WAFL Round 6 WrapMonday, May 30, 2022 - 5:15 PM - by Chris Pike

EAST Fremantle and Swan Districts turned the tide on a rough recent stretch against Subiaco and South Fremantle respectively with impressive Round 6 WAFL victories on Saturday with Peel Thunder, West Perth and East Perth also victorious.

The Round 6 action began on Saturday at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium with Peel Thunder impressive in beating Claremont 12.12 (84) to 9.8 (62).

Blair Bell and Josh Treacy kicked three goals apiece for Peel with Mitch Crowden gathering 27 possessions. Jared Hardisty and Alex Manuel kicked two goals each for Subiaco with Sandover Medallist Bailey Rogers amassing 36 possessions.

East Perth returned to the winner's list with a big win against the winless West Coast Eagles, 18.10 (118) to 6.4 (40) at Leederville Oval.

Hamish Brayshaw and Sebit Kuek kicked three goals for the Royals while Angus Schumacher amassed 38 disposals. Hugh Dixon kicked three goals for West Coast and Joey Deegan had 28 touches.

Subiaco might have won 14 of its last 16 against East Fremantle, but it was a different story at the WACA Ground on Saturday with the Sharks proving too strong winning 13.12 (90) to 6.10 (46) to return to top spot.

Jonathon Marsh kicked five goals for East Fremantle and Cody Leggett four while Blaine Boekhorst picked up 37 possessions and Cam Eardley 30. Aaron Breman and Ben Sokol kicked two goals for Subiaco with Drew Rohde finishing with 26 touches.

It was a bit of a low scoring grind between West Perth and Perth at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium, but the Falcons made it 21 of the last 22 against the Demons with the 7.12 (54) to 7.6 (48) victory.

Mitch Dobson kicked two goals for West Perth to go with 23 touches while Shane Nelson racked up 32 disposals. Mitch Browne and Kristian Cary kicked two goals for Perth while Kasey Nicholas had 30 touches.

Swan Districts avoided a 10th consecutive loss against South Fremantle with a hard earned 9.10 (64) to 8.7 (55) victory at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval on Saturday.

Jesse Palmer, Chris Jones and Ryan Kemp all kicked two goals for Swan Districts with Sam Fisher and Jesse Turner both finishing with 31 touches. Haiden Schloithe kicked two goals for South Fremantle and Jake Florenca picked up 32 possessions.

Following six rounds of the 2022 WAFL season, East Fremantle is back on top of the ladder with a 5-1 record to be percentage ahead of the also 5-1 West Perth.

Claremont is in third position but a game back with a 4-2 record while East Perth (fourth), South Fremantle (fifth), Peel Thunder (sixth) and Swan Districts (seventh) are all sitting at 3-3 following six matches.

Subiaco (eighth) and Perth (ninth) have 2-4 records while the West Coast Eagles remain winless after six matches with a percentage of just 39.1.

Round 7 now gets underway with three matches on Saturday afternoon with Subiaco at home to Peel Thunder, Claremont taking on Perth and Swan Districts hosting the West Coast Eagles.

That leads into the two traditional derbies on the WA Day holiday on Monday with West Perth hosting East Perth at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium in the Perth Derby and then South Fremantle plays East Fremantle at Fremantle Community Bank Oval in the Foundation Derby.

WAFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON – ROUND 6

PEEL THUNDER 12.12 (84) defeated CLAREMONT 9.8 (62)

Peel Thunder delivered their most impressive performance of the 2022 WAFL season to beat Claremont by 22 points at Mandurah's Lane Group Stadium on Saturday.

The Thunder kept themselves just percentage outside of the top for with their third win of the season on the back of kicking eight goals to just one from Claremont in the second and third quarters.

That set the tone for Peel to win the game 12.12 (84) to 9.8 (62) with Claremont suffering its second loss of the season with the Thunder snapping a six-game losing run against the Tigers.

Peel might have been back on home turf but it was Claremont who started the better with the opening two goals inside the first 10 minutes through Max Spyvee and Alex Manuel.

The Tigers then had the third goal of the contest by the 19-minute mark before Peel eventually got their first goal of the contest thanks to Neil Erasmus.

Mitch Crowden and Kieran Gowdie then also kicked truly to trade goals for the two teams and it was still the Tigers leading by nine points at quarter-time.

A couple of goals inside a minute midway through the second term for the Thunder from Liam Henry saw the home team take the lead for the first time but by the half-time break, the scores were all tied with the game right up for grabs.

That dint last for long with the Thunder starting the second half on fire with goals to Crowden and Blair Bell inside the first 10 minutes. 

Josh Treacy then kicked a couple of goals in quick succession before adding a third for the quarter with Peel going on to kick six goals to one in the third term to blow the game open with six goals to one to lead by 35 points at three quarter-time.

While Claremont managed to kick four goals to Peel's two in the fourth term, the Thunder still ran out 12.12 (84) to 9.8 (62) winners.

Blair Bell was tremendous in the win for Peel kicking three goals to go with 21 possessions, six marks, five tackles and four entries inside the forward 50.

Josh Treacy also kicked three goals for the Thunder and Mitch Crowden two who also had 27 disposals, six marks and four tackles.

Karl Worner also gathered 25 touches for Peel, Connor Blakely 24, James Ewing 24, Matt Johnson 20, Joel Hamling 20, Liam Henry 20 and ruckman Lloyd Meek 21 to go with 30 hit outs.

Jared Hardisty kicked two goals for Claremont along with 20 touches and eight marks with Alex Manuel kicking two goals from his six kicks for the day.

Sandover Medallist Bailey Rogers was terrific for the Tigers with 36 possessions, 10 marks and seven inside 50s with Jye Bolton adding 25 touches, Ryan Lim 23, Ben Edwards 22, Jack Lewsey 18 and Lachlan Martinis 18.
 

EAST PERTH 18.10 (118) defeated WEST COAST EAGLES 6.4 (40)

East Perth snapped a three-game losing streak beating the winless West Coast Eagles by 78 points at Leederville Oval on Saturday.

Both teams came into the clash with the need of a win with East Perth having lost straight and West Coast yet to win in 2022, and after the Eagles kicked the first two goals, the Royals took over.

East Perth kicked the last three goals of the first quarter, the only eight goals of the second term and that saw them set up the eventual 18.10 (118) to 6.4 (40) victory as they returned to the winner's list in emphatic fashion.

The Eagles were still chasing their first win of 2022 and they started well with Hugh Dixon kicking two goals inside the first 14 minutes while they had the first four scoring shots of the contest.

It took a while for East Perth to work into the game but they did manage the last three goals of the first term through Kade Dittmar, Jackson Ramsay and Harley Sparks to lead by five points at quarter-time.

The Royals then put their foot down further in the second quarter starting with a goal to ruckman Scott Jones. Usual defender Corey Watts soon added another and so did Sebit Kuek and Stan Wright.

Angus Schumacher then kicked a couple of his own for the Royals before they went into half-time with Sparks adding a second and Nick Robertson his first to give East Perth eight goals to nil in the quarter to go into half-time leading by 52 points.

West Coast opened the second half with a third goal of the game to Dixon and it was three goals each the rest of the quarter with the Royals still leading by 52 points at three quarter-time following a late goal from Robertson.

East Perth then dominated the final quarter further holding West Coast scoreless and adding another four goals themselves to end up winning 18.10 (118) to 6.4 (40).

Hamish Brayshaw ended up kicking three goals for East Perth to go with 22 possessions, eight marks, seven tackles and three inside-50 entries.

Sebit Kuek also kicked three goals and two each to Kade Dittmar, Harley Sparks and Angus Schumacher who also had 38 touches, nine inside 50s, five marks and two tackles in a best on ground performance.

Angus Scott also racked up 32 touches for the Royals, Stan Wright 23, Sparks 22, Jack Cooley 20, Damon Greaves 19 and Christian Ameduri 18.

Hugh Dixon took his chances in attack for West Coast kicking three goals from seven kicks, four tackles and three marks.

Joey Deegan collected 28 touches for the Eagles, Ethan Hansen 25, John Levien 22, Patrick Naish 21, Harry Creasey 20, Darby McCarthy 20 and Rhett Bazzo 19 to go with nine marks.
 

EAST FREMANTLE 13.12 (90) defeated SUBIACO 6.10 (46)

WAFL football returned to the WACA Ground for the first time since 1994 and East Fremantle scored an impressive and rare win over Subiaco to return to the top of the ladder.

East Fremantle will now go into the WA Day Foundation Derby against South Fremantle sitting on top of the ladder on the back of Saturday's 13.12 (90) to 6.10 (46) win against Subiaco.

It was the first time a WAFL game has been played at the WACA Ground since a finals double-header back in 1994 and the Sharks dominated to hold Subiaco to two goals for the first three quarters despite having come into the game losing 14 of their last 16 games against the Lions.

The first WAFL goal kicked at the WACA Ground in 28 years was courtesy of East Fremantle's Jonathon Marsh at the 14-minute mark of Saturday's game.

He soon added a second heading towards quarter-time with East Fremantle still leading nine points at the first change after Subiaco got a goal late courtesy of Aaron Breman.

Marsh then kicked his third of the day early in the second quarter to keep East Fremantle on top before Cody Leggett started to take the most of his move forward with a goal to stretch the Sharks' lead to 21 points.

Marsh's fourth goal then stretched out the East Fremantle lead to 27 points and that's where it started at the half-time break as they kicked the only three goals of the second quarter.

Subiaco finally managed its second goal of the game at the eight-minute of the third quarter when Jake Stergiou kicked truly, but any sort of Lions revival didn’t eventuate with the Sharks immediately responding through Brynn Teakle and Leggett.

Cody Smith then pushed out the East Fremantle lead to 36 points and it was 44 points by three quarter-time courtesy of a fifth goal of the day from Marsh.

Subiaco did show some signs of life to start the final term with a goal to Sokol and then a rare one from Angus Dewar, but they couldn’t get any closer than 32 points. A pair of late goals from Leggett then saw East Fremantle secure the 13.12 (90) to 6.10 (46) victory.

Jonathon Marsh missed last week's win for East Fremantle against Perth following lining up for the WAFL State Team, and he was outstanding kicking five goals to go with 12 kicks, five marks and five tackles.

Cody Leggett also embraced his opportunity to get forward for the Sharks to kick four goals from 14 touches, six marks and three tackles with ruckman Brynn Teakle stepping up for 17 disposals, eight marks, 10 hit outs and two goals.

Blaine Boekhorst was at his hard running damaging best as well for the Sharks racking up 37 possessions, nine marks, seven inside-50 entries and five tackles while Cam Eardley continued his terrific form off half-back with 30 disposals.

Milan Murdock added 27 touches and 11 tackles for East Fremantle with Jarrad Jansen finishing with 26 disposals, Michael Tassone 22, Luke English 20 and Jackson McDonald 20.

The Sharks' back-line was superb as well led by captain Matthew Jupp with 19 touches and nine marks.

Aaron Breman kicked two goals for Subiaco as did Ben Sokol as the pair combined for four of the Lions' six goals.

Drew Rohde battled hard down back and was effective trying to set up play with 26 touches and four marks while captain Leigh Kitchin had another 24 disposals, Noah Ash 19, Stefan Giro 18 and Lachlan Delahunty 18 to go with 14 hit outs.
 

WEST PERTH 7.12 (54) defeated PERTH 7.6 (48)

It took until after the siren for West Perth to overcome Perth and make it 21 of the last 22 wins against the Demons.

The Falcons hosted the Demons at Joondalup's Pentanet Stadium on Saturday and by the time the siren sounded, only 13 goals had been kicked in the game and scores were all tied.

However, new West Perth forward Mitch Dobson had the ball in his hands having taken a mark in front of goal just before the siren blew. 

He went back to slot the goal and play the hero in his first season with the Falcons after crossing from East Perth to give West Perth the 7.12 (54) to 7.6 (48) victory.

West Perth came into Saturday's game having won 20 of its last 21 match ups against Perth, and the Falcons dominated the first quarter with the only seven scoring shots.

They converted two of those into goals from Tristan Hobley and Keegan Knott to lead by 17 points at quarter-time.

The famous Joondalup breeze was working its magic and Perth was able to take advantage in the second quarter beginning with a goal three minutes into the second term from reigning fairest and best Corey Byrne.

Simon Hayward then added another goal before Kristian Cary then put the Demons in front. West Perth returned to the lead briefly when Anton Hamp kicked truly but the Demons picked back up with a goal to Mitch Browne to see them claim a three-point advantage at half-time.

West Perth regained the advantage of the scoring end again in the third quarter and took full toll with five scoring shots to one. That included goals to Dobson and Sasha Kernutt to see the Falcons lead by 11 points at three quarter-time.

Browne's second to start the fourth quarter put Perth back within five points before a goal at the nine-minute mark from Corey Hitchcock made it a one-point game.

West Perth co-captain Dean Munns responded to put the Falcons back up by seven points before scores were back square with Cary's second of the game at the 24-minute mark.

The winner for West Perth came from Dobson after the siren and the Falcons claimed the heart stopping 7.12 (54) to 7.6 (48) victory.

Not only did Mitch Dobson kick the match-winning goal for West Perth but he finished the afternoon with a standout performance made up of 23 possessions, 11 marks, eight inside-50 entries and two goals.

Four-time fairest and best winner Shane Nelson continued his tremendous form for West Perth with another 32 possessions and six tackles while Trent Manzone finished with 27 touches, Aaron Black 24, Mitch Peirce 23 and Aidan Lynch 20 in his 100th league appearance.

Zac Guadagnin continued his good form down back for the Falcons and finished with 19 touches and six marks while Troy Yukich battled hard in the ruck with 40 hit outs.

Mitch Browne and Kristian Cary took the most of their opportunities in attack for Perth to kick two goals each.

Kasey Nicholas was outstanding down back for Perth finishing with 30 possessions and eight marks while Michael Sinclair also had 26 disposals and six marks.

Brayden Ainsworth picked up 26 touches, Chris Mayne 25, Matthew Taylor 22, Jack Avery 22, Chapman 21 and ruckman Ajang Ajang 17 to go with 19 hit outs in the ruck.
 

SWAN DISTRICTS 9.10 (64) defeated SOUTH FREMANTLE 8.7 (55)

Swan Districts might not have been beaten South Fremantle with Adam Pickering as coach, but that changed on Saturday afternoon with an impressive nine-point victory at home.

Swans hosted the Bulldogs at Bassendean's Steel Blue Oval and were on top from the start to finish to end up winning 9.10 (64) to 8.7 (55) with the black-and-whites snapping a nine-match winning streak against South Fremantle.

Swan Districts might have lost nine in-a-row against South Fremantle but the black-and-whites started strongly on Saturday with a goal inside the first minute to Chris Jones.

Jesse Palmer then strolled into the open goal for a second at the four-minute mark and it was a perfect start from the home team against the Grand Finalists of the past three years.

A spectacular mark and conversion for a goal from Jimmy Miller sparked South Fremantle but Swan Districts responded through Mitch Bain. A second for the opening term to Jones then ensured the black-and-whites led by 14 points at the quarter-time break.

Swans then kicked the opening two goals of the second quarter as well courtesy of Lachlan Riley and Tarir Bayok to open up a 25-point advantage.

Steve Verrier pulled one back for South Fremantle in his first goal since returning to the Bulldogs this season after taking a break in 2021 following the 2020 premiership.

However, Swans responded through Palmer before South Fremantle did a get a couple back just before half-time through Hamish Free and Haiden Schloithe to cut the half-time deficit to 14 points.

The Bulldogs were then right back in the contest thanks to kicking the first goal of the second half through Jarrod Salmeri, but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the way.

Swans closed the third quarter with a goal to Ryan Kemp and when he kicked a second midway through the final term the lead for the home team was out to 21 points, and they would go on to win 9.10 (64) to 8.7 (55).

Chris Jones had a fascinating battle with South Fremantle State defender Noah Strom and ended up kicking two goals from 11 disposals and seven marks.

Jesse Palmer and Ryan Kemp also kicked two goals apiece for Swans.

Sandover Medallist Sam Fisher racked up another 31 possessions for Swan Districts with Jesse Turner gathering 31 touches, Aidan Clarke 21, Josh Cipro 21 (10 tackles) and Lachlan Riley 18.

The Swans back-line was outstanding as well despite Jones having now settled up front and in the absence of Tony Notte whose streak of 194 straight games came to an end.

Will Collins was terrific holding Mason Shaw scoreless and to four kicks while co-captain Brandon Erceg had 17 touches and seven marks, and Tobe Watson 22 disposals and five marks.

Haiden Schloithe was South Fremantle's only multiple scorer in the game kicking two goals from 19 possessions, six inside 50s and three tackles.

Jake Florenca put together another standout performance in the midfield for South Fremantle with 32 possessions, six tackles, five marks and four entries inside the forward 50.

Tom Blechynden battled hard in the midfield as well for the Bulldogs with 25 touches and five tackles with Toby McQuilkin gathering 23 disposals, Chad Pearson 18, Lachlan Taylor 18 and Steely Green 16.

Hamish Free was impressive in the ruck once more for South Fremantle with another 16 possessions, 55 hit outs and a goal.