Optus WAFL Round 16 WrapTuesday, July 27, 2021 - 2:53 PM - by Chris Pike

ROUND 16 in the WAFL saw the race for top spot become all the more fascinating with Subiaco and Claremont swapping that first position over the weekend while West Perth and Swan Districts went a long way to securing their own finals spots.

Subiaco and Claremont have now moved a game clear on top of the ladder on the back of their wins in the 2021 Optus WAFL Premiership Season while there is now a four-game gap between the fifth placed Swan Districts and the chasing pack outside of finals positions after Round 16.

Four of the five matches in Round 16 over the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon starting with Claremont at least temporarily taking top position with a 14.12 (96) to 7.11 (53) victory against East Fremantle at Revo Fitness Stadium.

Tyler Keitel then moved further clear in the Bernie Naylor Medal hunt with seven goals for West Perth as the Falcons won their sixth straight match by beating Peel Thunder 12.10 (82) to 8.10 (58).

The West Coast Eagles then clung to a 14.8 (92) to 13.12 (90) victory against East Perth despite conceding the only five goals of the final term at Leederville Oval.

Swan Districts bounced back from a loss to South Fremantle by moving further clear in fifth position as well with a 13.13 (91) to 10.7 (67) win over Perth at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval.

The last game of the round then took place on Sunday afternoon with Subiaco making quite the statement by holding South Fremantle to just two goals over the last three quarters to win 10.13 (73) to 4.5 (29).

That result saw Subiaco move back to the top of the WAFL ladder with a 10-3 record percentage ahead of Claremont while West Perth has improved to third position at 9-4.

South Fremantle has slipped to fourth spot also on 9-4 but percentage behind West Perth with Swan Districts rounding out the top five at 8-5.

Pee Thunder, East Fremantle, East Perth and Perth then all sit outside the top five on 4-9 records while the West Coast Eagles are 3-10.

OPTUS WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 16

CLAREMONT 14.12 (96) defeated EAST FREMANTLE 7.11 (53)

Claremont put together a dominant third quarter to set up a 43-point victory at home over East Fremantle to at least temporarily see the Tigers nab top spot on the WAFL ladder.

With Claremont battling with Subiaco and South Fremantle over top spot and East Fremantle just trying to keep in touch for finals position at all, there was plenty on the line at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

It was a relatively competitive and tight first half too with Claremont only managing to lead over East Fremantle by seven points at half-time.

However, the Tigers kicked away in the third quarter with six goals to two to open up a match-winning advantage to go on and score the 14.12 (96) to 7.11 (53) victory.

That saw Claremont move to top spot on the ladder at least until Subiaco played South Fremantle on Sunday while East Fremantle fell four games and percentage behind fifth position.

It was the mid-size Claremont's forwards who had a day out on Saturday with Callan England and Jake Patmore kicking four goals apiece.

Bailey Rogers continued to enjoy his move into the Claremont midfield in 2021 by kicking two goals to go with 33 possessions while Jye Bolton finished with another 29 disposals, Ryan Lim 26, Ben Edwards 25 and ruckman Oliver Eastland 21 to go with 10 marks and 39 hit outs.

Lachlan Martinis once again provided great drive and run off half-back for Claremont as well with 32 touches, eight marks and six inside-50 entries.

Nick Kommer was lively in attack for East Fremantle kicking three goals from his 16 possessions and seven marks.

Kyle Baskerville had another big afternoon for the Sharks to continue his emergence into a key player with another 34 possessions, 10 tackles and eight marks.

Cam Eardley racked up 24 disposals as well for East Fremantle, Luke English 24, Michael Tassone 24, Tom Bennett 20 and Jarrad Jansen 19.

East Fremantle was fighting to try to stay in the finals hunt and started well with the game's first goal through Nick Kommer. But Claremont soon steadied and warmed to the task with the next three goals of the opening quarter through Jake Patmore, Jye Bolton and Alex Manuel.

The Sharks again started the second term strongly with an early goal to Luke English and it remained a tight contest heading into half-time. 

Patmore kicked a second goal for the Tigers and Callan England added another, but Kommer delivered a second for the half for East Fremantle and that cut Claremont's lead to seven points at the long break.

Claremont got out to a 13-point edge again to open the second half with a goal to Tyron Smallwood and then the Tigers really put their foot down to put the result beyond doubt by three quarter-time.

Bailey Rogers, England and Patmore all kicked goals in the space of five minutes for Claremont and it was only Kommer's third just before the siren that saw East Fremantle close the gap back 33 points at the last change.

Patmore put Claremont back up by 39 points to start the fourth quarter with another goal and after the lead grew to as much as 47 points for the Tigers with a goal to ruckman Oliver Eastland, they cruised to the 43-point win that at least for 24 hours took them to the top of the ladder.
 

WEST PERTH 12.10 (82) defeated PEEL THUNDER 8.10 (58)

Another standout performance from attack from Tyler Keitel as he looks to lock in what would be the second Bernie Naylor Medal as the league leading goalkicker of his career was behind another impressive West Perth performance.

The Falcons brought with them a five-game winning streak into Saturday's clash at Provident Financial Oval while Peel was coming off a narrow loss to Claremont and they needed a win to maintain touch with the top five.

Keitel set the stage for the rest of the game kicking two goals in the first four minutes for West Perth. 

The 117-game big man would kick a third and fourth goal before half-time before adding three more in the third term with West Perth opening up a 49-point advantage which would prove a match-winning edge by three quarter-time.

While West Perth didn’t score more than one behind in the final term and Peel managed to kick the only four goals, the Falcons still prevailed 12.10 (82) to 8.10 (58).

The win makes it six in-a-row for the Falcons who now improve to a 9-4 record on the season to be closing in on a top three position even if coach Geoff Valentine wouldn’t have liked a second goalless final term in the past three weeks.

The loss means that the Thunder have lost six of their past seven matches and while they continue to be competitive, at 4-9 it does appear a forlorn task from here for them to remain in the finals race.

Tyler Keitel was the undoubted star of the day for West Perth with his seven goals to go with 20 possessions and eight marks.

That sees him shoot further clear in the Bernie Naylor Medal race with 47 goals for the season to be 14 ahead of South Fremantle's Mason Shaw who is still to play this weekend against Subiaco on Sunday.

Triple fairest and best winner Shane Nelson was a standout in the midfield for West Perth with 34 possessions while captain Aaron Black racked up another 32 disposals.

Tyson Moulton continued his career-best form for the Falcons with 25 possessions and nine marks while Matthew Lloyd finished with 23 disposals, Tristan Hobley 22, Mitch Peirce 22, Conal Lynch 21 and Dean Munns 18 to go with 10 marks.

West Perth's back-line held up well once again led by Noah Pegoraro with 24 disposals, 12 marks and six tackles while Zac Guadagnin had another 22 touches and 12 marks.

Tyrone Thorne and Jackson Knight ended up kicking two goals apiece for Peel.

Taylin Duman delivered a standout performance down back for Peel Thunder to put his hand up for a Fremantle Dockers AFL recall with 32 possessions and 13 marks. Tobe Watson impressed defensively too with another 22 touches and 10 marks.

Premiership veteran Ben Hancock maintained his career-best form this season with another 30 possessions while Blake Acres finished with 27 disposals for the Thunder, Michael Randall 25, Jackson Merrett 23, James Sturrock 22, Nathan O'Driscoll 19 and Bodie Kitchingman 19.

Tyler Keitel was the story of the day for West Perth ending up with the seven goals and he made a flying start to put the Falcons on top early with two quick goals in the game's first four minutes.

His partner in crime in attack for West Perth kicked another shortly after too to give the Falcons a 20-point lead which could have been more had it not been for their six behinds and then a goal just before quarter-time to Tyrone Thorne.

Peel had three chances to start the second quarter to try and pull closer but only managed behinds before West Perth went up the other end and converted goals to Rudy Riddoch, Nathan Murray and Conal Lynch to end up leading by 32 points.

Jackson Knight got one back for Peel and then so did Jack Sears on the siren, but a third and fourth for the half to Keitel ensured West Perth remained in control leading by 32 points.

Keitel then added his fifth and sixth majors of the contest to start the second half, and by the time he kicked his seventh just before three quarter-time it was West Perth up by a match-winning 49-point advantage.

To the Thunder's credit they finished the game strongly with the only four goals of the final quarter while holding West Perth to just the one behind, but the Falcons still cruised to the 24-point victory.
 

EAST PERTH 13.12 (90) lost to WEST COAST EAGLES 14.8 (92)

East Perth finished full of running but couldn’t quite get that one extra goal that could have kept their finals prospects alive against the West Coast Eagles.

The Eagles opened up a commanding 38-point lead by three quarter-time on the Royals at Leederville Oval on Saturday, but East Perth's chances of staying in the finals race was on the line.

As a result, the Royals found something in the last term and did kick the only five goals to get within two points but that was as close as they'd get with West Coast hanging on for their third win of the 2021 WAFL season, 14.8 (92) to 13.12 (90).

Nathan Vardy kicked three goals for West Coast to go with 12 possessions, seven marks and 31 hit outs while Jordan Busher chipped in with two majors.

Jackson Nelson responded well to his demotion from the Eagles by producing 32 possessions, nine tackles, six marks, four inside-50 entries and a goal while Hamish Brayshaw gathered 27 disposals, Alex Witherden 25, Luke Foley 25, Ben Johnson 22 and Brayden Ainsworth 21.

Matthew Young kicked three goals for East Perth with Eddie Simpson and Nick Martin adding two apiece.

Angus Scott was prolific on the wing for East Perth finishing with 33 possessions and 10 marks while Jackson Ramsay gathered 25 touches, Nathan Blee 24, Rohan Kerr 24, Angus Schumacher 21, Kye Willcocks 18 and Jacob Msando 18.

East Perth had been in season-best form coming into the game and needed to put another win on the board against the Eagles to keep themselves even slightly in the finals race.

And the Royals started well in that quest with the game's opening three goals courtesy of Jayden Magro, Eddie Simpson and Tom Edwards-Baldwin across the opening 11 minutes.

West Coast soon got rolling, though, responding well to that flying start from the Royals by kicking five goals themselves to close the opening quarter with a couple of those to big man Nathan Vardy, and others to Kieran Hug, Jarrod Garlett and Brayden Ainsworth.

Jarrod Busher made it six goals in-a-row for West Coast when he put them up by 23 points to start the second quarter. Both teams ended up kicking three goals apiece for the second term with the Eagles heading into half-time in control leading by 17 points.

East Perth got back within 11 points with a goal to Nick Merritt to open the second half but the Eagles continued to have all the answers starting with a goal to Jackson Nelson.

Isaih Winder, Ben Johnson and Vardy then would all kick truly for the Eagles to be 33 points up. East pulled one back through Matthew Young, but West Coast wasn’t letting up and closed the third term with goals to Busher and Ben Williams to be on top by 38 points.

That would prove to be a match-winning lead for the Eagles, but only ever so just with the Royals making quite the final quarter charge. 

By the time Aidan Lynch kicked truly at the 23-minute mark, East Perth had piled on five goals for the quarter to be only two points behind with all the momentum and enough time on the clock.

However, the Eagles held firm once they got possession and were able to take enough time off the clock and hold on to the two-point lead for their third win of the season.
 

SWAN DISTRICTS 13.13 (91) defeated PERTH 10.7 (67)

Swan Districts put in an impressive performance for a comfortable win against Perth on Saturday at Steel Blue Oval to further cement fifth position.

Swans were looking to bounce back from a loss the previous week at home to South Fremantle and they were back on home turf at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday to host a struggling Perth team missing a host of players through injury and on a five-game losing streak.

Swan Districts set up the eventual win by kicking four goals to one in the first quarter and the black-and-whites maintained that advantage for the majority of the rest of the afternoon.

The Demons fought hard but never seriously threatened to close the gap and Swan Districts would go on to record the 13.13 (91) to 10.7 (67) victory.

Swans not only had 26 scoring shots to just 17 from the Demons for the day, but collected 61 more possessions during the day, had 20 more hit outs, 14 extra inside-50 entries and took 107 marks to 68.

Lachlan Riley kicked two goals quickly to open the game finished with three majors for the game for Swan Districts while Brayden Noble kicked two as did Sandover Medallist Sam Fisher to go with 37 possessions in a best on ground display.

Frank Anderson made a welcome return for Swan Districts and racked up 31 disposals as well with Josh Cipro finishing with 23 touches, Anthony Stephens 22 and Jesse Turner 19.

The Swans back-line was strong again led by 18 touches and nine marks from Brandon Erceg, and Nelson Waite's 22 possessions on return from the reserves.

Kristian Cary did what he could to keep Perth in the contest with four goals while Clayton Giblett enjoyed his rare move forward to kick three and Corey Byrne two to go with 26 disposals.

Austin Davis also gathered 22 possessions for the Demons, Michael Sinclair 19, Andrew Fisher 17 and Conor McPartland 16. 

Swan Districts needed to bounce back with a win to maintain their hold on fifth position and the black-and-whites made the perfect start with two quick goals to Lachlan Riley inside the opening five minutes.

Then Tom Edwards added another at the 11-minute mark and two minutes later Matt Riggio kicked truly too and suddenly Swans had opened up a commanding 24-point lead, which was still at 20 by quarter-time after Perth did managed one of their own thanks to Kristian Cary.

Perth was working its way back into the contest, though, and the opening two goals of the second term to Clayton Giblett and Cary saw them right back in the game just eight points behind.

Swan Districts was able to answer thanks to Chris Jones but Perth got right back within nine points thanks to Giblett again. Riley then managed his third goal of the first half to ensure Swans held a handy 15-point lead by the half-time break.

Jiah Reidy then extended the lead for Swans to 21 points with a goal to open the second half but Perth responded immediately courtesy of Cary with his third to keep the Demons with 15 points.

Jesse Palmer kicked his first for Swans of the midway through the third quarter and when Sam Fisher added another it was out to a game-high 30-point advantage before Perth kept in touch with the last two goals of the third term.

Swan Districts ensured there would be no Perth comeback with an early final quarter goal for Brayden Noble and from there it was three goals apiece the rest of the way with Swans going on to win by 24 points.
 

SUBIACO 10.13 (73) defeated SOUTH FREMANTLE 4.5 (29)

Subiaco produced a dominant performance over the reigning premiers South Fremantle on Sunday to win by 44 points to return to the top of the WAFL ladder.

It loomed as a terrific contest at Leederville Oval on Sunday with the winner out of Subiaco and South Fremantle every chance to finish Round 16 on top of the WAFL ladder.

They are the two teams who have combined to win the last three WAFL premierships as well with Subiaco thrashing South Fremantle in the 2019 Grand Final, but the Bulldogs haven’t lost to the Lions since coming into Sunday's game.

South Fremantle then kicked the opening two goals of the game in an encouraging start at Leederville Oval, but the Bulldogs only kicked two goals the rest of the day as the Lions produced a dominant performance.

Subiaco would go on to win 10.13 (73) to 4.5 (29) on the back of having 23 scoring shots to nine for the game, 51 inside-50 entries to 34 and having 100 more disposals on the afternoon and taking 110 marks to 63 while laying 14 extra tackles.

The win moves Subiaco back to the top of the WAFL ladder while South Fremantle slips down to fourth below West Perth on percentage.

Michael Braut kicked three goals in attack for Subiaco with Ben Sokol and Nick Martin adding two apiece.

Lions skipper Leigh Kitchin continued his outstanding form with another 33 possessions while partner-in-crime Greg Clark had 32 touches.

Harry Marsh also gathered 28 disposals, Chad Harris 22, Brandon Matera 22 and Bailey Matera 21.

Subiaco's defence was superb once more led by Angus Dewar with 22 possessions and seven marks, Drew Rodge with 17 touches and seven marks, and Jordan Lockyer holding Mason Shaw to one goal with 13 touches and five marks himself.

South Fremantle's lone goals came courtesy of Cody Ninyette, Mason Shaw, Blake Schlensog and Jesse Motlop.

Haiden Schloithe battled hard against the tide for South Fremantle with 29 possessions while Chad Pearson picked up 25 disposals, Tom Blechynden 23, Schlensog 18 (12 marks), Jacob Dragovich 17 and Toby McQuilkin 16.

The teams who have shared the last three WAFL premierships were battling over top spot at Leederville Oval on Sunday and South Fremantle's talls and smalls up forward got off to a good start.

Blake Schlensog was providing a strong target in attack and kicked the first goal of the game and then goal sneak Cody Ninyette kicked truly at ground level and the Bulldogs were up by 11 points at the 11-minute mark having made the perfect start.

That would be as good as the day would get for South Fremantle though. Subiaco kicked the next two goals of the opening quarter through Ben Sokol and Nick Martin and scores were all square by quarter-time.

Martin kicked a second to put Subiaco on top for the first time since the opening behind of the game with former Bulldog Bailey Matera kicking truly soon after to put the Lions up by 13 points.

Jesse Motlop stepped up to kick a goal for South Fremantle in response but Subiaco closed the half with a 10-point lead with the defences of both teams on top ensuring there were no more goals for almost 20 minutes heading into half-time.

Michael Braut kicked a goal on the line to open the second half for the Lions but the home team couldn’t put their advantage in general play on the scoreboard having kicked a string of behinds before Mason Shaw snapped truly to keep South Fremantle in touch.

The Bulldogs were hanging tough but a mark and goal on the three quarter-time siren to Braut saw Subiaco get some reward for effort and pull away to a 21-point lead.

The Lions then dominated the last quarter to enhance their hold on top spot on the WAFL ladder and likely as premiership favourites in the eyes of most with the four goals to nil in the last term to end up 44-point winners against the Bulldogs.