were cleaner with the ball and stronger at the contest to set up the commanding win.

South Fremantle did actually start encouragingly with the opening goal of the contest through Brandon Donaldson courtesy of a free-kick. But from there, Subiaco six-gamer Jack Beverley kicked two goals in the space of five minutes to give the Lions a lead they would never again surrender.

Tom Edwards-Baldwin added another major before quarter-time to see Subiaco go into quarter-time leading by 13 points.

It took little more than a minute for Subiaco to add a fourth goal through Ryan Borchet to open the second quarter too. When Borchet added a second, the lead grew to 24 points before South Fremantle captain Dylan Main did get one back for the home side.

The rain then picked up further steam at half-time and the deluge made any chance of a South Fremantle comeback after the break all the more challenging. 

But South Fremantle did pick up some momentum for the first time in the game with goals to Haiden Schloithe, Mason Shaw and then Main to close to within 16 points midway through the third term.

It appeared that the game was on, but Subiaco showed its quality with a stunning run leading into three quarter-time with goals to Max Walters, Clancy Wheeler, Hayden Kennedy, Lachlan Delahunty and Simon Moore to lead by 46 points at the last change.

South Fremantle did have the better of the last term and kicked three goals to one but that only cut Subiaco's eventual win to 13.9 (87) to 8.6 (54).

The win takes Subiaco a game and percentage clear on top of the WAFL ladder with a 9-1 record while South Fremantle remains second at 8-2, a game and percentage ahead of the third place Claremont. 

Ryan Borchet was an impressive target up forward despite the conditions for Subiaco kicking thee goals with Jack Beverley booting those couple in the opening quarter.

Subiaco's midfield was tremendous led by former captain Kyal Horsley with Ben Newton also prolific on the wing while Lachlan Delahunty had another strong afternoon despite the conditions hardly suiting a big man. He was instrumental both up forward an in stints in the ruck.

The Lions' defence was also superb led by Angus Litherland who kept the blanket on Kade Stewart while collecting plenty of the ball himself. Jordan Lockyer also shut down the on-fire Mason Shaw while Michael Braut played likely the best game of his 16-game WAFL career.

Hayden Kennedy also did well keeping Brandon Donaldson in check and Drew Rohde did the same with Andrew Haydon.

Experienced South Fremantle pair Haiden Schloithe and Dylan Main kicked two goals apiece.

In the absence of ruckman Brock Higgins through suspension, Zac Strom did an outstanding job in that role for South Fremantle up against both Clancy Wheeler and Lachlan Delahunty from Subiaco.

He competed at just about every stoppage in the game and ended up with plenty of the ball, plenty of hit outs and was rewarded with a clever goal from a boundary throw-in when he took it from the air and snapped truly.

Jacob Dragovich, Steve Verrier, Jake Florenca, Brendan Verrier, Zac Dent and Haiden Schloithe were among the other South Fremantle players to fight valiantly.
 

PERTH 6.6 (42) lost to PEEL THUNDER 11.18 (84)

Peel Thunder maintained touch with the top five with a comfortable win over Perth on Saturday which could have been by more than the 42 points with some more accurate kicking.

While Perth had made a scintillating start to the 2019 season winning its opening five matches, but the Demons had lost four of their previous five heading into Saturday's clash with Peel at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

And that downward trend continued on Saturday for Perth with Peel Thunder proving too strong after quarter-time kicking 10 goals to four to end up winning 11.18 (84) to 6.6 (42).

Perth did kick with the aid of the breeze in the opening quarter in wet conditions and the Demons did start well enough with two goals to one to head into quarter-time leading by seven points.

With the breeze at their backs in the second quarter, Peel took control of the contest kicking four goals to one while having 10 scoring shots to one to head into the half-time break with a 17-point advantage.

Perth was still in touch at half-time but couldn’t close that gap in the third term with Peel extending its advantage with three goals to two to end up leading by 27 points at three quarter-time.

The Thunder then further asserted their control with a dominant last quarter kicking 3.5 to 1.2 to end up winning strongly by 42 points to remain knocking on the door of the top five.

The win improves the Thunder to a 4-6 record on the season to be just a game outside of fifth position while the Demons do remain a game clear in fourth spot at 6-4 despite having lost four of their last five matches.

Hayden Ballantyne delivered an improved performance for Peel with two goals to go with 16 possessions, seven marks and three tackles. Blair Bell also kicked two goals for the Thunder.

Bailey Banfield continued to bang down the door for an AFL call up with Fremantle racking up another 32 possessions, 10 marks, nine inside-50 entries and four tackles.

Jackson Merrett also finished with 25 disposals, Lachie Schultz 23, Ryan Nyhuis 23, Tom North 21, Mitch Crowden 19, Adam Cerra 19, Traye Bennell 17 and Tobe Watson 17.

Cody Ninyette was Perth's only multiple goal scorer on the day kicking two from 14 disposals, five marks, five inside 50s and three tackles.

Matthew Taylor collected 33 possessions for the Demons, Clint Jones 29, Cody Leggett 24, Michael Sinclair 22, Mitch Browne 21 and Corey Yeo 20.
 

CLAREMONT 12.11 (83) defeated EAST PERTH 4.7 (31)

Claremont continued its impressive form to remain in touch with a top two position in the WAFL with a commanding 52-point victory in the wet over East Perth at Claremont Oval on Saturday.

Claremont came into the game with some momentum following last up wins over the West Coast Eagles and Swan Districts while East Perth were looking to maintain touch with the top five and bounce back from a defeat at the hands of East Fremantle by a surprisingly hefty 62 points a fortnight ago prior to the bye.

The Tigers then asserted their control early on at Claremont Oval on Saturday holding the Royals goalless until the 17-minute mark of the third quarter.

In that time, Claremont kicked the only two goals of the opening quarter and then four more goals to nil in the second term to go into half-time leading by 39 points.

Claremont then kicked the first goal of the third quarter too courtesy of Matthew Palfrey and they led by 47 points when East Perth finally kicked its opening goal of the contest before three quarter-time thanks to Joel Houghton.

The Tigers still led by 42 points at three quarter-time and then things opened up in the last term with Claremont kicking five goals and East Perth three with the Tigers winning 12.11 (83) to 4.7 (31).

The win is a third in-a-row for Claremont to improve them to a 7-3 record in third position on the ladder to be a game behind the second place South Fremantle but with a superior percentage while a game and huge percentage clear of the fourth place Perth.

Tom Lee kicked another three goals for Claremont to lead the way in attack even if he only had four kicks and three marks. Jack Bradshaw, Tom Ledger and Matthew Palfrey all kicked two goals each as well.

Claremont had no trouble finding players to step up even with dual Sandover Medallist Jye Bolton sidelined for most of the afternoon after copping his second heavy knock to the head in the space of six days.

Ryan Lim continued his terrific form racking up 27 possessions while Kane Mitchell was tremendous as well with 26 disposals. Declan Mountford also finished with 26 touches, Alec Waterman 21, Ian Richardson 18 and ruckman Jeremy Goddard 12 to go with 45 hit outs.

Claremont's defence, already the best in the competition, was miserly once more led by Anton Hamp who also had 18 possessions and six marks.

Tom Ledger racked up 28 possessions and kicked two goals with Lachlan Martinis gathering 27 disposals, Bailey Rogers 26, Declan Hardisty 18 and Jack Beeck 17.

Joel Houghton ended up kicking three goals for East Perth in the second to give him three of the four majors for the Royals.

Angus Scott was a shining light against the tide in the midfield for East Perth with 33 possessions and six tackles while Jackson Ramsay continued his good form with 29 possessions and 10 tackles as did Rohan Kerr with 26 touches and eight marks.

Kyle Anderson also battled hard in defence but ultimately the Royals just didn’t get enough contributors to be competitive.
 

SWAN DISTRICTS 8.4 (52) lost to WEST PERTH 16.13 (109)

West Perth's impressive form continued at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday with the Falcons kicking six goals to two in the opening quarter and extending their advantage at every break to beat Swan Districts by 57 points.

The fortunes of Swan Districts and West Perth have swung significantly since they last met back in Round 4 at Joondalup's HBF Arena and that was again on show in Saturday's clash at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval.

Back in that Round 4 contest, Swans proved far too good winning by 44 points to cap what had been a pretty good opening month for the black-and-whites despite that being the lone win. The previous three losses to South Fremantle, East Perth and Perth had been only by a combined 21 points.

So Swans had reason to be feeling good about themselves while the Falcons were in quite a hole having lost their opening four matches under new coach Geoff Valentine.

But things have swung viciously the other direction by the end of Saturday's big win for West Perth with the Falcons having now won five of their past six matches since that defeat to Swans.

Meanwhile, Swans have lost five of their six matches since that win over the Falcons and once again on Saturday they struggled on home turf. Swan Districts has now lost 11 of its last 12 matches at Steel Blue Oval.

West Perth came out firing early and put up six goals to two against Swan Districts in the opening quarter to lead by 27 points at quarter-time.

The Falcons continued with their momentum in the second stanza and kicked another four goals. But Swans did at least keep in a degree of touch by half-time by kicking three goals themselves to limit the West Perth half-time lead to 36 points.

There would be no sign of a Swan Districts fight back, though, with West Perth managing to find it too easy to score continually.

The Falcons booted four more goals in the third quarter and with Swans kicking three goals themselves, West Perth only marginally increased their advantage to 41 points a three quarter-time.

But after Corey Gault's goal at the 20-minute of the third quarter, Swan Districts didn’t manage another goal for the game.

West Perth kicked the last three goals and held Swan Districts to just the one-point in the last term to win 16.13 (109) to 8.4 (52).

The win keeps West Perth in fifth position on the ladder with a 5-5 record while Swan Districts is now in last place at 2-8.

Tyler Keitel was the clear standout player on the ground taking up the role in the ruck for West Perth and delivering 31 possessions, 15 hit outs, nine inside-50 entries, eight tackles, six marks and two goals.

West Perth's forward-line worked well too with Keegan Knott kicking four goals, Andrew Strijk three and Corey Chalmers two.

The Falcons midfield also had an enjoyable day led by captain Aaron Black who racked up 33 possessions and laid nine tackles. Trent Manzone also racked up 23 disposals, Shane Nelson 21, Aidan Lynch 20, Rudy Riddoch 20 and Mitch Peirce 17.

Corey Gault provided Swan Districts with a good option in attack kicking three goals with Leigh Kohlmann also booting two so five goals from their two key targets was a solid enough return. George Hampson also kicked two goals for the black-and-whites.

Swan Districts has been crying out for some more ball winners in the midfield and Jack O'Sullivan spent most of the afternoon in the middle and returned his career-high possession count of 24 for the afternoon.

Steven Payne also racked up 23 disposals for Swans, Matt Riggio 22, Jesse Turner 20, Jiah Reidy 19 and ruckman Nathan Blakely 19 to go with 37 hit outs.

Swans' back-line battled hard led by Tony Notte who had 23 possessions and seven marks. Jordan Bill had an impressive second game for 18 disposals too while Alex Howard finished with 17 disposals, six marks and four tackles, and Denzel More 17 possessions and nine tackles.