TABtouch Team of Round 16Wednesday, July 31, 2019 - 8:38 AM - by Chris Pike

THERE were three games in Round 16 of the WAFL on Saturday with the top three teams, Subiaco, Claremont, and South Fremantle, all recording victories with a host of standout individual performances along the way.

There were just the three games in Round 16 after the other four teams locked horns in Round 15 which saw West Perth beat East Perth in a thriller and Peel Thunder prove too good for East Fremantle.

Those four teams then sat out Round 16 with the other six teams in action and it got underway on Saturday morning at Leederville with Subiaco further consolidating top spot with a 15.9 (99) to 4.7 (31) triumph over the West Coast Eagles.

The other two games on Saturday took place later in the afternoon with South Fremantle snapping its four-game losing slide and handing Swan Districts a seventh consecutive defeat with the Bulldogs prevailing 15.17 (107) to 2.10 (22).

The last game of the round was a much closer affair as the second placed Claremont won a tight one against Perth 9.7 (61) to 7.12 (54) at Claremont Oval.

The results mean that after Round 16, Subiaco (13-1) remains three games and percentage on top of the ladder in front of Claremont (10-4), South Fremantle (9-5) and Perth (8-6).

West Perth (7-7) is still in fifth position despite the bye to remain in front of Peel Thunder (6-8), West Coast Eagles (6-8), East Perth (5-9), East Fremantle (4-10) and Swan Districts (2-12).

PLAYER OF THE ROUND – JYE BOLTON
The dual Sandover and Simpson Medallist was right back to his very best form on Saturday and instrumental in Claremont's important win over Perth at Claremont Oval.

The win consolidated Claremont in second position on the WAFL ladder with a one-game gap over the third placed South Fremantle and with just four games remaining with Jye Bolton at the forefront of everything for the Tigers.

It had been a testing five weeks for Bolton prior to the bye last weekend. He copped a heavy knock late in the game against Swan Districts in Round 10 and then copped another one early the next week against East Perth.

That meant he sat out the rest of the game against the Royals and also missed the next week against East Fremantle before returning to perform well the two weeks leading into the bye against South Fremantle and Subiaco.

But his form was right back to its very best on Saturday with the Tigers getting over the Demons to the tune of seven points at Claremont Oval.

Up against a strong Perth midfield that includes Clint Jones, Cody Leggett, Corey Yeo and Brant Colledge, Bolton led the way for the Tigers to the deliver a standout performance highlight all of his qualities that have made him such a decorated player the past three years since joining Claremont.

Bolton finished the afternoon with 34 possessions, 12 marks and five tackles to produce the type of performance that has him a two-time Simpson Medallist, Sandover Medallist and Claremont fairest and best winner.

The only thing Bolton is still yet to experience in the WAFL is team success and with the form he is in along with the rest of the team, 2019 might be a genuine chance of seeing that change.

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)
Round 7 – Mitch Peirce (West Perth)
Round 8 – Clint Jones (Perth)
Round 9 – Lachlan Delahunty (Subiaco)
Round 10 – Nick Suban (South Fremantle)
Round 11 – Tyler Keitel (West Perth)
Round 12 – Josh Smith (West Coast Eagles)
Round 13 – Jackson Ramsay (East Perth)
Round 14 – Kane Mitchell (Claremont)
Round 15 – Bailey Banfield (Peel Thunder)
Round 16 – Jye Bolton (Claremont)

TABtouch TEAM OF THE ROUND 
BACK: Angus Litherland (S), Dylan Smallwood (C), Chad Pearson (SF)
HALF-BACK: Greg Clark (S), Tony Notte (SD), Nick Suban (SF)
CENTRE: Kyal Horsley (S), Dylan Main (SF), Ryan Lim (C)
HALF-FORWARD: Alec Waterman (C), Zac Strom (SF), Matthew Rogers (P)
FORWARD: Ben Sokol (S), Mason Shaw (SF), Ryan Borchet (S)
RUCK: Lachlan Delahunty (S), Haiden Schloithe (SF), Jye Bolton (C)
INTERCHANGE: Max Walters (S), Bailey Rogers (C), Steve Verrier (SF), Declan Mountford (C)

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:

Subiaco's Leigh Kitchin, Michael Braut, Bailey Matera and Harry Marsh.

West Coast Eagles' Josh Rotham, Hamish Brayshaw, Kurt Mutimer and Matthew Allen.

South Fremantle's Brock Higgins, Jacob Dragovich, Jake Florenca, Blayne Wilson and Zac Dent.

Swan Districts' George Hampson, Jesse Turner, Aidan Clarke, Mitch Howlett and Alex Howard.

Claremont's Kane Mitchell, Haydn Busher, Anthony Treacy and Jeremy Goddard.

Perth's Cody Leggett, Brant Colledge, Corey Yeo, Jacob Payne and Michael Sinclair.