WAFL Round 5 WrapMonday, May 23, 2022 - 6:44 PM - by Chris Pike

WEST Perth returned to top spot with a big Round 5 WAFL victory on Saturday while East Fremantle kept winning, South Fremantle and Claremont bounced back, and Subiaco snatched a thriller over Swan Districts in Kalgoorlie.

Following last week's WAFL State game against South Australia at Optus Stadium, the season resumed with all five Round 5 matches taking place on Saturday afternoon.

Things got underway in Kalgoorlie and it turned out to be a thriller with Subiaco coming from behind late to beat Swan Districts 12.10 (82) to 10.8 (68).

Ryan Borchet and Ben Sokol kicked four goals each for Subiaco while Leigh Kitchin continued his Simpson Medal winning form with 33 possessions. Chris Jones kicked another three goals for Swan Districts with Sandover Medallist Sam Fisher gathering 35 disposals and Jesse Turner 33.

Claremont then bounced back from its first loss of the season to beat East Perth 14.13 (97) to 7.8 (50) at Revo Fitness Stadium. 

Alex Manuel kicked four goals for the Tigers and Jack Buller three with Jye Bolton gathering 30 possessions. Sebit Kuek kicked three goals for East Perth while Hamish Brayshaw and Angus Scott both collected 31 touches.

South Fremantle also stopped a two-match losing streak beating Peel Thunder despite the absence of coach Todd Curley with the 13.11 (89) to 9.9 (63) victory at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

Mason Shaw kicked three goals for South Fremantle while Jake Florenca continued his stunning form with 41 possessions. Sam Sturt kicked three goals for Peel with Darcy Tucker amassing 28 disposals in the midfield.

West Perth made it four consecutive wins as well with a thumping 17.17 (119) to 6.2 (38) win against the West Coast Eagles at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium.

Bernie Naylor Medallist Tyler Keitel kicked five goals for West Perth and Keegan Knott three while Shane Nelson gathered 34 touches and Trent Manzone 30 to go with 14 marks. Josh Burke kicked two goals for West Coast with Josh Browne racking up 36 possessions.

East Fremantle also made it four straight wins by beating Perth 13.20 (98) to 10.12 (72) at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

On the back of their big win over West Coast on Saturday, West Perth replaced East Fremantle on top of the WAFL ladder after five rounds. Both teams sit on 4-1 records as do Claremont but the Falcons have the superior percentage from the Sharks and Tigers.

South Fremantle improved to a 3-2 record with its win to remain in fourth position while Peel Thunder actually moved up to fifth spot at 2-3 despite losing to the Bulldogs thanks to their better percentage.

East Perth, Swan Districts, Subiaco and Perth are all just outside of fifth position with 2-3 records only percentage behind the Thunder and then there's the winless West Coast Eagles in last position.

Round 6 of the WAFL competition all takes place on Saturday afternoon with Peel Thunder hosting Claremont, East Perth at home to the West Coast Eagles, East Fremantle playing Subiaco at the WACA Ground, West Perth at home to Perth, and Swan Districts taking on South Fremantle.
 

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 5

SUBIACO 12.10 (82) defeated SWAN DISTRICTS 10.8 (68)

Subiaco left it late but kicked the last three goals of the game in Kalgoorlie on Saturday to beat Swan Districts by 14 points.

The two teams did battle at Sir Richard Moore Oval looking to build some momentum from last up losses prior to the State game, and it appeared Swan Districts were on track for a third straight victory.

Swans led for much of the afternoon and were still on top until Ben Sokol kicked the last three goals of the game in the final five minutes of the game to see Subiaco win 12.10 (82) to 10.8 (68).

Subiaco has now won two straight matches after starting the season losing three in-a-row while Swans now also have two wins from the five games so far in 2022.

It was only fitting that Kalgoorlie local Ryan Borchet kicked the first goal of the game for Subiaco inside the opening minute back in his hometown.

Swans key forwards Chris Jones and Brayden Noble then responded for the visitors before they extended their lead with another to Lachlan Riley and a second to Jones.

By the end of the first quarter, Swan Districts was still leading by 13 points but Ben Sokol and Borchet then combined with the opening two goals of the second term to bring the Lions back within a point.

Riley and Max Walters then traded goals heading into half-time and it was Swans leading by a point at the major break in Kalgoorlie.

Subiaco took the lead eight minutes into the second half when Harry Marsh kicked truly, but Swans answered back courtesy of Jesse Palmer, Seb Bright and Chris Jones. Then another to Jones saw the black-and-whites on top by 20 points going into three quarter-time.

Despite a couple of early fourth quarter goals for Subiaco to Borchet, the Swans were still leading by four points up to the 25-minute mark of the last term to be on target for a third successive win this season.

However, Subiaco wouldn’t lie down and it was Sokol who proved the hero with three goals inside the last five minutes to see them go from four points down to end up winning 12.10 (82) to 10.8 (68).

Ryan Borchet and Ben Sokol both ended up kicking four goals apiece for Subiaco as they combined for those eight goals in efficient displays from just 14 kicks and nine marks.

Captain Leigh Kitchin continued his brilliant form for Subiaco fresh off leading WA in last week's State game where he won the Simpson Medal. He produced another standout performance on Saturday in Kalgoorlie with 33 possessions, eight tackles and six marks.

Five-time premiership winner Lachlan Delahunty was outstanding as well for the Lions in the ruck with 29 possessions and 24 hit outs despite his opponent Matthew Germs amassing 53 hit outs.

Stefan Giro also finished with 28 touches for Subiaco, Liam Hickmott 28, Chad Harris 22, Harry Marsh 21, Drew Rohde 19 and fellow defender Angus Dewar 18.

Chris Jones continued to provide a good target in the forward-line for Swan Districts kicking another three goals from five kicks and three marks. Lachlan Riley added two goals from his eight kicks.

Sandover Medallist Sam Fisher amassed 35 possessions for Swan Districts while Jesse Turner had 33 touches on the back of making his State debut last Sunday.

Aidan Clarke picked up 24 touches for Swans, Mitch Bain 20, Tobe Watson 20 and Brandon Erceg 18 while Cian Ehlers was outstanding defensively holding Brandon Matera scoreless, kickless and to one handpass.
 

CLAREMONT 14.13 (97) defeated EAST PERTH 7.8 (50)

Claremont bounced back from its lone loss of the season prior to the State game with an impressive performance at home on Saturday to beat East Perth by 47 points.

The Tigers were back at home at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday to host the Royals, and they produced a tremendous performance coming of a narrow loss to Swan Districts at Bassendean a fortnight ago.

Claremont might have gone goalless in the opening quarter, but outscored East Perth 93 points 29 the rest of the way to end up prevailing 14.13 (97) to 7.8 (50).

East Perth started strongly on their quest to get back in the winner's circle. The Royals had the only scoring shots in the first 19 minutes of the game and converted two of those into goals through Angus Scott and Tom Medhat.

Claremont managed just the four behinds the entire first quarter with the Royals adding a third goal through Harley Sparks to lead by 17 points at quarter-time.

Eventually the Tigers managed their first goal of the game at the eight-minute mark of the second term thanks to Jack Buller. The Royals replied courtesy of Sebit Kuek but the Tigers were warming to the task.

Claremont kicked another six goals to close out the first half with two of hem coming from Callan England inside two minutes which helped the Tigers open up a 20-point lead by the half-time break.

Claremont managed another three goals to two in the third quarter to extend their advantage to 28 points by three quarter-time on the back of another couple of goals from Manuel.

There would be no East Perth fightback with Claremont kicking another four goals to one in the last term to end up winning 14.13 (97) to 7.8 (50) having outscored the Royals 14 goals to four over the final three quarters.

Alex Manuel was impressive up forward for Claremont kicking four goals from nine kicks, four marks and four tackles. Jack Buller also kicked three goals for the Tigers and Callan England two.

Dual Sandover Medallist and four-time Simpson Medal winner Jye Bolton collected another 30 possessions for Claremont with Ryan Lim gathering 26 disposals, Lachlan Martinis 24, Ronin O'Connor 23, Bailey Rogers 22, Sam Alvarez 22, Ben Edwards 20, Jack Lewsey 19, Declan Mountford 19 and Max Spyvee 19.

Sebit Kuek made the most of his chances with three goals for East Perth from five kicks while Tom Medhat continued his good start to the season with two goals from 15 possessions, five inside 50s and three tackles.

Hamish Brayshaw continued his good form in the midfield for the Royals by collecting another 31 possessions. Angus Scott also had 31 touches, Harley Sparks 27, Angus Schumacher 26, Christian Ameduri 20, Kye Willcocks 19 and Stan Wright 19.

Scott Jones had another 44 hit outs in the ruck for East Perth on the back of playing in last week's State game.
 

SOUTH FREMANTLE 13.11 (89) defeated PEEL THUNDER 9.9 (63)

South Fremantle put together an impressive display even without their senior coach to beat Peel Thunder by 26 points at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Saturday.

South Fremantle had lost their previous two matches prior to the State game against Claremont and West Perth after starting the season with wins against Subiaco and West Coast.

The Bulldogs were then without senior coach Todd Curley on Saturday at Fremantle Community Bank Oval with Steve Wasley in charge for the day against a Peel team also having won two of their opening four matches.

South Fremantle was also minus captain Dylan Main but were on top virtually the whole afternoon to end up beating Peel 13.11 (89) to 9.9 (63).

It took only a couple of minutes for South Fremantle to open their account through Jimmy Miller, but Peel managed the next two goals courtesy of Liam Henry and Sam Sturt.

However, the Bulldogs finished the term strongly with a second goal to Miller and then with Jake Florenca kicking a couple, and Brendon Ah Chee another to see the home team on top by 20 points at quarter-time.

South Fremantle also started the second quarter strongly with a goal through Haiden Schloithe to open up a 27-point advantage, but Peel stayed in the contest when Josh Treacy kicked truly.

The Bulldogs did kick the last goal of the half, though, courtesy of Ah Chee and that saw the home team in command by 27 points at the major break.

Peel again started well to start the second half with a goal to Jye Amiss but they couldn’t build momentum from it. 

A first career goal from debutant Riley Colborne extended the South Fremantle lead before Hamish Free kicked a beauty on the run in the pocket to put the Bulldogs out to a 31-point advantage.

The Bulldogs were still leading by 30 points at three quarter-time and even though Peel kicked four goals to three in the last quarter, including two each from Sturt, South Fremantle kicked another three including a couple from Mason Shaw.

That saw South Fremantle go on to record the 13.11 (89) to 9.9 (63) despite the absence of the majority of the majority of their coaching staff including senior coach Todd Curley.

Mason Shaw stood tall to kick three goals for South Fremantle from nine kicks and seven marks while his forward partner Jimmy Miller also kicked two goals.

Jake Florenca returned for the Bulldogs after playing in the AFL for West Coast two weeks ago and then in the WAFL State game last Sunday. 

He produced a stunning performance for South Fremantle in the midfield and drifting forward to finish with 41 possessions, eight inside 50s, six marks, four tackles and two goals.

Brendon Ah Chee produced his second straight superb showing too with 24 disposals and two goals while Haiden Schloithe added 26 touches, 10 tackles and a goal.

Toby McQuilkin was outstanding down back as well for the Bulldogs with 29 touches and 13 marks while Tom Blechynden finished with 25 disposals, Chad Pearson 25, Jarrad Doney 18 and Hamish Free 14 in the ruck to go with 23 hit outs, six inside 50s and a goal.

Sam Sturt kicked three goals for Peel from six kicks for the day while Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy kicked two goals apiece.

Darcy Tucker returned to the Peel line-up and delivered 28 possessions in the midfield while Connor Blakely gathered 26 touches, Mitch Crowden 25, Traye Bennell 21, Nathan Wilson 19 and Liam Henry 18.
 

WEST PERTH 17.17 (119) defeated WEST COAST EAGLES 6.2 (38)

West Perth shot back to the top of the WAFL ladder with a commanding 81-point victory at home against the West Coast Eagles on Saturday.

The Falcons have now won their past four matches after a first up loss to Claremont to open the 2022 season, and they were a dominant force against the winless Eagles on Saturday at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium.

West Perth ended up winning 17.17 (119) to 6.2 (38) to see them back on top of the ladder after five rounds while West Coast remains in bottom spot without a victory.

It didn’t take long for West Perth to flex its muscles on their home floor with the first seven scoring shots against the Eagles including goals to Mitch Dobson and Trent Manzone. 

West Coast eventually got on the board with a goal to John Levien but the Falcons then closed out the first term with three majors to Tyler Keitel to take a commanding 29-point edge into quarter-time.

West Coast did open the second quarter with a goal to Josh Burke but that would be their only score of the term. West Perth added another couple of goals courtesy of Keitel and Anton Hamp to be in control to the tune of 39 points at the half.

West Perth was then able to kick four more goals in the third quarter while keeping the Eagles scoreless. That saw the Falcons extend their lead to 67 points by three quarter-time.

It was a goal feast in the fourth quarter with the teams combining for 10 goals with West Perth kicking six of them and West Coast four with the Falcons running out 17.17 (119) to 6.2 (38) winners to return to the top of the WAFL ladder.

Tyler Keitel started on fire for West Perth and ended up kicking five goals from his 10 scoring shots to go with 19 possessions and eight marks. 

His partner in crime up forward, Keegan Knott, also kicked three goals from 11 kicks and six tackles. Sasha Kernutt kicked two goals as well for West Perth from his nine kicks.

Shane Nelson is closing in on 200 games for West Perth and the 193-game four-time Breckler Medallist was superb in the midfield with 34 possessions while Trent Manzone racked up another 30 disposals to go with 14 marks and a goal.

Co-captain Aaron Black amassed another 29 possessions for the Falcons while Aidan Lynch collected 25 disposals, Conal Lynch 24, Zac Guadagnin 23, Tristan Hobley 22 and Mitch Peirce 20.

Josh Burke was West Coast's only multiple goalkicker on the day, kicking two from his eight kicks and four marks.

Josh Browne fought valiantly for the Eagles racking up 36 touches and eight marks while Harry Creasey had it 32 times (11 marks), Ambrose Ryan 28 (13 marks), John Levien 23 (eight tackles), Zane Trew 22, Zane Sumich 22, Ethan Hansen 22 (10 marks) and Darby McCarthy 20.
 

PERTH 10.12 (72) lost to EAST FREMANTLE 13.20 (98)

East Fremantle continued its impressive run of form beating Perth by 26 points on Saturday to make it four consecutive victories.

It's the first time that East Fremantle has won four games in-a-row since 2016 with the Sharks beating the Demons 13.20 (98) to 10.12 (72) at Lathlain's Mineral Resources Park.

Both teams came into the game in winning form and Perth started well with an early goal to Christian Martin. The Sharks responded through Luke English before a couple in-a-row for the Demons from Regan Clarke and Simon Hayward had the home side back on top.

The Demons still led by four points at quarter-time after an entertainment opening term before Brodie Gray extended the Perth lead with a goal early in the second stanza.

However, East Fremantle took over from there with the last four goals of the half thanks to Ryan Lester-Smith, Milan Murdock (two) and English to see them head into the half-time break leading by 15 points.

Alex Montauban extended that advantage for the Sharks to start the second half but Perth weren’t going away and on the back of goals to Kieran Hug, Sam Stubbs and Corey Byrne, suddenly they were back within just five points.

Another goal from Kristian Cary had Perth still within seven points at the last change, but East Fremantle dominated the last term with four goals to one to keep their winning form going, prevailing 13.20 (98) to 10.12 (72).

Alex Montauban kicked another three goals from seven kicks for East Fremantle while Milan Murdock kicked two goals to go with his 32 possessions, five marks, five tackles and four inside-50 entries.

Cam Eardley continued his tremendous form for the Sharks with 28 possessions, eight marks and five tackles while Tom Bennett had another 21 touches, Kyle Baskerville 20, Jackson McDonald 20, Matt Burton 19 and Matt Williamson 18.

Jeremy Goddard produced a good performance in the ruck with 13 disposals and 29 hit outs having come back to the WAFL this year to resume his career that started at Claremont.

Sam Stubbs continued his good form in attack for Perth kicking another three goals to go with 12 kicks and six marks.

Corey Byrne racked up 25 disposals for the Demons, Austin Davis 24, Brayden Ainsworth 22 and Kasey Nicholas 22 while Ajang Ajang had 18 hit outs in the ruck.