Optus WAFLW Round 15 WrapWednesday, August 28, 2019 - 1:55 PM - by Chris Pike

EAST Fremantle secured second position in the inaugural WAFL Women's season with a win against Claremont in Round 15 action while Subiaco also geared up for the finals with a thumping victory over Peel Thunder.

With Swan Districts having the bye in the final round of the 2019 Optus WAFLW Premiership Season, Round 15 featured a contest between the bottom and top placed teams in the competition but also two other teams trying to finish up as high as possible.

The round began on Saturday morning at the newly renamed Claremont Oval, now known as Revo Fitness Stadium, and it was a crucial game for both Claremont and East Fremantle.

In the end it was the Sharks who beat the Tigers 5.8 (38) to 4.1 (25) and that was enough to see them leapfrog Swans into second position on the ladder.

The round then concluded on Sunday at Leederville Oval with Subiaco thumping Peel Thunder 14.16 (100) to 4.3 (27) to ensure they enter the finals in ominous form.

The weekend's results leave Subiaco (9-3) out clear in top position having secured the first ever minor premiership in the WAFLW competition.

East Fremantle (7-5) finished second ahead of Swan Districts (7-5), Claremont (6-6) and Peel Thunder (1-11).

That sets up the opening of the WAFLW finals series this weekend with both games taking place on Sunday afternoon.

First up is the first semi-final between Swan Districts and Claremont at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval.

The winner of that will take on the loser of the second semi-final at Leederville Oval between Subiaco and East Fremantle while the winner will advance straight to the first ever Grand Final.

ROUND 15 OPTUS WAFLW PREMIERSHIP SEASON

CLAREMONT 4.1 (25) lost to EAST FREMANTLE 5.8 (38)

Claremont and East Fremantle both came into Saturday morning's contest with plenty on the line and in the end it was the Sharks who prevailed to end up in second position on the WAFLW ladder.

When the Tigers and Sharks ran out onto the newly renamed Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday morning, Claremont was trying to win to end the season third while East Fremantle was out to win to climb into second spot.

So that meant motivation was high for both clubs and it was a tight opening quarter. There was just one goal kicked and that went the way of Claremont but East Fremantle scored four behinds meaning the Tigers only led by three points at the first break.

Claremont again kicked a goal in the second quarter but East Fremantle booted two themselves and that was enough to see the Sharks take a five-point advantage into the half-time interval.

The Tigers added another goal in the third term to stay in touch but East Fremantle was starting to kick away with two more goals and that meant the Sharks held an 11-point lead by three quarter-time.

Claremont kicked one more goal in the last term but that wasn’t enough to close the gap with East Fremantle doing enough to come away with the 5.8 (38) to 4.1 (25) victory.

The win means East Fremantle finishes in second position on the WAFLW ladder with a 7-5 record to now take on Subiaco in Sunday's second semi-final at Leederville Oval.

Claremont finishes fourth at 6-6 and will play Swan Districts in the first semi-final also on Sunday at Steel Blue Oval.

Ashlee Atkins and Stephanie Sparke kicked two goals each for East Fremantle with Roxanne Roux the other goal kicker.

Amber Goodwin-Wissink, Brooke Whyte, Zoe Timmers and Laura Pugh kicked a goal each for Claremont.
 

SUBIACO 14.16 (100) defeated PEEL THUNDER 4.3 (27)

It was top against bottom in the final game of the home and away season in the WAFLW competition for 2019 and Subiaco further asserted its authority with a 73-point victory against Peel Thunder.

The challenge was always ahead of Peel to put in a competitive showing to close their season on Sunday afternoon at Leederville Oval, and in the end it was Subiaco who used it as a tune up for the finals with an impressive and dominant performance.

Subiaco dominated the contest from the outset as they held Peel scoreless in the opening quarter and kicked five goals and three behinds themselves on the way to a 23-point lead by quarter-time.

The Thunder then managed just the one behind in the second quarter while the Lions piled on another four goals and five behinds which gave Subiaco a 51-point lead going into the half-time break.

Peel did at least get on the board with a goal in the third quarter but Subiaco weren’t about to let up with the Lions kicking three more goals in the third term to stretch their advantage to 66 points by three-quarter-time.

Things opened up going both ways in the last quarter Subiaco kicking four goals and Peel three with the Lions ending up winning 14.16 (100) to 4.3 (27).

The victory means Subiaco finishes the inaugural WAFLW season in top spot with a 9-3 record setting up a second semi-final clash with East Fremantle on Sunday at Leederville Oval.

Peel's challenging WAFLW season comes to a close with the Thunder holding a 1-11 record.

Aimee Schmidt and Tarnee Tester kicked four goals each on the afternoon for Subiaco with Hayley Miller and Jaymie Harken adding two goals each with Ellie Blackmore and Beatrice Devlyn kicking one apiece.

Courtney Rowley kicked two goals for Peel while Jade Briggs and Shani Garrod added one apiece for the Thunder.