Optus WAFL Round 12 WrapMonday, July 1, 2019 - 5:33 PM - by Chris Pike

ROUND 12 in the WAFL on Saturday saw Claremont keep winning to replace South Fremantle in second position while the West Coast Eagles were again impressive, Subiaco won again, Perth consolidated fourth spot and Peel Thunder continued the pain for Swan Districts.

All five matches of Round 12 took place on Saturday afternoon and it involved some significant results as positions inside the top five shuffled around a little, and the battle to reach the finals heated up as well.

The early starting game on Saturday took place at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with the West Coast Eagles producing a second straight impressive performance, beating South Fremantle 11.12 (78) to 8.9 (57).

The other four matches on Saturday all bounced down at 2.15pm with Subiaco making it five straight wins to remain clear on top of the ladder.

West Perth was unable to win to recognise the 150th game for Shane Nelson with the Falcons and 100 for Kris Shannon with the Lions winning 13.13 (91) to 10.9 (69) at Joondalup's HBF Arena.

Peel Thunder kept itself right in the finals mix and further anchored Swan Districts to bottom spot with an emphatic 19.11 (125) to 7.4 (46) victory at Mandurah's David Grays Arena.

Perth also bounced back impressively to consolidate their position in the top five with an impressive 11.11 (77) to 5.12 (42) win against East Perth at Leederville Oval.

East Fremantle then couldn’t quite get over the line in inspirational midfielder Cameron Eardley's 100th appearance with Claremont making it four straight victories by winning 10.6 (66) to 7.14 (56) at East Fremantle's New Choice Homes Park.

ROUND 12 OPTUS WAFL PREVIEW
INSPIRATIONAL EARDLEY PROUD TO REACH 100 GAMES
TABTOUCH TEAM OF ROUND 11
OPTUS WAFL ROUND 11 WRAP

The Round 12 results leave Subiaco (10-1) two games and percentage clear on top of the WAFL ladder with seven matches remaining in the home and away season.

Claremont (8-3) has improved to second position on the ladder moving ahead of South Fremantle (8-3) with the two teams to meet this Saturday at Claremont Oval.

Perth (7-4) remains in fourth position with Peel Thunder (5-6) now moving into the top five just percentage ahead of the sixth placed West Perth (5-6).

The West Coast Eagles (4-7) sit in sixth spot in front of East Fremantle (3-8), East Perth (3-8) and Swan Districts (2-9).
 

ROUND 12 OPTUS WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON

SOUTH FREMANTLE 8.9 (57) lost to WEST COAST EAGLES 11.12 (78)

The West Coast Eagles made it consecutive wins and handed South Fremantle back-to-back losses for the first time in 2019 with a 21-point win at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Saturday.

South Fremantle came into Saturday's clash with West Coast having had its seven-game winning streak ended the previous Saturday at the hands of Subiaco with the Bulldogs needing to beat the Eagles for a second time this season to maintain their hold on second position.

But West Coast was coming off a thumping 72-point victory over East Fremantle the previous Saturday just down the road so were feeling confident ahead of their second visit to Fremantle Community Bank Oval for the season.

The Eagles completely dominated the opening 25 minutes of the contest holding the Bulldogs scoreless while having the game's first six scoring shots, resulting in goals to Nick Reid, Nathan Vardy and Josh Smith.

South Fremantle did eventually get on the board with a goal just before quarter-time thanks to Haiden Schloithe, but West Coast maintained a 14-point lead at the first break.

The Eagles' lead was back to 20 points to start the second term with a goal to Jake Waterman. Mason Shaw did get on the board for South Fremantle at the six-minute mark before Waterman added his second to ensure West Coast remained on top.

Schloithe managed a second for South Fremantle before half-time but so did Smith for West Coast to ensure they were up by 21 points at the major break.

South Fremantle peppered the goals early in the third term but couldn’t quite find a goal but the Eagles did thanks to Waterman to extend their lead back to 25 points.

Zac Strom and Shaw responded with quick South Fremantle goals, but Eagles goals to Reid and Hamish Brayshaw had them again leading by 27 points at three quarter-time.

South Fremantle wasn’t quite done with yet and the Bulldogs kicked the first three goals of the final term with two to Shaw and another to Schloithe.

Kade Stewart then had a chance to bring South Fremantle within a goal, but his show missed and then the Eagles dominated the rest of the way with the game's last two goals to win, 11.12 (78) to 8.9 (57).

The win is a second straight for the Eagles to improve to a 4-7 record on the season to be just a game outside the top five.

The Bulldogs have now lost two games in-a-row for the first time in 2019 to slip to an 8-3 record in third position ahead of a crucial match in the annual NAIDOC Round clash this Saturday with the now second placed Claremont at Claremont Oval.

Jake Waterman took his chances well up forward for the Eagles kicking four goals from eight kicks and six marks. Nick Reid continued his good form with two more goals while Josh Smith was outstanding with two goals, 27 possessions, seven tackles, five marks and five inside 50s.

Kurt Mutimer racked up 25 possessions for West Coast, Josh Rotham 23, Brendon Ah Chee 20 (10 tackles, seven inside-50 entries), Brayden Ainsworth 18 and Hamish Brayshaw 17 (11 tackles).

Bailey Williams fought hard in the ruck with 15 possessions, five marks, five tackles, 22 hit outs and a goal after Nathan Vardy went down injured in the opening half.

Mason Shaw kicked another three goals for South Fremantle to maintain his lead in the Bernie Naylor Medal race while Haiden Schloithe also kicked three goals to go with 25 possessions.

Jacob Dragovich continued his fine season with another game made up of 25 possessions and 12 tackles for the Bulldogs.

Steve Verrier also collected 23 disposals for South Fremantle, Chad Pearson 21, Jake Florenca 17, captain Dylan Main 17 and Zac Strom 15 to go with seven marks, six hit outs and a goal.

Ruckman Brock Higgins returned after missing the loss to Subiaco through suspension and put in another standout performance made up of 22 disposals, 35 hit outs and nine inside-50 entries.
 

WEST PERTH 10.9 (69) lost to SUBIACO 13.13 (91)

West Perth came into Saturday's home clash with Subiaco on the back of some good form heightening their hopes of taking it up to the league's benchmark, but the Lions proved too strong in the end in the first Grand Final rematch of 2019.

West Perth might have started the season with four straight losses coming off last year's Grand Final appearance, but the Falcons have been in good form since winning five of six matches entering Saturday's clash hosting Subiaco at Joondalup's HBF Arena.

While Subiaco had lost its first match since the 2017 Grand Final back in Round 6 against South Fremantle, the Lions had still won nine of 10 matches this season so it was going to be a big challenge for the Falcons to topple them.

Subiaco had also won eight straight matches against West Perth with the last of those being last year's Grand Final triumph at Optus Stadium.

The Lions then started strongly at HBF Arena on Saturday kicking two goals to one in the first term to lead by seven points at quarter-time.

Both teams then enjoyed a more open contest in the second quarter combining for eight goals by kicking four goals apiece with Subiaco still maintaining an eight-point edge by the main break.

The Lions narrowly extended their advantage in the third quarter kicking three goals to two from the Falcons and that was enough to help Subiaco's lead grow to 18 points by three quarter-time.

Subiaco kicked away a little further in the last term with four goals to three and that saw the Lions run out 13.13 (91) to 10.9 (69) winners.

It was a ninth consecutive win for Subiaco against West Perth and is a fifth straight victory for the Lions this season as they improve to a 10-1 record to be two games clear on top of the ladder.

West Perth slips out of the top five as a result of the loss at 5-6 and percentage behind Peel Thunder.

Ryan Borchet continued his emergence as Subiaco's new spearhead kicking another four goals from 15 possessions and five marks. Rhys Waters and Jack Beverley both kicked two goals each too.

Lachlan Delahunty continued his stunning form as the most versatile big man in the competition amassing another 30 possessions, six marks, 23 hit outs and two goals.

Former skipper Kyal Horsley was outstanding too with 29 disposals, seven tackles and two goals.

Greg Clark collected 23 possessions for Subiaco, Max Walters 20, Ben Newton 19, Clancy Wheeler 19, Rowen Powell 18 and Simon Moore 17 to go with seven tackles and six marks.

Andrew Strijk did his best to keep West Perth in the game kicking four goals with Corey Chalmers also booting two.

Captain Aaron Black amassed 29 possessions for West Perth while laying nine tackles. Aidan Lynch also gathered 25 touches, Connor West 25, Blake Wilhelm 22, Mitch Peirce 22, Trent Manzone 21 and ruckman Tyler Keitel 19 to go with 23 hit outs.

Shane Nelson gathered 23 possessions for the Falcons while Kris Shannon had 11 disposals.
 

PEEL THUNDER 19.11 (125) defeated SWAN DISTRICTS 7.4 (46)

Peel Thunder produced its second straight dominant performance on Saturday this time beating Swan Districts at home by 79 points to move into fifth position on the WAFL ladder.

Peel was fresh off a dominant 42-point win in the wet last week against Perth as they returned home this Saturday to take on a Swan Districts on a three-game losing run and struggling to kick a winning score, and find enough of the football to do so.

The Thunder put on quite the dominant opening term at Mandurah's David Grays Arena to set up their big win. Peel kicked six goals to nil in the first quarter and went into the quarter-time break leading by 39 points.

Peel continued on with the momentum kicking three more goals in the second quarter and Swan Districts kicked its lone goal of the first half courtesy of Leigh Kohlmann 12 minutes into the term.

The Thunder were well on top by half-time leading by 50 points and then coming out of the major break, the home side kept their dominance going piling on another six goals to just two from Swans.

Peel had 11 scoring shots to just three from Swan Districts for the third quarter and by three quarter-time that saw the Thunder's lead grow to 78 points.

It was then four goals apiece in the last term as Swans at least fought the game out by more than doubling their score from the opening three quarters. But Peel still ran out commanding 19.11 (125) to 7.4 (46) victory in front of their home fans.

Blair Bell continued his strong season for Peel playing deeper in attack kicking four goals from 10 kicks, seven marks and five inside-50 entries.

Brayden Lawler also took his chances up forward for the Thunder kicking three goals from 15 possessions while Matthew Piggott, Sam Sturt and Travis Colyer all kicked two goals apiece.

On top of kicking two goals, Sturt also collected 20 disposals and seven marks while Colyer had 22 touches and six inside 50s.

Ruckman Lloyd Meek delivered a tremendous performance for Peel too with 20 disposals, 36 hit outs, six marks, six tackles and two goals.

Mitch Crowden continued  his terrific form for the Thunder too to try and bash down the door for a call up into the Fremantle AFL team. He racked up another 29 possessions, 10 tackles and a goal.

Jackson Merrett amassed 27 possessions as well for Peel, Haydn Matthews 22, Tom North 22, Taylin Duman 21, Ben Hancock 20, Keegan Power 18 and Matt Bogensperger 18.

George Hampson couldn’t have done more to try and help Swan Districts be competitive for the afternoon, finishing the afternoon with 30 possessions, five tackles, three inside-50 entries and two goals.

Corey Gault also kicked two goals for Swans to go with 15 disposals, six marks, four tackles and 17 hit outs while Leigh Kohlmann booted two majors.

Jesse Turner battled hard for Swan Districts too with 28 possessions and 11 tackles while Matt Riggio collected 23 disposals, Steven Payne 19 and debutant Lachlan Riley 15.

Nathan Blakely battled away in the ruck with 16 possessions, four tackles, three marks and 26 hit outs.

Swan Districts defence tried to hold up against the tide with Alex Howard finishing with 13 possessions and five marks, Tony Notte 13 disposals and five marks, and Jordan Bill 11 possessions and five tackles.
 

EAST PERTH 5.12 (42) lost to PERTH 11.11 (77)

Neither East Perth nor Perth brought great form into Saturday's clash at Leederville Oval but it was the Demons that got some confidence back and the 35-point win further enhances their hopes of ending their finals drought.

Both the Royals and Demons had lost their past two matches entering Saturday's contest with East Perth trying to stay in the finals hunt and Perth out to further entrench themselves inside the top five.

East Perth came out and started strongly as well kicking three goals to two in the first quarter and having seven scoring shots to three to head into quarter-time leading by nine points.

But Perth responded impressively in the second quarter holding East Perth goalless and to just the five behinds while kicking four goals themselves to go with six behinds.

That saw the Demons turn that nine-point quarter-time deficit to a 16-point lead at the half-time interval.

Perth continued to edge away in the third quarter too kicking the only two goals and restricting East Perth to only the one behind.

The Demons completed the job in the last quarter too with another three goals to two to end up winning 11.11 (77) to 5.12 (42).

The win improves Perth to a 7-4 record on the season to be two games clear now in fourth position making a first finals appearance since 1997 now a distinct reality.

The job for East Perth to reach finals got that bit harder on their first season back as a standalone club with a 3-8 record and three straight losses.

Cody Ninyette, Kristian Cary and Guy Langdon all kicked two goals apiece for Perth in the victory.

Michael Sinclair was outstanding across half-back for Perth sending another message that he's one of the elite players in the competition. He delivered 30 possessions and 13 marks in a match-winning performance.

Corey Yeo racked up 25 possessions for the Demons, Clint Jones 24, Jacob Payne 24, Cody Leggett 22, Matthew Taylor 20 and Chris Bryan 17.

Mitch Dobson kicked two of the five goals of the afternoon for East Perth.

Rohan Kerr has had a brilliant return season to the WAFL in 2019 with East Perth after two years out of the competition, and he couldn’t have possibly done more on Saturday finishing with 41 possessions and 14 marks.

Stan Wright picked up 31 disposals for the Royals, Nelson Waite 29, Shaquille McKenzie 29, Kye Willcocks 29 and Patrick McGinnity 22.
 

EAST FREMANTLE 7.14 (56) lost to CLAREMONT 10.6 (66)

Claremont had to fight hard to overcome East Fremantle in a tight, low-scoring affair on Saturday but the Tigers did enough to prevail by 10 points and make it four wins in succession.

Claremont came into the game on a three-match winning streak with a win potentially taking them to second position on the ladder while East Fremantle was looking to respond to a disappointing loss to the West Coast Eagles to keep their finals prospects alive.

The Tigers did dominate the first quarter and ultimately that proved the difference in the game.

Claremont had six scoring shots to one in the first term and kicked three goals to nil to take a 20-point advantage over East Fremantle into quarter-time.

East Fremantle did respond in the second quarter restricting Claremont to just the one scoring shot and one goal. The Sharks had nine scoring shots themselves but did only manage two goals from those with Claremont still holding a seven-point advantage by half-time.

It was then two goals apiece in the third quarter with Claremont only narrowly leading by four points at three quarter-time setting the stage for a thrilling finish.

The game opened up significantly in the last quarter as well but it was Claremont who kicked four goals to three to end up winning 10.6 (66) to 7.14 (56).

The win is a fourth in-a-row for Claremont who improve to an 8-3 record on the season to replace South Fremantle in second position with the two teams to meet this Saturday at Claremont Oval.

East Fremantle missed a chance to stay in touch with the top five now holding a 3-8 record, two games behind the fifth placed Peel Thunder.

Kane Mitchell kicked two crucial goals for Claremont along with 24 possessions, eight marks and eight tackles while Anthony Treacy also booted two majors.

Declan Mountford racked up 25 possessions and eight tackles as well for the Tigers with Haydn Busher gathering 23 disposals, Bailey Rogers 23, Lachlan Martinis 22, Jake Murphy 18, Ryan Lim 18 and Ian Richardson 17 to go with five marks, four inside 50s and a goal.

Luke Strnadica stood tall for East Fremantle in the absence of Cameron Loersch in attack and backing up Jonathon Griffin in the ruck for three goals, 13 possessions and 17 hit outs.

Nick Kommer amassed 32 possessions for the Sharks, Blaine Boekhorst 32, 100-gamer Cameron Eardley 28, Morgan Davies 25, Tom Bennett 24, Jarrad Jansen 21, Kody Manning 19 and Zach Jackson 17.

Griffin battled hard in the ruck and racked up 52 hit outs to go with 11 possessions.