Optus WAFL Round 17 WrapTuesday, August 3, 2021 - 6:44 AM - by Chris Pike

SUBIACO moved clear on top of the WAFL ladder and South Fremantle moved back into second spot with losses to Claremont, West Perth and Swan Districts while East Fremantle and East Perth kept the finals race somewhat alive.

Round 17 of the Optus WAFL Premiership Season always had the chance to be a defining weekend and what it did for Subiaco was take the Lions a game and percentage clear to further consolidate top spot with five rounds of the 2021 campaign remaining.

The race for second and third positions, and a finals double chance, took another dramatic turn as well with a massive win for South Fremantle taking them ahead of both Claremont and West Perth who suffered losses.

Swan Districts also suffered a surprise loss to leave them in fifth position but slightly vulnerable now three games ahead of East Fremantle and East Perth, but with four games and five rounds possible there's still an outside hope left for the Sharks and Royals.

Four of the five Round 17 WAFL matches took place on Saturday afternoon with the highlight always going to be Subiaco taking on the on-fire West Perth. The Lions made a flying start to go on and beat the Falcons 10.12 (72) to 8.4 (52) at Leederville Oval.

East Fremantle kept its slim finals hopes alive with a 7.4 (46) to 5.9 (39) win as well against Swan Districts at East Fremantle's New Choice Homes Park.

South Fremantle hit back from its loss to Subiaco and took full advantage of a Peel Thunder team with only one Fremantle-listed player to win big in Mandurah, 22.9 (141) to 3.7 (25).

The West Coast Eagles then put life into the race to avoid the wooden spoon too by beating Perth 15.9 (99) to 6.7 (43) at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

East Perth then adjusted to the challenging conditions on Sunday at Leederville Oval the better to upset Claremont 12.6 (78) to 10.11 (71) to wrap up the round.

OPTUS WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 17

EAST FREMANTLE 7.4 (46) defeated SWAN DISTRICTS 5.9 (39)

East Fremantle breathed life back into the WAFL finals race with a hard earned seven-point win against the only vulnerable team inside the top five still, Swan Districts.

Swan Districts went to East Fremantle's New Choice Homes Park on Saturday with a chance to lock away a finals position for sure in 2021 and to put East Fremantle out of the hunt, but the Sharks would have none of it.

Traditionally East Fremantle Oval has always been the toughest ground to play at if the wind is playing up, and it was certainly a cold and windy winter's afternoon on Saturday and it was the Sharks who handled their home venue the better.

East Fremantle kicked the only two goals of the first quarter and the first five goals of the match to set up the victory. Swan Districts did fight back and scores were even tied during time-on of the fourth quarter.

At that point, Swans had the momentum and it did appear the black-and-whites were going to pull out the comeback victory, but it wasn’t to be.

Jonathon Marsh kicked the last goal of the game to ensure the 7.4 (46) to 5.9 (39) victory for East Fremantle that keeps the race for fifth position alive still.

The result means that Swan Districts is still relatively comfortable in fifth position at 8-6 with a percentage of 105.3, but not quite secure of a finals appearance with East Fremantle sixth at 5-9 with a percentage of 92.9. 

Both teams have four games over the final five rounds remaining this season.

Making the East Fremantle performance all the more impressive was the fact it happened in the absence of Blaine Boekhorst, Nick Kommer, Josh Schoenfeld, Milan Murdock, Morgan Davies, Cody Leggett and Hugh Dixon. 

Jonathon Marsh kicked two goals for East Fremantle and they were crucial on a day where only 12 goals were scored between the two teams.

Luke Strnadica took advantage of the absence of Corey Gault for Swan Districts to be the best big man in the game with 19 possessions, seven marks, 39 hit outs and a goal while down back, captain Matthew Jupp was outstanding on Jesse Palmer and with 14 touches and five marks.

Luke English also racked up 25 possessions for the Sharks, Cam Eardley 22, Kyle Baskerville 22, Michael Tassone 21, Tom Bennett 18 and Matthew Burton 18.

Swan Districts' goals came courtesy of Jesse Palmer, Sam Fisher, Brayden Noble, Jesse Turner and Warrick Wilson.

Sam Fisher continued his strong form in the midfield for Swan Districts with another 27 possessions and seven inside-50 entries while Jesse Turner had 26 disposals and Frank Anderson 25 touches to go with eight tackles.

Josh Cipro collected 18 possessions as well for the black-and-whites, Jak Watson 18, Lewis Jetta 15 and Aidan Clarke 15 to go with seven tackles, five marks and three inside 50s.

The job might have appeared ahead of East Fremantle coming into the game, but the Sharks quickly showed they would be able to handle the challenging conditions on their home ground the better.

They kicked the first goal of the game thanks to Michael Tassone even though it did take 14 minutes for them to do so. The Sharks added another just before quarter-time through Tim Bockman to be up 13 points at the first break.

Jonathon Marsh kicked East Fremantle further in front with a quick goal to start the second term. And then at the four-minute mark Luke English added another and then five minutes later Dillon O'Reilly did the same.

All of a sudden East Fremantle had five goals on the board and Swan Districts had managed just the one behind midway through the second term. 

The black-and-whites eventually scored a goal through Sam Fisher but that would be their only one of the half with East Fremantle in control by 20 points by half-time.

Swan Districts gave themselves a real sniff in the third quarter though. Swans had the only scoring shots of the quarter and that included two goals to Jesse Palmer and Warrick Wilson.

By holding East Fremantle scoreless, Swans had got themselves back within seven points by three quarter-time.

East Fremantle big man Luke Strnadica returned the Sharks to a 13-point lead to start the second term but Swan Districts wasn’t done with yet. The visitors kicked the next two goals through Brayden Noble and Jesse Turner to make it a one-point game.

Wilson then kicked a behind to draw scores level and the thrilling finish was set up with six minutes eventually left to go.

It would be Marsh who became the hero for East Fremantle with his second goal of the game at the 28-minute mark and the Sharks held on to win 7.4 (46) to 5.9 (39) to keep whatever slim finals hopes they have just alive still.

 

SUBIACO 10.12 (72) defeated WEST PERTH 8.4 (52)

Subiaco has taken a giant leap towards the minor premiership of 2021 making the most of a dominant start to end up beating West Perth by 20 points at Leederville Oval on Saturday.

West Perth came into the game in hot form to be on a seven-game winning streak and looking to break into the top two positions, but Subiaco had dominant recent battles with the Falcons and that continued on Saturday.

The Lions had won 10 of the previous 11 clashes against the Falcons, and they couldn’t have been more dominant in the opening quarter with the only 12 scoring shots.

West Perth was lucky Subiaco only turned four of those into goals, but it was enough to be a match-winning advantage in the end with the Lions holding that gap most of the rest of the way to end up winning 10.12 (72) to 8.4 (52).

The win now has Subiaco a game and percentage clear on top of the ladder at 11-3 with four games and five rounds remaining for each team. West Perth has now slipped back to fourth place at 9-5 as a result of the loss.

Brandon Matera was one of the stars of the day for Subiaco as the former Gold Coast Suns and Fremantle Dockers small forward continues to build into some season-best form heading towards the finals. He finished with five goals from 15 possessions and eight marks.

Nick Martin was also impressive in attack for Subiaco with 21 disposals, 10 marks and two goals.

Greg Clark continued his brilliant career-best season in the midfield for Subiaco with another 29 possessions with Harry Marsh gathering 28 disposals, Leigh Kitchin 20, Max Walters 19 and Wil Hickmott 18.

Keegan Knott, Rudy Riddoch and Tyler Keitel all finished with two goals apiece for West Perth but the Subiaco defence led by Jordan Lockyer, Angus Dewar and Aaron Heal was rock solid to again only concede eight goals.

Triple fairest and best winner Shane Nelson racked up another 34 possessions for West Perth with Aaron Black collecting 26 disposals, Conal Lynch 19 and Tristan Hobley while Noah Pegoraro and Zac Guadagnin again fought hard in defence.

West Perth came into the game as the hottest team in the WAFL with that seven-game winning streak, but Subiaco came out with real purpose and just didn’t give the Falcons a sniff in the opening quarter.

While Subiaco's first five scoring shots were behinds in the first 10 minutes, the signs were ominous of what they could do when in this sort of mood.

Eventually Brandon Matera kicked truly at the 11-minute mark before another run of three straight points for the Lions to take them to 1.8 after 20 minutes.

However, West Perth hadn’t looked like scoring in that time and Subiaco eventually got some reward for dominance with two more goals to Matera to give the former Docker and Sun three in the opening term.

Nick Martin then added another for the Lions just before the quarter-time siren and they led the Falcons by 32 points.

West Perth eventually scored for the first time in the game with a goal to Nathan Murray six and-a-half minutes into the second quarter.

Michael Braut answered soon after for Subiaco and then Rudy Riddoch and Matera traded goals for either team to close the half with the Lions going into the half-time break in charge by 30 points.

After Ben Sokol and Tyler Keitel traded goals, Subiaco went 36 points ahead with another goal to Martin but the Falcons made a charge to close out the third quarter with goals to Riddoch, Mitch Peirce and Keegan Knott to only be 19 down at the last break.

Matera's fifth goal of the afternoon gave Subiaco the perfect start to the final term and the breathing room the Lions needed to end up cruising to the 20-point win.

 

PEEL THUNDER 3.7 (25) lost to SOUTH FREMANTLE 22.9 (141)

South Fremantle bounced back emphatically and took full advantage of an undermanned Peel Thunder team to score a 116-point win in Mandurah on Saturday.

South Fremantle made the trip down to Mandurah's David Grays Arena on the back of a disappointing loss to Subiaco last Sunday, and Peel felt the full brunt of a determined reigning premiers who wanted to make a statement.

With Haiden Schloithe dominating through the middle and then South Fremantle's three tall forwards combining for 14 goals, South Fremantle put the Thunder to the sword and won by so much that they ended the round in second position on the ladder thanks to percentage.

It was always going to be a tough ask for the Thunder with Reece Conca their only Fremantle-listed player available for selection, and that's how it panned out.

It's certainly not the biggest win from the 47 victories South Fremantle has had in the 61 meetings with Peel since 1997, but it is the largest since a 136-point hammering back in a premiership year of 2005.

That was at Fremantle Community Bank Oval, though, but this win on Saturday was their biggest ever victory over Peel in Mandurah, eclipsing the 104-point victory back in Round 1, 1997 in the Thunder's first ever match.

Haiden Schloithe had quite the day out for the Bulldogs finishing with 42 possessions, seven marks, seven inside 50s and two goals.

He had plenty of help in the midfield with Jacob Dragovich finishing with 30 disposals, six marks and six inside 50s, Tom Blechynden 30 touches, eight tackles and six marks.

Hamish Free did well in the ruck as well for South Fremantle with 14 touches and 48 hit outs.

Nick Suban had 23 possessions against the team he won two of his four WAFL premierships with while Chad Pearson had 25 possessions down back.

Then there was the forward-line which was just on fire for South Fremantle with Mason Shaw kicking five goals from 14 disposals and seven marks.

Blake Schlensog also kicked five goals from 16 disposals and 10 marks with Jimmy Miller adding four goals from 20 touches, eight marks and 15 hit outs. Cody Ninyette also kicked three goals.

Peel's goals came courtesy of Tyrone Thorne, Jackson Broadbent and Bodie Kitchingman.

Thorne also gathered 25 disposals for the Thunder, Ben Hancock 21, Kitchingman 20, Michael Randall 19, James Sturrock 19 and Brayden Lawler 17.

South Fremantle managed just two goals the rest of the game the previous week against Subiaco after kicking the first two of the day to end up losing by 44 points to the Lions and dropping to fourth position on the WAFL ladder in the process.

That meant the Bulldogs were certainly hungry to bounce back strongly at David Grays Arena on Saturday, and combine that with the fact that Peel had access to just the one Fremantle-listed players with the rest under COVID-19 restrictions, and a big South Fremantle win was the result.

South Fremantle kicked the only six goals of the first quarter to signal their intentions early with their tall forwards Blake Schlensog, Mason Shaw and Jimmy Miller combining for four of the six.

The Bulldogs weren’t in the mood to let up and continued on the onslaught with the opening five goals of the second quarter too in the first 19 minutes including a third to Schlensog, second to Shaw and a second to goal sneak Cody Ninyette.

That saw South Fremantle lead by 67 points before Peel got its first goal on the board at the 23-minute mark of the second quarter courtesy of debutant Jackson Broadbent.

It gave the Thunder a brief moment of celebration but South Fremantle closed out the half with goals to Schlensog and Haiden Schloithe to be on top by 72 points at the major break.

Ninyette and Tyrone Thorne traded goals for each team to start the second half but then South Fremantle's tall forwards just weren’t getting any less dangerous. 

Schlensog kicked his fifth for the Bulldogs, then Miller his second and third as the lead ballooned to 92 points, and was 93 by three quarter-time.

It was more of the same once more in the fourth quarter with the Bulldogs kicking four goals to four behinds from the Thunder as the reigning premiers ran out 22.9 (141) to 3.7 (25) winners.

 

PERTH 6.7 (43) lost to WEST COAST EAGLES 15.9 (99)

The West Coast Eagles continued their improved form in 2021 and Perth's struggles while dramatically undermanned continued at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday.

The two teams locked horns at Lathlain with the Eagles in their best run of form on the season and with several players dropping back keen to impress to earn an AFL recall while the Demons continue to be missing a bevy of key players and were on a six-game losing slide.

West Coast started the game on fire with five goals to one in the opening quarter and never looked back, going on to score the comfortable and emphatic 15.9 (99) to 6.7 (43) victory.

The win also livens up the race to avoid the wooden spoon in 2021 with both teams sitting on 4-10 records now and the Demons only just under four percentage points ahead of the Eagles with both teams having four games over five rounds remaining.

Jordan Busher ended up kicking four goals to go with 17 possessions and 10 marks for West Coast while Jarrod Garlett kicked three goals, Kieran Hug two and Nathan Vardy two along with 12 disposals 38 hit outs.

Sam Stubbs had a good day in attack for Perth kicking three goals to go with 15 possessions and eight marks.

Jack Avery also finished with 26 possessions and 11 marks for Perth with Corey Byrne gathering 23 disposals and seven tackles, Matthew Taylor 22 touches and 10 marks, and Andrew Fisher 21 possessions, 10 marks, five inside 50s and four tackles.

Austin Davis gathered 21 disposals as well for the Demons, Kasey Nicholas 19, Brent Edmonds 18 and Oscar Bird 17.

It was a tight start with both teams kicking a goal in the first 10 minutes with West Coast's courtesy of Jordan Busher's and Perth's from Sam Stubbs.

But the Eagles dominated the first quarter from there with four more goals before quarter-time to Jarrod Garlett, Nathan Vardy, Garlett again and Jackson Nelson to be on top by 25 points.

West Coast continued to pull away further in the second quarter as they piled on six goals to just two from the Demons with the Eagles going into half-time with a match-winning 50-point lead in the difficult conditions.

Scoring became extra challenging for both teams throughout the second half with Perth managing two goals to one from West Coast in the third term, and the Eagles then three goals to one in the fourth to come away with the comfortable 56-point triumph.

 

EAST PERTH 12.6 (78) defeated CLAREMONT 10.11 (71)

East Perth dealt Claremont's top spot aspirations a blow while keeping alive their slim finals hopes in the process with a seven-point win at Leederville Oval on Sunday.

Claremont did enough to hold a narrow lead throughout most of the opening half but East Perth got rolling throughout the third quarter five goals to two, and then opened up a 21-point lead to start the final term.

That proved a match-winning lead even though the Tigers kicked the last two goals of the game with the Royals holding on to win 12.6 (78) to 10.11 (71) in tough conditions at Leederville Oval.

The win improves East Perth to a 5-9 record on the season having now won four of its past six matches. The Royals are three games and percentage behind the fifth placed Swan Districts with four games and five rounds remaining.

Meanwhile, Claremont slips to third position with the loss at 10-4 and percentage behind the now second placed South Fremantle.

Nick Merritt provided a good target in attack for East Perth with three goals from 16 possessions and four marks while Eddie Simpson chipped in with two goals.

Captain Jackson Ramsay was brilliant for the Royals finishing with 31 possessions, eight tackles and two goals in the middle while Angus Schumacher gathered another 26 disposals, Rohan Kerr 22, Angus Scott 19, Aidan Lynch 17 and Nick Robertson 16.

The East Perth back-line held firm too with Nathan Blee finished with 22 touches and four tackles, and Kye Willcocks 20 touches, five marks and three tackles.

Jake Patmore was lively up forward again for Claremont with three goals while Alex Manuel kicked two but also had four behinds.

Bailey Rogers continued his superb form for the Tigers with two more goals to go with 29 possessions while Jye Bolton amassed 41 disposals, Ben Edwards 27, Ryan Lim 23, Ben Elliott 19, Tom Baldwin 18 and Max Spyvee 18.

East Perth made the perfect start a minute into the game with ex-Tiger Eddie Simpson kicking the game's first goal against his former side.

Claremont responded quickly with the next two through Bailey Rogers and Jake Patmore but then East Perth regained the narrow lead with a goal to Harley Sparks. However, the Tigers went into quarter-time up five thanks to Callan England's goal at the 22-minute mark.

It took less than five minutes of the second quarter for East Perth to regain the lead with a goal to Matthew Young. Shayne Hille kept the Royals on top when he also kicked truly later in the quarter but Claremont went into half-time still up two thanks to another from Patmore.

The Royals again quickly regained the lead to start the third quarter, this time thanks to a goal to Christian Ameduri. Simpson then added a second to extend the Royals lead which had got out to 15 points by three quarter-time thanks to a couple of majors to emerging big man Nick Merritt.

The upset was well and truly looking likely when Jackson Ramsay gave the Royals a 21-point lead to start the fourth term.

Claremont threatened a fightback and were within nine points when Alex Manuel kicked his second at the 25-minute mark. But the last two chances for Claremont turned out to be behinds for Patmore and Ben Edwards to allow East Perth to hold on the for the seven-point win.